Playwriting For Dummies

by Angelo Parra

The easy way to craft, polish, and get your play on stage Getting a play written and produced is a daunting process. From crystallizing story ideas, formatting the script, understanding the roles of the director stagecraft people, to marketing and financing your project, and incorporating professional insights on writing, there are plenty of ins and outs that every aspiring playwright needs to know. But where can you turn for guidance?

Playwriting For Dummies helps any writer at any stage of the process hone their craft and create the most dramatic and effective pieces.

Guides you through every process of playwriting?from soliloquies, church skits, and one act plays to big Broadway musicals Advice on moving your script to the public stage Guidance on navigating loopholes If you're an aspiring playwright looking to begin the process, or have already penned a masterpiece and need trusted advice to bring it into the spotlight, Playwriting For Dummies has you covered.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction

579 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 24, 2011

Reviews

[CM · Rating 3 out of 5]

As my reading-and-writing shelf shows, I have read a fair amount of how-to books on (novel or general) writing so I can say a good deal of this book isn’t new to me. I’d say it offers a thorough overview to the life cycle of a play script, and probably the everyday duty of a playwright, from concept development to live performance, in a lively manner but not enough writing tips, activities or exercises.

To me, a good writing book should also feature extensive discussion on rewriting and editing but we only get half a chapter here*. The key examples used in most chapters are from Hamlet, The Doll’s House, A Streetcar Named Desire, and A Raisin in the Sun.

*The author stresses the importance of collecting feedback through a reading performance or from experts.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bloody Brilliant

Direct, honest, encouraging, and at times inspiring, this book teaches lessons that go fast beyond just playwriting. It touches on all aspects of writing and brilliantly so.

[Daniel J. Melanson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect for a newby to playwriting

I learned a great deal about playwriting from this book. It is definitely worth a read, at least for a beginner, to the playwright world.

[David Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book I read to research this post was Playwriting For Dummies by Angelo Parra which is an excellent book which I bought from kindle. This book which is by someone who has had plays by him performed in professional theatres in America & runs theatre studies and drama classes is about how to write and the consideration you have to bear in mind. Most directors and producers don't have a lot of cash when it comes to staging a production and want as few actors in the production as possible, no small parts and preferably no more than 4 changes of scenery and in most plays there are no more than 2. If your play requires a certain type of actor to fill a part because of the type of character that's fine ie it might require a blonde slim lady, but it shouldn't be done just for the sake of it as many smaller theatres will have trouble finding that kind of actor. Sometimes you will get someone who wants to option your play to become a film. You should make sure they pay you something even if only a few hundred dollars. Many of these so called producers try and get lots of plays for nothing and you are unable to make a deal with someone else and if it's free they have little incentive to plug your play. If you are interested in seeing plays at the beginning of there run when many do cut price tickets try the Theatre Development Fund at http://tdf.org . Also any budding playwrite should join the Dramatists Guild at
http://thedramatistsguild.com & among other things they have sample contracts you can use and provide assistance. To join you need to either show them a finished manuscript of one of your plays or if one has been performed in a theatre, a program guide.
I really enjoyed this book and there is an awful lot of useful contained in it.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do not sleep on this book....it is a great tool, with really great stuff