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The Playwright's Process: Learning the Craft from Today's Leading Dramatists (Paperback)

by Buzz McLaughlin (Author) "The hardest thing about writing is getting from nothing to the first draft..." (more)
Key Phrases: normally receptive mind, backstory material, central character changes, New York, Romulus Linney, Marsha Norman (more...)
4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
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The Playwright's Process: Learning the Craft from Today's Leading Dramatists + The Art and Craft of Playwriting + The Playwright's Guidebook: An Insightful Primer on the Art of Dramatic Writing
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Product Description
Unique among playwriting manuals, this volume offers readers instruction tested in playwriting workshops and based on interviews with famous dramatists. Quotations from authors such as Edward Albee, Arthur Miller, Marsha Norman, Wendy Wasserstein, and others reveal methods concerning every facet of playwriting, from developing the initial idea to producing a workable piece, and more.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 240 pages
  • Publisher: Back Stage Books (May 1, 1997)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0823088332
  • ISBN-13: 978-0823088331
  • Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #275,959 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #45 in  Books > Arts & Photography > Performing Arts > Theater > Playwriting
    #62 in  Books > Reference > Writing > Play & Scriptwriting

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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
"The hardest thing about writing is getting from nothing to the first draft." Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
normally receptive mind, backstory material, central character changes, internal stage directions, dramatic premise, dramatic ingredients, idea worksheet, exploratory writing, character exploration, literary manager, dominant need, staged reading, plot treatment, rewriting process, established playwrights
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Romulus Linney, Marsha Norman, Edward Albee, John Guare, Arthur Miller, Athol Fugard, Script Sample, John Patrick Shanley, Horton Foote, Emily Mann, David Ives, Michael Weller, Tina Howe, Wendy Wasserstein, Lanford Wilson, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, John Proctor, Willy Loman, Dramatists Guild, Dave Marshall, Dwight Khrone, Pulitzer Prize-winning, Talley's Folly, King Lear
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Supplement to the Art of Dramatic Writing, July 23, 2004
By Wayne Rossi (Mount Holly, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This book is full of quotes from leading dramatists, yes - which sometimes agree with McLaughlin's discussion of process, and sometimes hint that there's a lot more there. He is a very good writer, and can be persuasive in getting his point across, but the "process" he outlines is essentially an attempted refinement of Lajos Egri's The Art of Dramatic Writing - in other words, classical prescriptivism.

I'm on the record, of course, for disagreeing with Egri - I don't believe that premise should be central for your entire play, and I find Egri's method of three-dimensional character development by writing biographies to be tedious, boring, and inherently untheatrical. McLaughlin re-creates Egri's methods in a tone that is more accessible to the playwriting student of today, but he lacks Egri's penetrating analysis of conflict and takes Egri's tools out of their context, where the original presentation was superior if you happen to agree with the ideas.

It's worth talking about premise, since the matter is so controversial among playwriting texts. There are two points of view on the subject: premise is central to a good play, and theme arises from the play and should not be put first. Essentially, those who place premise first are realists, and tend to write plays in the realist vein. I am not a realist, though I recognize that excellent plays can be and have been written in that genre. If you want to write realist plays, this book works well as a supplement for Egri's Art of Dramatic Writing; it is not a functional substitute. If you don't, you should head to other texts, because this one is quite openly biased.

Still, McLaughlin has a couple of good points of view in the book for any playwright. His chapter on ideas is one of the better ones out there; if you need help on that area, this book might be worth it on that alone. And his chapter on practical issues in playwriting is solid, if not perfect, but this advice would be available in books that will be more amenable to your style.

If you agree with the realists that premise should be central, buy this and Egri. Use Egri for your dramatic theory, and McLaughlin for your practical writing. If not, look for another text.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A must for would-be writers, August 19, 2001
By Nicholas R. Hartman (Apple Valley, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I wish I would have read this book six years ago. McLaughlin's book follows the playwright's process from conception to completion -- offering practical exercises and also advice from leading contemporary playwrights. The true brilliance of this book, other than it's stunningly lucid practicality, is supporting quotes from working playwrights, who expound in keen detail on the playwrighting process. The title of this book is misleading. This book is just as pertinent to screenwriters and fiction writers. It offers practical advice for problems every writer encounters. In particular, the "Playwright's Process" presents helpful exercises on nursing an initial idea into a functional, three-dimensional story. Rather than impress reader's with his knowledge of theatre vocabulary, McLaughlin charts a clear course for readers by focusing on the elements of playwrighting most newcomers struggle with -- particularly structure (character development, plotting, etc.). What makes this book so pragmatic is that McLaughlin, an experienced teacher and playwright, asks relevant questions concerning the mechanics of playwrighting. The playwright's quotes aren't presented in a round table fashion, but rather in response to insightful questions. This book covers all angles. It address the nuts and bolts of story writing, and also touches on issues like writer's block, and more importantly, how to deal with it. I was depressed after reading this book because I felt I had wasted six years, aimlessly throwing ideas and characters onto the page. If you are an aspiring screenwriter and have read Syd Field's "Screenplay," place it on your reference shelf. The "Playwright's Process" should be your writing Bible.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A great coursebook for the amateur, March 15, 1999
By A Customer
This book reads as well as it works. Buzz McLaughlin has taken the effort to show you how to take your time as you work from a first idea to a first draft and beyond. His own seemingly undeniable suggestions are reinforced (and occasionally juxtaposed) with the words of many of our finest and, more importantly, oft produced playwrights. With an emphasis on the craft of playwrighting, he reminds us that inspiration only takes us so far and that without some structure and nurture, our ideas will never get beyond incoherent ramblings of dialogue. He has provided everyone who has a theatrical idea with exercises and worksheets that will bring a play into the active, three-dimensional world of real characters with real needs. wouldn't have finished anything more than one so-so play without it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Playwright's Savior
For those starting from scratch - inexperienced and seasoned with the pen - this book provides an insightful look into the why's and how's behind the structure of a successful... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Elizabeth Lashley

5.0 out of 5 stars The Playwright's Process
I started college to become a Drama Major, not knowing which part of the industry I would enjoy most but, I knew I would not enjoy being an actor
so after taking theatre... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Allen Wolf

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book for beginning playwrights
There are some good suggestions in this book. I used it to write plays for a playwriting class, and it was full of useful tips.
Published on March 24, 2006 by Reagan Ives

4.0 out of 5 stars Sad day to receive this book,
This book reached my door the day that playwright Wendy Wasserstein died so it was a bit ironic. Here I was ordering the book to write my first play. Read more
Published on February 18, 2006 by PAC

5.0 out of 5 stars Pupils of Buzz
We are in Buzz McLaughlin's playwrighting class at Drew University. His book is the textbook for the course, and moreover our personal Bible(kidding). Read more
Published on January 31, 2002 by Jason and Melissa

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific as classroom text
I began using this book as a text for my introductory playwriting class after meeting Buzz at a playwright's retreat. It is an excellent text for beginning playwrights. Read more
Published on October 2, 2001 by Jim Bell

3.0 out of 5 stars So So
The comments made by the many well-known playwrights in this book are insightful and very helpful. Read them and commit them to memory. Read more
Published on October 3, 2000

4.0 out of 5 stars Step by step guide through the creative process.
I'm more interested in writing screenplays than playwrighting, but Buzz's book still helped me and inspired me to get the basics down so the creative process would be that much... Read more
Published on January 8, 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars An engaging and character-driven process of writing plays
Buzz McLaughlin's book is a must-read for new playwrights and experienced dramatists alike. Having used this book in my beginning playwriting course, I've been very pleased with... Read more
Published on December 8, 1998 by David A. Crespy

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