Playwriting Master Class: The Personality of Process and the Art of Rewriting

by Michael Wright

The act of writing a new play occurs in solitude, with a personality all its own. The playwright makes a thousand choices no one else sees - choices that other playwrights and theatre artists can benefit from. Now, for the first time, Michael Wright makes this personal process public.

"Playwriting Master Class" does what no other playwriting book has: it looks at the range of creative choices as a new play evolves. Michael Wright challenged seven playwrights to create original work in reaction to the same prompt and to interpret that prompt in any way they saw fit. Through sample drafts, explorations, journals, and follow-up interviews, Wright offers special insight into these playwrights' processes, methods, and thinking - allowing us virtually to look over their shoulders while they work. The playwrights span various generations, backgrounds, styles, and points of view, and include Elizabeth Wong, David Crespy, Elena Carrillo, Gary Garrison, Velina Hasu Houston, Guillermo Reyes, and Julie Jensen.

"Playwriting Master Class" will be a valuable classroom tool and an excellent resource for playwrights at all levels. Directors, dramaturgs, and actors will find its insight into the writer's methods and mentality extremely useful.

224 pages, Paperback

First published November 6, 2000

About the author

Applied Professor of Creative Writing, Theatre and Film at The University of Tuls. He is a playwright as well as author of both long and short fiction.