Drama Appreciation \ Drama 1

Notes pp. 381-410

Chapter 13 : The Playwright

Terms:
Playwright - One who makes a play. Spelled like shipwright, a builder of ships.
Screenwriter - writes for films and TV.
Building Blocks of a Play - Action and events
Tools for Building - Scripted dialogue and physical action.
Continuity - Chronological as in real life, or flash backs as in cause and effect.
A Playwright must be able to conceptualize events and envision them inacted before a interested live audience.
Literary & Non-literary Aspects of Playwrighting

dialogue
poetic imagery
allusions
metaphors
description
verbal skills
taped sounds
silences
music
stage business
ritual
choreography

Note page 396, literary style differences.
Qualities of a Fine Play
1. Credibility -
The playwright must make the characters and situations believable to the audience. This is the most important aspect of a fine play.
2. Intrigue - An air of mystery or surprise is necessary for the audience to want to know how it will all turn out.
3. Speakability - The dialogue must be able to be spoken by the actors. This involves accents, foreign accents, and all aspects of speech.
4. Stageability - Can the theatre group produce the show. This involves sets, costumes, theatre techniques.
5. Richness - The audience must care about the character and the character must have depth. The play should have dimension.
6. Flow - The pacing of the dialogue and action should not be too slow or be too fast.
7. Gravity - The importance of the subjec Any celebration such as a party, a birthday, funeral, wedding, or any event where human beings come together in a social situation is a favorite of contemporary audiences. TV programs use this consistently.
Introductory Exercises for Aspiring Playwrights
1. Learn to transcribe dialogue - Either real or imagined.
2. Learn to create conflicts within the spoken dialogue.
3. Learn how to develop structural order and components.

Playwrights can earn a lot of money through royalties for their scripted work which has been copywritten. Many playwrights and screenwriters are millionaires after one successful script. Playwrighting is the weakest link in theatre. There are far too few Playwrights and plays.

End of chapter 13


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