Structure is how a play logically fits together and can be archived through formula or form. To understand the complexities of structuring with form, the beginning playwright must first learn the fundamentals of formula. Covering everything in the playwriting process from the initial concept through production, PLAYWRITING: FROM FORMULA TO FORM presents a workable method for anyone interested in the craft. Exercises and techniques are presented to help students master the fundamental principles of good playwriting, giving them the freedom to be creative. Chapters on film and television writing as well as how to market a finished script and to select an agent, provide "real world" information on surviving as a writer in today's market.
William Missouri Downs earned his MFA in acting from the University of Illinois, but switched to playwriting when his first play won his acceptance to the Circle Repertory in New York. There he studied playwriting under Lanford Wilson and Milan Stitt. He then moved to Hollywood where he earned an MFA in screenwriting from UCLA, and wrote for several NBC television shows including Fresh Prince Of Bel Air and My Two Dads.
Bill has written twenty plays which have been produced all of the world from New York to Singapore and from Israel to South Africa, including LORT theatres like the Kennedy Center and the Berkeley Rep. A few of his plays include: Innocent Thoughts the winner of the National Playwrights Award, Jewish Sports Heroes and Texas Intellectuals which took first place at the Mill Mountain Theatre's Festival Of New Plays, Cockeyed which won the Greenhouse Festival of New Plays, and Kabuki Medea which won the Bay Area Critics Award for best production in San Francisco. In addition Samuel French and Playscripts have published several of his plays.
He is also the author of a number of books including The Art Of Theatre (Wadsworth) an introduction to theatre book used at over 100 universities, Naked Playwriting (Silman/James) a popular writing guide, and Screenplay: Writing the Picture (Silman/James), which is used at top film schools in the United States and Poland.
Head of the playwriting program at the University of Wyoming, Bill has won over a dozen teaching and research awards. He also teaches in the Religious Studies Department. His favorite thing to do is to find ancient temples and theatres - this quest has taken him to Egypt, France, Turkey, England, Greece, Italy and China.
In March his new play Forgiving John Lennon will open at the Detroit Rep and his play Backstage will open in Vienna.
