Playwriting : the structure of action / Sam Smiley with Norman A. Bert.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Smiley, Sam, 1931-2018.

Contributor:

Bert, Norman A.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Playwriting.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (336 p.)

Edition:

Rev. and expanded ed.

Place of Publication:

New Haven : Yale University Press, c2005.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This practical guide provides the principles of dramatic writing. Playwrights and screenwriters will discover these essential principles and acquire the tools to put them to use. Sam Smiley incorporates extensive new material in Playwriting: The Structure of Action, a revised edition of the book that dramatists in theatre and film have relied on for more than twenty-five years. No writer, director, critic, or teacher concerned with dramatic writing should be without this intelligent and inspiring guide. Sam Smiley offers insights derived from a lifetime of writing, teaching, and consulting. While preserving the best of the earlier edition of the book, he offers new discussion on contemporary playwrights (Tony Kushner and Tom Stoppard), on copyright law, on new writing approaches, and on nontraditional dramatic forms. Reaching far beyond simplistic how-to instructions, the book focuses on identifying and explaining principles essential to creating dramas: plot, character, thought, diction, melody, and spectacle. Smiley explains these classic topics and provides the modern keys for realizing each element in effective dramatic scripts.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Preface

Part I. The Playwright's Solitary Work

One. Vision

Two. Finding and Developing Ideas

Three. Drafting and Revision

Part II. Principles of Drama

Four. Plot

Five. Story

Six. Character

Seven. Thought

Eight. Diction

Nine. Melody

Ten. Spectacle

Eleven. A Way of Life

Appendix One. Manuscript Format

Appendix Two. Copyright Protection

Bibliography

Credits

Index

Notes:

First published: 1971.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 311-315) and index.

ISBN:

9786611721589

9781281721587

1281721581

9780300128505

0300128509

OCLC:

952732468