Playwriting A Writers' and Artists' Companion

by Grace, Fraser; Bayley, Clare; Angier, Carole; Cline, Sally

• ISBN13: 9781472529329
• ISBN10: 1472529324
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2015-11-19
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic

Summary

Full of inspiration and practical advice, Playwriting: A Writers' & Artists' Companion is a comprehensive companion to writing for the stage.

PART 1 includes reflections on the art and the craft of playwriting, guidance on writing for a full range of genres and spaces and a brief history of playwriting itself.

PART 2 contains inspiring advice and reflections from leading playwrights:April De Angelis, Bryony Lavery, David Greig, Christina Reid, Dennis Kelly, Frank McGuinness, Lynn Nottage, Howard Brenton, Roy Williams, Tanika Gupta, Timberlake Wertenbaker, Polly Stenham, Tom Stoppard, Jack Thorne, Steve Waters, E.V. Crowe, David Henry Hwang, Lin Coghlan, Zinnie Harris and Anne Washburn.

PART 3 offers practical exercises and advice on planning and conducting research, working out plots and characters, mastering authentic but accessible dialogue, navigating the industry and the rehearsal and production process.

Author Biography

Fraser Grace is a playwright and prior to that worked both as an actor and performance poet. His first play, Perpetua, was joint winner of the Verity Bargate Award and was produced by Soho Theatre/Birmingham REP. Since then he has written for theatres all over the UK, including the Royal Shakespeare Company, whose production of Breakfast with Mugabe won the John Whiting Award in 2006 and a Silver Sony Award when broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and the World Service. The play has since been revived in the UK and the US. Other plays include Gifts of War, Frobisher's Gold, Who Killed Mr Drum? (with Sylvester Stein), The Lifesavers (shortlisted for TMA Best Play 2009), King David: Man of Blood, and Kalashnikov, in the woods by the lake and Bubble for BBC Radio 4. Since 2011 Fraser has convened the Master's Playwriting Course at the University of Birmingham, UK.

Clare Bayley is an award-winning playwright and short story writer. Her plays include Blue Sky, The Container, which won a Fringe First and the Amnesty International Award (Udderbelly, Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2007) and has been produced at the Young Vic (2009) and Chapter Arts, Cardiff (2010). For radio she has written In The Van, a 15 Minute Drama for BBC Radio 4 (2012), Portobello Beach for BBC Radio Scotland (2012), and for BBC Radio 4: The Secret Place, The Bringer of Sweets and Northern Lights. She is a former theatre editor of The Independent and currently teaches creative writing at London South Bank University, UK.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Introduction: Scriptwriter, Dramatist, Author, Hack
Part I: Playwriting - The View from Above
Reflections 1
Reflections 2
A Brief History of the Theatre
Part II: Tips and Tales - Guest Contributors
Part III: Write On - The View from the Ground
Writing
The Industry
The Production/Rehearsal Process
Bibliography
Index