The elements of playwriting

1. Being a playwright Being a playwright means appreciating your ancestry Being a playwright starts with a personal statement of "this I believe" Being a playwright means identifying human traits you admire or dislike Being a playwright involves a sense of construction Being a playwright means writing stageworthy plays, not "closet dramas" Being a playwright requires understanding, although not always following, rules and guidelines Theatrical directors describe what they look for in plays Being a playwright means writing, writing, and writing Playwrights describe their work habits Special advantages of being a playwright Exercises 2. What makes a play? Definition of a play A play is not a novel Plays require conflict Selectivity : drama is an interpretation of life, not real life Plays are complete in themselves Plays have a beginning, middle, and end Avoid cinematic writing Dramatic action must be possible, plausible, and probable Plays are entertainment Plays communicate with emotions Plays communicate to the imagination Unities of time, place, and action The fourth (and most important) unity : playwright's purpose Exercises

3. The size of your canvas : monodramas, one-acts, and full-length plays Determining the size of your canvas The monodrama The one-act play The full-length play Thinking of audiences and types of theatres for your play Exercises 4. Where do you start? : turning your ideas into plays Sources of ideas : situation, character, or theme Working with your germinal ideas Fleshing out germinal ideas The "magic if" stimulates creativity Do your ideas have theatrical potential? Exercises 5. Creating characters : people in action to achieve their goals Writing characters to attract producers, directors, and actors The playwright as actor : using the actor's approaches to characterization Sources for theatrical characters Necessary characters for your play The protagonist The antagonist Secondary characters serve the play Creating theatrical characters Deciding how many characters you need in your play Exercise 6. Building plot : shaping your play's action Three basic divisions of plot Part one : beginning, introductory materials Part two : middle, the play's struggles and action Part three : ending, a sense of finality Exercises using other plays Exercises for the play you are writing

7. Constructing dialogue : action through words

What is dialogue?

Theatrical dialogue differs from other forms of writing

The playwright's goals

Acquiring an ear for dialogue

Communicating basic details

Techniques of writing dialogue

Principles of structural emphasis

Special aspects of dialogue : imagery and poetry, monologues and soliloquies

Dangers to avoid

Working with actors and directors

Exercises

8. Evaluating and revising your play

The revision process for all writers

Working alone to revise your play

Working with others to revise your play

A checklist of questions to consider at each step of revision

The play's overall effect

Characterization

Dialogue

Plot

The play's beginning, middle, and end

Desired audience response

9. Script format : typing your script for producers and directors

General guidelines

Specific guidelines for the playscript

Preliminary pages

The script itself

Sample pages from a script

Mailing your play

10. Resources for the playwright

Organizations for playwrights

Copyright

Literary agents

Sources to help you find producers, publishers, agents, contests, and workshops

Periodicals

Contests, workshops, seminars, and conferences

Productions

Income

Publication

Conclusion.