"This is a book for dramaturgs of new work, but it is also a particularly effective book for anyone working on new plays: playwrights, directors, producers, even actors. Lenora skillfully dissects the process of workshopping new writing, and clearly defines the roles for all involved. I learned not only how to make a new play workshop more effective, but how to approach my writing and my directing, and how to meaningfully collaborate with others in this unique process. This is a necessary handbook for anyone working on new plays today." --Anne Marie Cammarato, Director

“Tyler Evans was a beloved best friend, grandson, mentor, and (almost) husband.” “Tyler Evans was a young Black man killed by a police officer.” Goodnight, Tyler is the ghost-love story of Tyler Evans, a dead Black man who wants to be remembered for who he was rather than how he died. Only able to speak with his childhood best friend, Davis, Tyler demands his “legacy” be protected. He wants to make peace before he leaves behind Chelsea, his fiancée; Drew, his college buddy; and his grandmother, Fannie (all of whom consider themselves Tyler’s “favorite”). When Shana, a local college student, shows up at the house with an old jacket of his, Tyler quickly loses control over the narrative of his life. His loved ones fight over his affection, his best friend spirals into deep denial, his student doesn’t understand why he hangs around so many white people. Now left behind, these five people struggle to learn how to love each other. In a story about loss, intimacy, fear, and white supremacy, Tyler comes face-to-face with the reality of whose grief matters and whose lives matter most.

"This is a book for dramaturgs of new work, but it is also a particularly effective book for anyone working on new plays: playwrights, directors, producers, even actors. Lenora skillfully dissects the process of workshopping new writing, and clearly defines the roles for all involved. I learned not only how to make a new play workshop more effective, but how to approach my writing and my directing, and how to meaningfully collaborate with others in this unique process. This is a necessary handbook for anyone working on new plays today." --Anne Marie Cammarato, Director

(Limelight). " The invaluable Working on a New Play ...arrived, to my overwhelming delight and mental profit; I began and finished it in one long, insatiable, and educational night. Everything in it is new, illuminating and informative, lively and clarifying." Cynthia Ozick

Many theatres host post-show discussions, or talkbacks, as part of their season. This book is a critical examination of what has/has not worked with post-show discussions utilized in new play development, providing a framework for understanding discussions, steps for building the foundation of them, and various strategies for structuring them.

Despite the popular myth that plays arrive at the theater fully formed and ready for production, the truth is that for centuries, most scripts have been developed through a collaborative process in rehearsal and in concert with other theater artists. David Kahn and Donna Breed provide the first codified approach to this time-honored method of play development, with a flexible methodology that takes into account differing environments and various stages of formation. Directors can use this unique guidebook for new play development from the beginning to the end of the process. Kahn and Breed explore ways of choosing new projects, talk about where to find new scripts, and explore the legal aspects of script development. They present a detailed system for theatrical analysis of the new script and show how to continue exploration and development of the script within the laboratory of the theater. Most importantly, they delineate the parameters of the relationship between the director and the playwright, offering proven methods to help the playwright and help facilitate the healthy development of the script. Breed and Kahn offer suggestions on casting, incorporating rewrites, and script handling plus how and when to use audience response and how to decide what step to take next. They also include extended interviews with developmental directors, dramaturgs, and playwrights, who give credence to the new script development process. In short, Kahn and Breed demystify a common, though often convoluted, theater process, providing a unique codification of ways to work on new plays.