Scenario: Getting Started

You will find information on how to install the program on your computer on this page.

Follow these steps to start blocking a scene from one of the three plays.

1. Double click on the icon for Scenario to start the program.
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3. Select the play you want to work with, from the Play menu.
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5. In the Project Information dialog box, enter the details of your project. If you cannot see the dialog box, choose New Project from the File menu to display it. Into it you should enter:
   • your name
   • the name of the person who will review your project
   • a summary of your aims in the project (you may choose to enter this later, when you have finished).
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7. Import the script of the scene you have chosen to block. In the main window, you will see a Script button; click on this, and the Script window will appear on the screen. Then select Import Script from the File menu, and choose the file that contains the script you want: for example, "Act1Sc1" or "Act1Sc1.rtf" is the script for Act 1 Scene 1.
   • If you do not see a list of the scripts, you can navigate to it in the usual way: you will find them in directories (folders) inside the "Scenario" directory. For example the scripts for Hamlet are in a folder called Scripts in the folder Hamlet in the folder Plays in the folder Scenario (that is, Scenario:Plays\Hamlet\Scripts\Act1Sc1)
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9. Select a section of the script to work with in the script text box. It is usually best to work with small segments of the scene, creating it step by step.
   • Select the text you want to keep with the mouse, then choose Crop Text (Keep Selected) from the Edit menu, and you will see just the passage you selected.The program will remember the whole script when you move to the next frame.
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11. Create your first "frame" by choosing the necessary characters from the Director's palette. If you don't see the palette, click on the button Direct at the bottom of the stage in the main window.
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13. You can now drag the characters around the stage, and manipulate many of them by changing the way they face, or making them sit or lie down.
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15. You may wish to add props or a sound from the Diretor's palette.
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17. You can comment on the reasons for the choices you have made in blocking this section of the scene by entering text in the Notes window. Click on the button Notes at the bottom of the main window to open the window.
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19. When you have created the frame to your satisfaction, click on the forward button at the bottom of the main window, and the program will create a new frame. Characters will be in the same spot ready to move, and the full script will be loaded ready for you to make your next selection.
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21. Save your work when you have finished (you will find the Save command in the usual place in the File menu). Give your file a descriptive name, using your name as a part, so that your Reviewer knows who it is from.
    • Scenario will put a ".shk" on the end of your file name if you don't include one, so that users of the Windows version of the program can open the files easily. The file name MUST end with .shk even if you are using a Macintosh, or the program will not be able to open it later.
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23. If you want to send your .shk file to a reviewer, you can put it on a portable disc or send it as an attachment to an email.