Start your first play · Proscenium Guide

Choose where your plays live, open a blank script, and write the first scene. If you already have a draft, you can bring it with you.

Install Proscenium

Get the Mac download from proscenium.ink.
Open the .dmg and drag Proscenium into Applications.
Open Proscenium from Applications.

If it does not open, see Help and troubleshooting.

Choose a folder for your plays

On the welcome screen, choose iCloud Drive or A folder I choose….

iCloud Drive uses the Proscenium folder in iCloud Drive. This choice appears when iCloud is available on your Mac.
A folder I choose… lets you pick a folder in Finder, including a local folder or one managed by your sync service.

Each play gets its own folder inside that location. Your scripts and supporting documents are ordinary files. Proscenium also keeps Versions and recovery copies separately on your Mac.

You can see the selected location in Settings → General → Plays folder. Changing that setting shows a different folder; it does not move your existing plays.

Start a play

On the Plays screen, open New Play and choose Blank Play.
Give it a title and press Enter.
In the script, choose Act from the line-type menu above the page. Type ACT ONE and press Enter.
The next line is a Scene. Type SCENE 1 and press Enter.
Write a stage direction: what the audience sees when the lights come up.

Continue with Writing a scene to add the first exchange. For a guided exercise inside the app, open Help and start Write Your First Exchange. It uses a separate practice play.

Watch for Saved. Proscenium saves as you write. The status bar tells you when the file is saved, or when something needs attention. You can also press ⌘S. “Saved” confirms the local file was written; a cloud service may still be syncing it.

Find your way around

Binder: Your script, scenes, documents, character sheets and other files, on the left. Select an item to open it.
Script: The writing area in the middle. Use the menu above the page to choose a line type, such as Character or Dialogue.
Inspector: Details about the selected scene, on the right. Keep a summary, notes and a status here while you work.

The toolbar switches between Script, Board, Outline, Cast and Changes. You can hide the binder and inspector when you want more room to write.

The script-name menu holds Edit Opening Pages…, format choices, Export PDF… and Versions…. These are useful once you have some pages to work with.

Bring an existing draft

Use Import a Draft… from the Plays screen. Proscenium can read Word .docx, .odt, .rtf, plain text, Markdown, Fountain and .fdx files. You review the result before creating a new play, and the source file stays unchanged.

Follow Import a draft for the full steps, including what to do with a PDF or a document from Google Docs.

Already writing here? Go straight to arranging scenes, opening pages and cast, or exporting a PDF.