Naked Playwriting: The Art, the Craft, and the Life Laid Bare

by William Missouri Downs, Robin U. Russin

Overview

Naked Playwriting is a complete playwriting course-from developing a theme through plotting and structuring a play, developing characters, creating dialog, formatting the script, and plying methods that aid the actual writing and rewriting processes. It also offers sound guidance on marketing and submitting play scripts for both contests and production, getting an agent, protecting one's copyright, and working with directors, actors, and theater companies.

Well-written, comprehensive, and filled with illustrative examples, it provides innovative and tried-and-true writing techniques, sage advice from veteran writers, a short study of the major schools of dramatic thought, and pertinent writing anecdotes. This one-of-a-kind playwriting book will help both novices and working writers discover and improve their playwriting skills and get their plays produced.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940016154978
Publisher:	Silman-James Press, Inc.
Publication date:	01/01/2005
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	415,813
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

William Missouri Downs is an award-winning playwright whose work has been produced at the Kennedy Center and around the world. Two of his most recent plays, Cockeyed and Kosher Lutherans are published by Samuel French. He is also an award-winning film and television writer and the co-author of the book Screenplay: Writing the Picture.

Robin U. Russin is a playwright, award-winning screenwriter, producer, University of California, Riverside, screenwriting teacher and the co-author of the book Screenplay: Writing the Picture. Among his film-writing credits is the feature On Deadly Ground.

Editorial Reviews

"Downs and Russin have accomplished what I didn't think was possible-to cover all aspects of the field in one volume. Naked Playwriting devotes its first half to the building blocks of the art, and the latter half of the book covers practical business information every writer must know, whether a neophyte or an established author."

Literary Manager of the Portland Center Stage and Former Director of Literary Programs for A.S.K. Theater Projects, Los - Mead Hunter

At last, a complete playwriting textbook! Naked Playwriting takes us through the steps-Beginning, Building, Rewriting, and Marketing-with practical guidelines and without attitude. . . . A perfect classroom textbook.

UCLA Playwriting Professor - Dr. Gary Gardner

"I've read many how-to books about playwriting but none have been as comprehensive as this one. Naked Playwriting provides the clear and concise tools anyone would need to translate their thoughts and ideas into a play. It then goes one step further by providing very solid and helpful guidelines on submission, development, and production. If you want to know anything about the process of contemporary playwriting in America, this is the book for you."

Head, Professional Playwriting Program, Ohio University Playwright in Residence at the Victory Gardens Theater, Chicago - Charles Smith

"I've never read a more thorough or more thoroughly entertaining book on 'how to' write (and produce and market) a play! Downs and Russin are clear, confident, and absolutely right in this funny, down-to-earth, deceptively simple guide to the craft. It doesn't get better than this. I'm recommending it to students and colleagues, and then I'm taking some of its good advice for myself."

Artistic Director, Boston Playwrights' Theatre - Kate Snodgrass

"These two know what they're talking about and love what they are doing. Their book is fun to read and full of everything I wish I'd known when I got started. Naked is a good way to write."

Playwright, Food from Trash, Say Grace, and Inna Beginning - Gary Leon Hill