XML Schema for Theatrical Scripts?

skunkeh asks: "I was recently discussing innovative uses for IRC bots with a friend and we came up with the idea of using bots for theatrical performances, with different bots taking on different roles and outputting a pre-defined script to a moderated IRC channel. The obvious solution for inputing scripts to the bots would be using XML - is anyone aware of an XML standard for play scripts or would we need to create our own?" Bots doing Shakesspeare? Hrmm....OK, after that image, this is the last time I post Slashdot articles while drinking Bawls.

Why obvious?

[inerte]

Here's another idea to do it. You could store the book or movie script on a database, which has more features for text search and manipulation, and pull out closer lines when a reply is needed. It's even easier if you regex what an user inputted, for example identifying the nature of the phrase, if it's a question, exclamation, argument, and regex the book's following lines.

Best version I know of

[Ob the Rat]

Jon Boask has done some work on this. It includes at DTD instead of an XMLSchema, but it's not too hard to move between the two...

http://www.oasis-open.org/cover/bosakShakespeare 20 0.html

http://www.ibiblio.org/xml/examples/shakespeare/

Re:Best version I know of

[emf]

Thats pretty cool. He just has to figure out a way to "direct" the bots. The dialog should flow slowly for somethings and fast for other things ( like arguments ), so he should have delays between lines. Perhaps even have the bots enter / leave the channel at certain times, and even kick themselves out of the channel when they are fighting.

You know you've been on IRC way to long when your thinking about Shakespeare on IRC :)

Re:Best version I know of

[Howie]

It's not a new thing... back when there was only one IRC network (around 1992/3), I remember seeing Macbeth played out on IRC - not with bots but people, though.

Character did indeed leave the channel as they went offstage, and of course you only need enough people for the maximum number of actors in any scene, because "costume changes" are instant. /nick dagger /join #stage /me floats before lady macbeth

freechess.org...

[es-mo]

I've played chess very occasionally on freechess.org [freechess.org]. If you monitor the main forum, you'll see bots occasionally announcing that they will be starting a lecture in a few minutes, whether it be on endgame technique or a particular notable historical game. The ones I've seen seem to last in the neighborhood of an hour, though I've never actually "attended" any.

Text Encoding Initiative

[The Quiet Man]

Check out the TEI web site at www.tei-c.org [tei-c.org]. Their DTD includes tags for marking up scripts [tei-c.org].

XML could result in humourous XSLT translations.

[Marsh Jedi]

For one, someone could write something to Mamet-ize [mindspring.com] a script.

I also seem to remember a ghetto translator at one point in particularly poor taste. (no link)

Another cool approach, and the one I see moving forward, is something that generates an MP3 of a performance, with scratchy Dr Sbaitso-esque (remember Dr. Sbaitso from SoundBlaster?) voices for all the actors, with some pitch modulation to differentiate between the dramatis personae.

Seems lame, I know, but this is precisely the kind of tech that gets better and better.

Re:XML could result in humourous XSLT translations

[Marsh Jedi]

Sorry, I had that Mamet-ize [modernhumorist.com] link wrong.

LaTeX

[Raven667]

While not exactally the information you were looking for, there is a perfectly good LaTeX macro set for making scripts. This many be a good base for creating an XML Scheme, knowing what tags you will need and such.

It's been done before.

[Anonymous Coward]

http://www.funkplanet.com/thespians/ [funkplanet.com]

A stunning waste of time, but it does in fact perform plays on IRC. Requires Perl, POE, and a fair amount of patience. Have fun.