A Practical Guide to Becoming a Playwright


Book Description

You won't find a lot of pontificating over Aristotelian theory in this book. What you will find is straightforward, practical guidance to help aspiring and early-career playwrights hone their craft and steer their plays toward successful productions. While many playwriting books focus solely on stagecraft, this one also examines the nuts and bolts of getting your plays produced. After all, writing a play is one thing, but it won't have fulfilled its purpose until it's been brought to life on a stage. Examining everything from structure, dialogue, and creating well-rounded characters to formatting, writing synopses and preparing your plays for submission, A Practical Guide to Becoming a Playwright offers a comprehensive explanation of the often challenging process of writing plays and getting them into the hands of producers. Using knowledge and insight gained from more than two decades of writing for the stage and garnering successful productions, award-winning playwright Andrew Biss shares with you everything that he's learned - not from teaching or hypothesizing, but from actually doing. A Practical Guide to Becoming a Playwright is your go-to guide for navigating the frequently nebulous world of playwriting and production.




Young Playwrights 101


Book Description

YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS 101 is a complete playwriting course that uses easy-to-follow lessons and practical exercises to guide playwrights from idea through submission. While it was originally written with young playwrights and their teachers in mind, you dont have to be a student or drama teacher to benefit from YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS 101: no matter what your age or experience, if youre looking for detailed, no-nonsense advice about the craft and business of playwriting-and to write plays that will actually be produced-this is the resource for you. Here are just a few examples of topics youll find inside: Creating Characters Conflict Play Structure Choosing the Right Setting The "Question" of the Play How to Use an Outline Handling Exposition Using Punctuation to Write Better Dialogue Opening and Ending Your Play The Writing Process Dealing with Writer's Block Choosing the Best Title Recentering Your Play Rewriting Using the Expanded Writer's Web and Troubleshooter's Checklist How to Have a Useful Play Reading The Playwright's Bill of Rights and much, much more Whether youre writing your first play, want to brush up on your skills or are looking for that missing something in your writing, YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS 101 is the jumpstart you need to write plays that make it to the stage.




Playwriting


Book Description

Containing a wealth of exercises for individuals and groups involved in making theatre, this text offers a practical guide to the creation of text for live performance.




Life as a Playwright


Book Description

Addressing the questions central to any playwright's career and identity, Jon Klein offers you a glimpse into a career writing for the theatre. As well as an account of the day-to-day life of a writer, he also discusses what an aspiring playwright should expect as they navigate the industry and how to make yourself stand out from the crowd. Furthermore, the book looks at situations that the emerging playwright is likely to encounter, including: handling rehearsals, workshops, castings, re-writing, venues, reviews, successes and failure. The book concludes with seventeen interviews with other USA-based playwrights, representing a wide range of experience, from writers just starting to make a name for themselves to seasoned, award-winning veterans such as Sheila Callaghan, Steven Dietz, Keith Glover, Lauren Gunderson, John Pielmeier and Jen Silverman. Author Jon Klein has a wealth of experience with over 30 of his plays produced in the USA and over 100 productions, including include T Bone N Weasel, Dimly Perceived Threats to the System, Betty the Yeti, and his most recent play, Resolving Hedda. Klein draws upon the lessons he has learned from his associations with numerous established theatre folk, many from the start of their careers. These include figures such as Bob Falls, Gregory Hines, Jon Jory, Kenny Leon, Dan Sullivan, and August Wilson.clude figures such as Bob Falls, Gregory Hines, Jon Jory, Kenny Leon, Dan Sullivan, and August Wilson.




To Be A Playwright


Book Description

Originally published in 2005, To Be A Playwright is an insightful and detailed guide to the craft of playwriting. Part memoir and part how-to guide, this useful book outlines the tools and techniques necessary to the aspiring playwright. Comprised of a collection of memoirs and lectures which blend seamlessly to deliver a practical hands-on guide to playwriting, this book illuminates the elusive challenges confronting creators of dynamic expression and offers a roadmap to craft of playwrighting.




So You Want to be a Playwright?


Book Description

A manual for would-be playwrights--how to develop your play from conception to opening night.




Stage Writing


Book Description

In this clear, practical guide, the processes and techniques of stage writing are illuminated through case studies of 7 classic and contemporary plays. Encouraging stage writers to recognize and develop their own "voice," the book includes chapters on building relationships with the audience, the actor, the director, and the designer; understanding and using the physical space of the sta≥ finding and developing a dramatic story; creating believable dramatic characters and dialogue; building a strong play structure; and writing effective stage directions. The book combines exercises in textual analysis with 8 practical scriptwriting projects; based on photos and scenarios, these projects lead new playwrights to complete original scenes. Val Taylor is a theater director, writer, script consultant, and teacher.




A Practical Guide to Working in Theatre


Book Description

A wonderfully comprehensive look behind the scenes of the theatre covering all the major roles including director, designer, playwright, sound and lighting and many more.




Eloquent Science


Book Description

Mary Grace Soccio. My writing could not please this kindhearted woman, no matter how hard I tried. Although Gifed and Talented seventh-grade math posed no problem for me, the same was not true for Mrs. Soccio’s English class. I was frustrated that my frst assignment only netted me a C. I worked harder, making re- sion afer revision, a concept I had never really put much faith in before. At last, I produced an essay that seemed the apex of what I was capable of wr- ing. Although the topic of that essay is now lost to my memory, the grade I received was not: a B?. “Te best I could do was a B??” Te realization sank in that maybe I was not such a good writer. In those days, my youthful hubris did not understand abouc t apacity bui- ing. In other words, being challenged would result in my intellectual growth— an academic restatement of Nietzsche’s “What does not destroy me, makes me stronger.” Consequently, I asked to be withdrawn from Gifed and Talented English in the eighth grade.




You Can Write a Play


Book Description

Advice on ideas, plots, characters, adaptations, opportunities in the theater, and other considerations of the beginning playwright.