The Playwright's Guidebook

The Playwright's Guidebook
Author: Stuart Spencer
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 393
Release: 2002-03-29
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0571199917

During the more than ten years that Stuart Spencer has taught playwriting, he has struggled to find an effective handbook for his courses. Although most of the currently popular guides contain useful ideas, they all suffer from the same problems: poor organization; quirky, idiosyncratic advice; and abstract theorizing on the nature of art. As a result, they fail to offer any concrete information or useful guidelines on how to construct a well-written play. Out of frustration, Spencer wrote his own. The result, The Playwright's Guidebook, is a concise and engaging handbook full of the kind of wisdom that comes naturally with experience. Spencer presents a coherent way of thinking about playwriting that addresses the important principles of structure, includes invaluable writing exercises that build upon one another, explores the creative process, and troubleshoots recurrent problems that many playwrights face.

Young Playwrights 101

Young Playwrights 101
Author: Jonathan Charles Dorf
Publisher: Young Playwrights 101
Total Pages: 153
Release: 2005
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1599710692

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 with Purpose

Playwriting with Purpose
Author: Jacqueline Goldfinger
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 118
Release: 2021-08-16
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1000425061

Playwriting with Purpose: A Guide and Workbook for New Playwrights provides a holistic approach to playwriting from an award-winning playwright and instructor. This book incorporates craft lessons by contemporary playwrights and provides concrete guidance for new and emerging playwrights. The author takes readers through the entire creative process, from creating characters and writing dialogue and silent moments to analyzing elements of well-made plays and creating an atmospheric environment. Each chapter is followed by writing prompts and pro tips that address unique facets of the conversation about the art and craft of playwriting. The book also includes information on the business of playwriting and a recommended reading list of published classic and contemporary plays, providing all the tools to successfully transform an idea into a script, and a script into a performance. Playwriting with Purpose gives writers and students of playwriting hands-on lessons, artistic concepts, and business savvy to succeed in today’s theater industry.

Playwriting For Dummies

Playwriting For Dummies
Author: Angelo Parra
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 404
Release: 2011-08-02
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1118017226

The easy way to craft, polish, and get your play on stage Getting a play written and produced is a daunting process. From crystallizing story ideas, formatting the script, understanding the roles of the director stagecraft people, to marketing and financing your project, and incorporating professional insights on writing, there are plenty of ins and outs that every aspiring playwright needs to know. But where can you turn for guidance? Playwriting For Dummies helps any writer at any stage of the process hone their craft and create the most dramatic and effective pieces. Guides you through every process of playwriting?from soliloquies, church skits, and one act plays to big Broadway musicals Advice on moving your script to the public stage Guidance on navigating loopholes If you're an aspiring playwright looking to begin the process, or have already penned a masterpiece and need trusted advice to bring it into the spotlight, Playwriting For Dummies has you covered.

What Playwrights Talk About When They Talk About Writing

What Playwrights Talk About When They Talk About Writing
Author: Jeffrey Sweet
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2017-02-21
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0300228058

The art and craft of playwriting as explored in candid conversations with some of the most important contemporary dramatists Edward Albee, Lanford Wilson, Lynn Nottage, A. R. Gurney, and a host of other major creative voices of the theater discuss the art of playwriting, from inspiration to production, in a volume that marks the tenth anniversary of the Yale Drama Series and the David Charles Horn Foundation Prize for emerging playwrights. Jeffrey Sweet, himself an award-winning dramatist, hosts a virtual roundtable of perspectives on how to tell stories onstage featuring extensive interviews with a gallery of gifted contemporary dramatists. In their own words, Arthur Kopit, Marsha Norman, Christopher Durang, David Hare, and many others offer insights into all aspects of the creative writing process as well as their personal views on the business, politics, and fraternity of professional theater. This essential work will give playwrights and playgoers alike a deeper and more profound appreciation of the art form they love.

The Art and Craft of Playwriting

The Art and Craft of Playwriting
Author: Jeffery Hatcher
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2000-03-01
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1599634430

Jeffrey Hatcher knows the nuts and bolts of writing for the theater. Here, he shares his views on it all--from building tension and plotting a scene, right down to moving a character from one side of the stage to the other. From crafting an intriguing beginning to delivering a satisfying ending. In Hatcher's one-on-one discussions with acclaimed American playwrights Lee Blessing, Marsha Norman and Jose Rivera, you'll find a wealth of practical advice, tricks of the trade and insight that will help you in your own creative efforts.

Playwriting

Playwriting
Author: Stephen Jeffreys
Publisher: Theatre Communications Group
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2020-03-10
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 9781559369725

This essential guide to the craft of playwriting, from the author of The Libertine, reveals the various invisible frameworks and mechanisms that are at the heart of each and every successful play.

The Crafty Art of Playmaking

The Crafty Art of Playmaking
Author: Alan Ayckbourn
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Total Pages: 204
Release: 2015-04-28
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1250083087

In The Crafty Art of Playmaking, this seminal guide from renowned playwright Alan Ayckbourn shares his tricks of the trade. From helpful hints on writing to tips on directing, this book provides a complete primer for the newcomer and a refresher for those with more experience. Written in Ayckbourn's signature style that combines humor, seriousness, and a heady air of sophistication, The Crafty Art of Playmaking is a must-have for aspiring playwrights, students of drama, and anyone who has ever laughed their way through one of Ayckbourn's plays.

Backwards and Forwards

Backwards and Forwards
Author: David Ball
Publisher: SIU Press
Total Pages: 108
Release: 1983
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780809311101

"Considered an essential text since its publication thirty-five years ago, this guide for students and practitioners of both theater and literature complements, rather than contradicts or repeats, traditional methods of literary analysis of scripts

The Dramatist's Toolkit

The Dramatist's Toolkit
Author: Jeffrey Sweet
Publisher: Heinemann Educational Books
Total Pages: 184
Release: 1993
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN:

In The Dramatist's Toolkit , playwright and Backstage columnist Jeff Sweet offers an intensive and practical guide to being a working playwright.