Naked Playwriting: The Art, the Craft, and the Life Laid Bare

by Russin, Robin U.

• ISBN13: 9781879505766
• ISBN10: 1879505762
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-12-15
• Publisher: Silman-James Pr

Summary

This is a complete playwriting course -- from developing a theme through plotting and structuring a play, developing characters, creating dialog, formatting the script, and applying methods that aid the actual writing and rewriting processes. The book also offers sound guidance on marketing and submitting play scripts for both contests and production, protecting one's copyright, and working with directors and theatre companies. Well-written, comprehensive, and filled with illustrative examples, "Naked Playwriting" includes both innovative and tried-and-true writing techniques, sage advice from veteran writers, a short study of the major schools of dramatic thought, and writing anecdotes. This one-of-a-kind playwriting book, which covers both the basics of playwriting and the practical advice on getting a play published and produced, will help both novices and working writers discover and improve their playwriting skills and see their plays performed on a stage.

Table of Contents

Foreword	vii
Acknowledgments	xii
Introduction	xiii
Beginning a Play
What on Earth Gave You That Idea?	1	(21)
Schools of Thought	22	(33)
Building a Play
Structure, Part One: Story & Plot	55	(33)
Structure, Part Two: Creativity, Scenario & Writing	88	(23)
Getting Into Character	111	(29)
Dialogue in Action	140	(30)
Looking Good	170	(29)
Finishing a Play
Copyrights, Rewriting and Development	199	(19)
Two Ten-Minute Student Plays Dissected and Discussed	218	(37)
Marketing a Play
I'm Finished, Now What Do I Do?	255	(24)
Getting Real: Production and Contracts	279	(24)
Conclusion	303	(4)
Appendices	307	(20)
A: Overcoming the Naked Chiropractor: How Not to Navigate the Professional Script Analysis Process	309	(8)
B: Sample Character Sketches	317	(4)
C: Formatting Template	321	(3)
D: Playwriting Programs	324	(3)
Bibliography	327	(2)
Index	329