One page of a script equals one minute of stage time? It depends on your script.

There’s a rule you’ll see over and over again in script writing that states that one page of script is about 1 minute of stage or screen time. You’re told that a 30 minute play should be 30 pages or a 90 minute movie would be a 90 page script. But while it’s better than nothing at giving you an idea of how long your script will be performed, it’s not the ironclad rule you’ll see it presented as.

For example: I have never seen a production of The Love of Three Oranges that ran under an hour and...