Description
Book SynopsisShortlisted for the STR Theatre Book Prize 2023A 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,
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Preface by Jenny Sealey, MBE Prologue
PART ONE 1.1 Write Plays 1.2 Write What is Important to You 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 2.3 Dramatic Structure is not a Scientific Law 2.4 You do Not Need to Know Everything About your Characters 2.5 You are a Dramatic Poet 2.6 Get Musical 2.7 Get Physical 2.8 Think Big 2.9 Shock, Break and Provoke 2.10 Write a Postdramatic Play 2.11 Write Accessibly
PART THREE 3.1 How to Write 3.2 Theatre is Collaboration 3.3 Take the business of Being a Playwright Seriously 3.4 Look After your Mental Health 3.5 You are the Future of Playwriting Epilogue Reasons to be a Playwright Notes 253 Bibliography
