Playwriting . . . is . . . also like chess, where a whole series of moves must be made to lead up to the one you want. Each of these moves will lead to other moves. And the ultimate aim of none of them should be apparent.
-- JOHN VAN DRUTEN, Playwright at Work
Backwards and Forwards: A Technical Manual for Reading Plays by David Ball; Southern Illinois University Press, 1983 : - Part One: Shape
- 1: What Happens That Makes Something Else Happen?
- 2: And What Happens Next?
- 3: But Do It Backwards
- 4: Stasis and Intrusion
- 5: Obstacle, Conflict
- 6: Ignorance is Bliss (or: the Very Cause of Everyone's Lunacy About Hamlet)
- 7: Things Theatrical
- Part Two: Methods
- 8: Exposition
- 9: Forwards: Hungry for Next
- 10: Missing Persons (character)
- 11: Image
- 15: Families
- 16: Generalities: Mood, Atmosphere
- 17: The Unique Factor
- 18: Changing Eras
- 19: Climax
- 20: Beginnings/Endings
- 21: Rereading
- 22: What Next?
The Directorial Image: The Play and the Director by Frank McMullan; Shoe String Press, 1962 - 1: Creativity and the Director
- 2: Dramatic Communication and Response
- 3: Nature and Pattern of Drama
- 4: Potentials of Dramatic Values
- 5: Points of Focus
- Directorial Image
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books
The Crafty Art of Playmaking
Alan Ayckbourn
With over 60 plays written and performed, Alan Ayckbourn's expertise in writing and directing plays is unsurpassed. For the first time, here in The Crafty Art of Playmaking, he shares all his tricks of the trade. From helpful hints on writing to tips on directing, the book provides a complete primer for the tyro and a refresher for the more experienced. Softcover, 173 pp. $22.00.
Stages of Translation
David Johnston:
Stages of Translation is a unique collection of interviews and essays which deal with the art no less than the business of preparing performance scripts from works originally written in languages other than English. Various issues are discussed by some of the world's finest dramatists, including David Hare, Nick Dear, Ranjit Bolt, John Clifford, Kenneth McLeish, and Adrian Mitchell. Softcover, 294 pp. $37.95.
...
Solving Your Script
Tools and Techniques for the Playwright
Jeffrey Sweet
In this book by the author of The Dramatist's Toolkit, Jeffrey Sweet shares all of the secrets that have helped him to write his extraordinary award-winning plays and screenplays. Based on the program that he teaches at New York's Actors Studio, this helpful guide is a must for anyone who wishes to improve their ability to write for stage, film, and television. Softcover, 226 pp., $30.95.
Playwriting Step By Step
Marsh Cassady
An indispensable guide for both students and teachers of the dramatic arts. $20.95.
Writing Your First Play
Second Edition
Roger A Hall
Writing Your First Play provides the beginning playwright with the tools and motivation to tell a story through dramatic form. Based in a series of exercises which gradually grow more complex, the books helps the reader to understand the basic elements of drama, conflict, and action. The exercises help the reader to become increasingly sophisticated in the use of dramatic formats, turning simple ideas into a viable play. $49.95
David Mamet in Conversation
Edited by Leslie Kane
When asked what epitaph he'd write for himself, David Mamet replied "I told you that you were going to miss me." "David Mamet In Conversation" is a collection of interviews between Mamet and other writers and reporters on topics ranging from epitaphs to myth to public image to politics to Hugh Hefner. Mamet's intelligence and good humour make the book delightfully entertaining -- and it accomplishes the most difficult of tasks: it makes you want to read the rest of his work. Softcover, $27.95
The Playwright's Voice
David L. Savran
American dramatists on memory, writing, and the politics of culture. Interviews with Edward Albee, Holly Hughes, Terrence McNally, Wendy Wasserrman and more. $24.95.
Modern Theories of Drama (new 2nd textbook for THR413?)
Muller
Performance Art
script.vtheatre.net/215/2007