The Playwright’s Manifesto: How You Can Be The Future of Playwriting

Description

A manifesto for the future of playwriting, this book challenges you to be a part of that future in the belief that it is fundamentally important to write plays. Plays help us understand ourselves, others, and the world around us. Reading this book, you will be challenged to learn your craft, explode what you know, prioritise what is important to you, and write in the way that only you can write. Most books on playwriting explain how to create a believable character in a story driven by plot. This book, however, goes even further in its exploration of the playwright’s most valuable tool: theatricality. By learning from the past, and the present, the playwrights of tomorrow can create new, vivid, theatrical drama for the future. This manifesto also examines the process of writing, the art of collaboration, and the impact of writing on a playwright’s mental health. It identifies the highs and lows, as well as the trials and tribulations, of life as a playwright in today’s world. Theatre is a living artform. It is time for playwrights to acknowledge that fact and to celebrate the unique, primal thrill that a live theatre experience offers us. The future of playwriting is in your hands. Do you accept the challenge? Cover Halftitle page Title page Copyright page Dedication CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS PREFACE PROLOGUE PART ONE 1.1 WRITE PLAYS 1.2 WRITE WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO YOU Writing Manifesto 1.3 WRITE LIKE ONLY YOU CAN WRITE 1.4 STAND ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS PART TWO 2.1 IT ISN’T NATURAL(ISM) 2.2 TEAR DOWN THE FOURTH WALL The Prologue The Induction The Chorus The Narrator The Aside The Soliloquy Monologue Direct Address Audience participation . . . When things go wrong . . . Exposed The Epilogue 2.3 DRAMATIC STRUCTURE IS NOT A SCIENTIFIC LAW Beginning-Middle-End Making a Scene Comedy (Greek-style) Fragments Borrowed Inside the mind Sisyphean (or Circular) Defying expectation The wheel Multiple POV The daisy-chain Time No conflict Meandering Branching Parallel Science Let form tell the story Postdramatic structure And . . . Story 2.4 YOU DO NOT NEED TO KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT YOUR CHARACTERS The Greek tragic hero Stock characters The satyr A one-actor multiplicity Inanimate objects Be an animal Puppets Psychological truth Modern character Casting yourself Doubling Naming your characters (or not) 2.5 YOU ARE A DRAMATIC POET Greek (& Roman) drama Shakespeare Modern era 2.6 GET MUSICAL Opera 2.7 GET PHYSICAL 2.8 THINK BIG 2.9 SHOCK, BREAK AND PROVOKE The shock of the (not so) new Breakages Provocations 2.10 WRITE A POSTDRAMATIC PLAY 1. The words 2. The performer 3. The audience 4. Time 5. Space 6. Symbol 7. Logic 8. Revolution 9. The new 2.11 WRITE ACCESSIBLY PART THREE 3.1 THE WAY TO WRITE To study or not to study, that is the question . . . Do you have an idea? Procrastination Precipitateness versus perfectionism Re-writing Re-writing after rejection Re-writing after feedback Subsequent re-writes The tipping point Production Or final rejection Finally . . . 3.2 THEATRE IS COLLABORATION The dramaturg / literary manager The director The designer Casting Executive producer The rehearsal room Into the theatre Collaborators How to collaborate when you are not there Devising Co-writing Musical theatre Opera Conclusion 3.3 TAKE THE BUSINESS OF BEING A PLAYWRIGHT SERIOUSLY Submitting your script Bigger picture Broaden your horizons Other sources of income Agents 3.4 LOOK AFTER YOUR MENTAL HEALTH Imposter syndrome Confidence Pressure Paranoia Anxiety and exposure Vulnerability as courage Rejection When collaboration goes wrong Critics and reviews Humiliation Jealousy Giving up Some advice . . . Finally . . . 3.5 YOU ARE THE FUTURE OF PLAYWRITING I challenge you EPILOGUE A Letter to the playwrights of the future REASONS TO BE A PLAYWRIGHT NOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY Books and essays Plays and musicals referenced INDEX