YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS 101 is a complete playwriting course that uses easy-to-follow lessons and practical exercises to guide playwrights from idea through submission. While it was originally written with young playwrights and their teachers in mind, you dont have to be a student or drama teacher to benefit from YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS 101: no matter what your age or experience, if youre looking for detailed, no-nonsense advice about the craft and business of playwriting-and to write plays that will actually be produced-this is the resource for you. Here are just a few examples of topics youll find inside: Creating Characters Conflict Play Structure Choosing the Right Setting The "Question" of the Play How to Use an Outline Handling Exposition Using Punctuation to Write Better Dialogue Opening and Ending Your Play The Writing Process Dealing with Writer's Block Choosing the Best Title Recentering Your Play Rewriting Using the Expanded Writer's Web and Troubleshooter's Checklist How to Have a Useful Play Reading The Playwright's Bill of Rights and much, much more Whether youre writing your first play, want to brush up on your skills or are looking for that missing something in your writing, YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS 101 is the jumpstart you need to write plays that make it to the stage.

"Most young playwrights nowadays want to learn 'how to' write a play. This seems to me to be a mistake." Thus begins the first chapter of Walter Kerr's fascinating book on the art of playwriting. Taking an about-face look at the creative process, with chapters such as "How to Spoil a Good Story," Mr. Kerr leads us through the exciting and daring adventure of successfully bringing a play to fulfillment. "There is no point in pretending that this is not going to be an argumentative book or that overemphasis isn't going to crop up pretty frequently in the chapters that follow. The face of our theater is so familiar to us that we shall never see its features without blowing them up a bit, one by one. And it does seem to me that we had better do some arguing - quick." Walter Kerr, drama critic, playwright, teacher, director, and winner of a Pulitzer Prize for Drama Criticism, served as drama critic for the New York Herald Tribune and was chief critic for the Sunday New York Times until his retirement. -- from back cover

For Achilles and Helen, getting bullied is a dismal fact of life -- Achilles regularly has his head flushed in the toilet, and Helen invents reasons to arrive late to school so she can avoid a vicious clique. When cool girl Glinda magically materializes and offers them a way out, they each jump at the chance. But Glinda's solution is to turn them into the very people who have tormented them. Can Achilles and Helen find another way out?

The easy way to craft, polish, and get your play on stage Getting a play written and produced is a daunting process. From crystallizing story ideas, formatting the script, understanding the roles of the director stagecraft people, to marketing and financing your project, and incorporating professional insights on writing, there are plenty of ins and outs that every aspiring playwright needs to know. But where can you turn for guidance? Playwriting For Dummies helps any writer at any stage of the process hone their craft and create the most dramatic and effective pieces. Guides you through every process of playwriting?from soliloquies, church skits, and one act plays to big Broadway musicals Advice on moving your script to the public stage Guidance on navigating loopholes If you're an aspiring playwright looking to begin the process, or have already penned a masterpiece and need trusted advice to bring it into the spotlight, Playwriting For Dummies has you covered.

What are the practical and creative elements for becoming a director? How do you get started? What is the best way for actors, designers, and crew to work with directors? This guide provides regional theater companies and new directors with the knowledge and tools they need to produce successful shows. Drawing on years of experience directing and producing plays, Wilma Marcus Chandler covers such topics as: * How to read and analyze a script and really understand it * How to visualize your show * How to get started, researching and thinking about concept, music, lights, sound, costumes * How to hold auditions * How to talk to your case and crew--and how to listen * How to stage a play, using blocking, body movement, stage business, exits and entrances * How to prepare a production, including rehearsal techniques, time lines, budgets, royalties, publicity * How to prepare a career in directing

Like an alchemist, Tennessee would dip his pen in reality and make fiction out of it. This journey through his life focuses on the influence of specific people and places on selected works.