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Dive into the art of playwriting with this comprehensive guide that covers everything from invention to expression. Discover how to find and develop your ideas, create compelling plots and characters, and write engaging dialogue. Learn the importance of conflict, pacing, and structuring your work to captivate audiences. This guide also provides practical tools and insights on formatting your play, including character backgrounds, stage directions, and director’s notes. Enhance your craft and unleash your creativity in the world of theater!
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Vision, Craft, and Tools • Invention: Discovering an idea • Planning: Developing plot and characters to move the plot • Expression: Writing dialogue and action • Tools: Plot, character, and language
Invention • Find/discover a source of an idea for a play • Could be inspired by: • Sketches of unusual people • Provocative lines from overheard conversations • Topics you feel strongly about • Folk tales or fairy tales • Events in history or current events • Incidents from your own life
Planning • Through line: the major action of the play • Dividing action into acts or scenes • Conflict • Conflict with another person • Conflict with him or herself • Conflict with society • Conflict with the forces of nature or fate
Planning, part two • Grabbing the audience with a hook: something in the script that grabs the audience’s interest • Structuring the action • Creating Characters and their Backgrounds • Protagonist • Antagonist • Foil • Functionaries
Expression • Writing Dialogue • Fitting Dialogue to characters • Understanding time and place • Controlling the pacing • Writing in a straight line • Giving the audience time to laugh • Being economical
Formatting a Play • Characters and Dialogue • Act and Scene Designations • Stage Directions • Prologue and Epilogue • Director’s Notes