DRAM 1310 Chapter 6. Lecture Ppt.

1. Chapter 6
The Art of Playwriting
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2. The One Who Builds
The root word wright in playwright comes from
the Middle Ages and means “one who builds.”
A shipwright builds ships; a wheelwright builds
wheels. A playwright builds plays.
©AaronLeeFineman
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3. The Primary Artist
Theatre begins with the playwright, the artist
who conceives the theme, the characters, the
dialogue, and the story. Playwrights are so
important to the process that many theatre
professionals call them the “primary artist.”
“The writer is the person who was there when
the paper was white.”
Moss Hart, Playwright
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4. The Playwright’s Life and Words
 Copyright
 What are some of the basic differences
between playwrights and screenwriters?
 Closed-shop union
 Open-shop union
 If screenwriters can make so much more
money, why become a playwright?
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5. The Art of Playwriting
 Dialogue
 Stage directions
 Parentheticals
JosephMarzullo/WENNPhotos/Newscom
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6. The Theme in a Play
(Slide 1 of 2)
A theme is a statement about life, a central
idea, or a moral.
©KateRaines
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7. The Theme in a Play
(Slide 2 of 2)
 Themes that are revealed through action
are theatrically more interesting than
those that are explicitly stated
 Themes are often open to interpretation
by the directors, designers, and actors,
and by the audience as well
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8. Characters in Action
 Characters come to
life not by what
they feel and think
but by what they
say and do
 Actions are the
characters’ deeds SARA KRULWICH/The New York Times/Redux Pictures
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9. Conflict as Catalyst
 Plays are about
people with needs
and desires and
obstacles preventing
them from getting
what they want
 Desire + obstacle +
lack of compromise
= conflict
PatriciaSwitzer
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10. The Art of Language
Dialogue begins with the need to talk. How is this
realized by the playwright?
1. Subtext
2. Imagery
3. Rhythm
4. Tempo
5. Sound
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11. Plotting the Story
Many plays and screenplays follow a
blueprint: Oedipus Rex, Romeo and Juliet, A
Raisin in the Sun, and Star Wars.
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12. Formula Plots
(Slide 1 of 3)
1. Beginning
A. Exposition or back story
B. Protagonist and antagonist
C. Event
D. Disturbance
E. Point of attack
F. Major dramatic question
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13. Formula Plots
(Slide 2 of 3)
2. The Middle
A. Conflicts
B. Crises
C. Complications
D. Rising action
E. Dark moment
JoanMarcus
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14. Formula Plots
(Slide 3 of 3)
3. The End
A. Enlightenment
B. Climax
C. Denouement
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15. Plots Outside the Formula
Writers who abandon
formula often try to
look at life the way it
is, or as they
perceive it, rather
than fit it into a
standard structure:
 Waiting for Godot
 ‘night Mother
 Pulp Fiction
Joan Marcus
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16. What the Playwrights Say
“We’re one of the last handmade art forms. There’s no
fast way to make plays. It takes just as long and is just
as hard as it was a thousand years ago.”
Steven Dietz, Playwright
“Drama cannot deal with people whose wills are
atrophied, who are unable to make decisions which have
even temporary meaning, who adopt no conscious
attitude toward events, who make no effort to control
their environment.”
John Howard Lawson, Playwright
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17. Curtain Call
In the theatre, the playwright is the primary
artist. Yet, unlike the actors, director, designers,
or producer, the playwright is the only member
of the theatrical ensemble that can be long
dead.
A playwright’s life may be difficult, but he or she
knows the joy of sole authorship and finds great
satisfaction in communicating ideas without
alteration.
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