Backwards & Forwards: A Technical Manual for Reading Plays

Book Description

This guide to playreading for students and practitioners of both theater and literature complements, rather then contradicts or repeats, traditional methods of literary analysis of scripts.

Ball developed his method during his work as Literary Director at the Guthrie Theater, building his guide on the crafts playwrights of every period and style use to make their plays stageworthy. The text is full of tools for students and practitioners to use as they investigate plot, character, theme, exposition, imagery, motivation/obstacle/conflict, theatricality, and the other crucial parts of the superstructure of a play. He includes guides for discovering what the playwright considers the play’s most important elements, thus permitting interpretation based on the foundation of the play rather than its details.

Using Hamlet as illustration, Ball assures a familiar base for illustrating script-reading techniques as well as examples of the kinds of misinterpretation readers can fall prey to by ignoring the craft of the playwright. Of immense utility to those who want to put plays on the stage (actors, directors, designers, production specialists) Backwards and Forwards is also a fine playwriting manual because the structures it describes are the primary tools of the playwright.

Customer Reviews:

excellent analysis tool for actors.......2007-03-12

This book may have been primarily written for directors and writers, but it is a great tool for actors to get to real active meanings in a script.

. . . and Hamlet too........2006-06-28

I agreee wholeheartedly with those below. But Mr Ball is not merely a theorist, he supplies a chapter in which he takes us on a brief journey backward through Hamlet for a distance, and through this method shows how single and specific Hamlet's action is. I can't approach a script now without setting up my dominoes and charting it backward. It seemes foolish not to.

Required reading for anyone working on the stage!!.......2006-01-21

I had a conversation yesterday in which the other theatre artist asked what approach this book advocated to script analysis:
"is it feminist theory? queer theory? Marxist?"

"No, it's the one where you read the script."

Seriously, I don't know what I was doing in the theatre prior to reading this book, and I am so excited to begin my next project now because I feel that I have so much improved in my grasp of how to read a play. Why I wasn't required to read this book in Intro to Theatre or one of my first design classes I don't know, but I am so happy that I did now.

Valuable advice.......2004-12-04

The scope of BACKWARDS AND FORWARDS is narrow, but its ambition is important. This is a book about how to read a play. More specifically, it's about how to read a play whose production you are planning. There are 96 pages in this book and many of them are only partially filled. Some of them are blank. So in very few pages, author David Ball gives some valuable and (I would say, essential) advice. So many bad productions are bad simply because of a basic misreading of the script. Ball tells prospective directors what's important and how to recognize what's important. His advice is very straightforward and concise. He does not pad the book by going off on tangents or use long anecdotes to illustrate a point. He makes a point and then moves on to the next one. I think this book should be compulsory reading for the director, but it is also valuable to the playwright, the actor and the designer. This book is basic. There is a great need to get back to basics. David Ball has done the theatre a great service by writing this valuable book.

A great book to teach the art of reading and writing a play.......2001-04-06

I have used this book as the basis of several theatre and playwriting classes that I have taught. Ball's language is simple, though the words he creates to explain his theories, such as "trigger" and "heap" (a trigger is the moment when people's motivations are exposed, while a heap is the result of that action) make it it easy for any non-theatre person to grasp the clever concepts.

By having a person read a play backwards, Ball shows how to grasp the playwright's intentions, and the character's movements. It's a basic theatrical literary theatre that is surprisingly effective, especially in trying to teach young writers how to create a play.

Book Description

A revised and expanded sequel to Stealing Fire from the Gods, this 2nd edition includes important new revelations concerning the ultimate source of unity, the structures of the whole story passage, the anti-hero's journey, the high-concept great idea, the secrets of charismatic characters, and the analyses of many important new stories and successful films.

Customer Reviews:

Stealing Money From The Schlubs.......2007-09-26

Okay, I have my MFA in screenwriting, and have read many a book on writing (and there are some very good ones out there). But if, like me, you want additional tools or methods to improve your story/writing/script, then this book is "practically" useless. I say "practically", because after spending half the book on the history of story and other incidentals (academic), the author reserves the last quarter of the book for a complicated bit of story construction/deconstruction mumbo-jumbo that was part Joseph Campbell, part mysticism, and part fevered-dream. There is no "practical" here. Oh, there are boxes for you to put your story into, then based on that box (or paradigm), specific paths for your story to follow. However, so many other books do it so much better (and more practically). Heck, read Michael Hague, he'll give you four fundamental hero types/goals; and read Joseph Campbell yourself. And for gosh sakes, there's nothing like reading screenplays.

The book made me mad. This much money for this little is a bookish crime.

Slightly over my head.......2007-09-13

[3.5 stars]
I have to give this a three-and-a-half-star review, because like an opera viewer, while I can recognize the skill of the singers, I am technically inept at understanding the reasons for that skill.
This is advanced level writing, and I can sort of catch glimpses of brilliance in how the author describes story but, for me, that brilliance is frequently hidden from view by the ponderous language and the intricate psychological contrivances. I wanted to really understand this book, but I don't know if that's possible as a neophyte screenwriter. I believe this is a book I will return to when I have a bit more knowledge and confidence.
In the meantime, I will finish reading Syd Field.

Lots of info but not motivational and boring.......2007-09-06

This is a book full of information on writing. It breaks down the task of writing into almost like a math problem or some sort of physics formula.

It's a good way to analyze your script when you are done but a beginner writer shouldn't be required to follow this formula or else the first draft of the script will never be done.

I got this book hoping to learn some tips on writing before I started my script but looking at the book, chapter titles and flipping through it reminded me of a calculus book.

The analysis was not motivational or interesting at all. It actually made me procrastinate on reading this book and also using it to help me write.

Don't get overwhelmed with these formulas and just start writing.

One good book is "Alone in a Room".

Subconscious Source.......2007-08-31

This book came just in the nick of time for me. After my first re-write on a screenplay I needed something a little more abstract than 3 act structure descriptions. Stealing Fire gives an overview of what stories can be about as well as what they can mean to the viewer. It gave me new hope that creating stories that move audiences, is an important contribution to our social structure and evolving history. James Bonnet asks us to consider the archaic power of story lines and archetypes, the importance of story in every stage of life and to see that it is vital, after having come up with a passable story, to dig deeper and use intuition to start communicating with that muddy subconscious source within us to tell stories that inspire and ignite passion as well as entertain.

one of the most stimulating books on storytelling.......2007-05-19

This second edition of James Bonnet's guide to storytelling expands on the original by some forty pages. Like Christopher Vogler, Bonnet is inspired by C. G. Jung and Joseph Campbell's works, so anyone acquainted with The Hero's Journey will feel at home immediately. However, Stealing Fire goes far beyond the basic hero myth. Bonnet traces the entire LIFE of the hero, from his auspicious beginnings to his final doom. In this way, he opens the door to telling other types of stories than the overexposed coming-of-age hero myth - and about time too.
Another important concept here is the `whole story', namely the entire sequence of events which form the backdrop and the future of the screenplay or novel. For instance, if we consider World War II to be a whole story, then Casablanca and Saving Private Ryan are specific moments of its storywheel.
Stealing Fire is an incredibly rich book, filled with ideas and concepts which stimulate the storytelling mind. However, it's not an `easy-to-use' method which depends on a single, easy to remember formula. The second edition material is mainly concerned with making the book more immediately practical for writers. It succeeds, but there are still many concepts and ideas here which could have been treated in more depth (for instance the Anti-Hero's Journey is described in just two pages). I also feel that the visual representation of the Golden Paradigm described here is too complex and abstract. Nevertheless, James Bonnet's book is thought-provoking, insightful and creatively exceptionally stimulating.

Theatre for Community Conflict and Dialogue: The Hope Is Vital Training Manual

Average customer rating:

Excellent source for Elementary drama & socialization skills
Clear, detailed guide for joy filled work
A "cannot-do without-it" book for youth and community worker
Improvisational Theatre as an Aid to Society

Theatre for Community Conflict and Dialogue: The Hope Is Vital Training Manual
Michael Rohd
Manufacturer: Heinemann Drama
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0325000026

Book Description

The first step forward in working with today's youth is to create a dialogue, and that is exactly what this exciting new book does. It helps you provide opportunities for young people to open up and explore their feelings through theatre, offering a safe place for them to air their views with dignity, respect, and freedom.

The purpose of this manual is to provide a clear look at the process and specifics involved in the Hope Is Vital interactive theatre techniques. The organization is sequential, providing a blueprint for creating a workable plan. Beginning with warm-up exercises and bridging activities, the process moves forward to improvisational scenework, where students actually replace characters in the stories. It is at this point that young people engage in their own mini-theatre and look at choices, strategies, and communication.

Teachers will want to read this book. Counselors will want to read this book. Community leaders will want to read this book. It is useful in any group setting or as a tool for outreach.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent source for Elementary drama & socialization skills.......2002-11-05

I work as a Art Focus Drama teacher for K-7 students who come from various socio-economic backgrounds and home lives. I found this book a very valuable resource, especially for students who have a difficult time with issues of trust, language, and ensemble work. It is great to have a resource that contains detailed exercises within a logical framework, that not only works, but explains itself in a manner that even classroom teachers, with no drama experience whatsoever, can accomplish.

A highly suggest this for teachers who want to use drama as a way to improve communication and explore problem solving in a new, creative, and very effective way.

Clear, detailed guide for joy filled work.......1999-06-18

This book provided a guide for Becca Kirsch and I to work with a group of high school students. The activities described in the book build on each other and it was inspiring to watch the students' enthusiasm and discovery through the process. Michael Rohd is correct when he says that the activities help people to get to know each other in new ways. I think that the interaction that comes from participating in these theater games is crucial to help build new ways of communicating and problem solving.

A "cannot-do without-it" book for youth and community worker.......1999-04-28

I came across this book in February 1998 during a one-week training workshop given personally by Michael Rohd in Helsinki (Finland). I consider this material valuable and anyone who works with young people or youth workers should get it. I have used this book when giving training to youth and community workers. Needless to say, I had to adapt some of the exercises according to the local context. I would recommend this book to all those who want to be part of a revolution.

Improvisational Theatre as an Aid to Society.......1999-02-07

Michael Rohd is currently doing exciting work across the country, using improvisational theater techniques to connect with young people and communities in ways that echo Paul Sills' original intention when he founded The Compass Players and Second City: to connect viscerally with the community to create a dialogue for social change. As Jeffrey Sweet documented in his book "Something Wonderful Right Away," the original members of Compass and Second City (Mike Nichols, Elaine May, Severn Darden, Shelley Berman, Barbara Harris, Alan Arkin, etc.) were quick to pick up on the disparity between Sills' goal and the reality of their set-up. Their audience tended to be the insulated academic populace connected to the University of Chicago, whereas Sills was hoping to connect with the community at large. They simply weren't playing to the people Sills wanted to reach, and the people Sills wanted to reach were not coming to this coffeehouse. In Michael Rohd's hands, Paul Sills' work is being perpetuated. He has been taking the practices of improvisational theatre on the road, working with students, adults and teachers to create an open forum for dealing with and discussing today's complex issues. His book is a clear, tightly written manual describing a catalogue of theater games that are fun, creative, joyful, instantly accessible, that take workshop members on a clear arc from learning to trust each other to sharing to creating improvised scenes, all in an amazingly brief time span. For those in the Theatre Industry, Rohd's book is the best description of what goes into the making of an ensemble company and the creation of the Group Mind since Del Close's book, "Truth in Comedy."

Average customer rating:

Pretty Good Review
A great introduction to the fundamentals of dramatic writing
Awesome!!!
Playwriting by Action & Example
An OK book, helpful exercises.

Writing Your First Play, Second Edition
Roger Hall
Manufacturer: Focal Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 024080290X

Book Description

Writing Your First Play provides the beginning playwright with the tools and motivation to tell a story through dramatic form. Based in a series of exercises which gradually grow more complex, the books helps the reader to understand the basic elements of drama, conflict, and action. The exercises help the reader to become increasingly sophisticated in the use of dramatic formats, turning simple ideas into a viable play.

Topics include:
the role of action in drama;
developing action and conflict to reveal character;
writing powerful and persuasive dialog;
writing from personal experience:pros and cons;
how to begin the story and develop the storyline.

This new edition is thoroughly updated and contains new examples based on contemporary plays. The author has added additional writing exercises and a new student-written one act play. It also contains a new chapter on how to sell your play once it is written.

With examples based on student work, this text both inspires and educates the student and fledgling playwright, providing solid tools and techniques for the craft of writing a drama.

Roger A. Hall, a professor of theatre at James Madison University, had taught playwriting for nearly 20 years. Many of his students have gone on to write for theatre, television, and the screen. He has written numerous plays and articles and has acted and directed extensively in the theatre.

Explores all aspects of how to write a first play
Examples are based on undergraduate level student work
Thoroughly updated, including a new chapter on how to market your play once it is written

Customer Reviews:

Pretty Good Review.......2007-02-15

I'm in the middle of my first play, and read this as a refresher course. Learned a few things are new to me. One thing that I like about this book is that it's written in easy to read manner, and exercises really help you understand the techniques. Much better than the many books that focus on abstract theoretics that are hard to understand. I was pleasantly surprised by the writing samples from the students who took the author's class - some of them are very very good, and gave me confidence to know that the person who wrote this book taught them. Recommended.

A great introduction to the fundamentals of dramatic writing.......2005-02-04

I had Dr. Hall as a professor of playwriting for two semesters. He uses this book as the text for his introductory course. The exercises and examples are an excellent place for an aspiring playwright to start.

Dr. Hall introduces the ideas of conflict, character, action, etc. one at a time, and quite intensively. Following the exercises, each of your first three plays will focus on only one aspect of drama, leading to an all-inclusive one-act play; your first play.

Although I have much respect for Dr. Hall, and enjoyed working with him for over a year, I would still have to rate this book "4 Stars." The title is a little misleading. Like I mentioned, you will not have a full-length written by the end of the book, but several short sketches and a one-act play.

Were this called "Working Up to Your First Play," I'd give it a 5.

Awesome!!!.......2003-08-29

This book is superb for any aspiring playwright. The book is easy to comprehend and filled with wonderful exercises and examples to follow. Mr. Hall does a wonderful job of breaking down the elements of playwriting. Thumbs Up!

Playwriting by Action & Example.......2000-11-13

As Director of an International Playwrights Retreat, I have had opportunity to lead workshops in playwriting world wide. I have and value a large collection of playwriting books, and have borrowed exercises from many of them. I find Roger's opening exercise one of the best to get at the essence of what theatre is about. He has the student write a scene of action - no dialogue, no plot outline or character studies - just what we can see the character doing.

The book moves swiftly on to the next essential - conflict. By now, the reader may well have become a writer, as the book progresses through character, dialogue, writing from life or from other sources, and more - all leading to completing that first play before you even realized it.

The book is full of loads of useful exercises and examples. This at once opens worlds of possibilities to the creative mind, while providing achieveable writing results - all leading to an exploration of your own stories. It provides a context, a process, useful advice and practise . . . all in a very user friendly fashion. It's a great way to get a process started.

An OK book, helpful exercises........2000-04-08

This book is designed as a course, with exercises to do in each chapter. However, I wish I had read some of the other writer's books I have before buying this one. This makes a good second or third book once you have something that deals more directly with the dynamics of plot and it's relationship to character and setting. Especially lacking is an discussion of how audiences react to the emotional dynamics of each scene and act. McKee's "Story" is a great place to start. But Hall's book is a good place for the relative beginner who has some experience and wants to prime the pumps with a few exercises.

Created by: Inside the Minds of Tv's Top Show Creators

Average customer rating:

Incredible book
The Light At The End Of The Tunnel!
A must buy!
well done
pleasantly suprised

Created by: Inside the Minds of Tv's Top Show Creators
Steven Prigge
Manufacturer: Silman-James Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1879505827

Book Description

As entertaining as it is enlightening, Created by… presents a stellar cast of 21 show creators who candidly talk about writing and selling hit television series.

J.J. Abrams (Alias, Lost)
Alan Ball (Six Feet Under)
Yvette Lee Bowser (Living Single, Half & Half)
Mark Brazill (That '70s Show)
Ilene Chaiken (The L Word)
Larry David (Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm)
Tom Fontana (Oz)
Tracy Gamble (8 Simple Rules)
Dave Hackel (Becker)
Barbara Hall (Joan of Arcadia)
Brenda Hampton (7th Heaven, Fat Actress)
Bill Lawrence (Scrubs)
Dennis Leoni (Resurrection Blvd.)
Max Mutchnick and David Kohan (Will & Grace)
Tracy Newman and Jonathan Stark (According to Jim)
Josh Schwartz (The O.C.)
Shawn Ryan (The Shield)
Amy Sherman-Palladino (Gilmore Girls)
Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel)

They discuss influences • writing spec scripts • first jobs in TV • getting an agent • mentors • being staffed as a writer • the pitch • writing a pilot • putting yourself in the characters you create • rewriting • producing a pilot • marketing • hiring a writing staff • making a show last • TV writing vs. film writing • drama vs. sitcom • cable vs. network TV • what show creators look for in a writer • writers block • luck … and much more.

Created by… is a lively, well-written must-have book for all screenwriters and television writers—wannabes, novices, and pros—as well as all avid TV fans.

Customer Reviews:

Incredible book.......2006-12-13

This book blew me away. It's the single best book on television writing I've ever encountered. This should be required reading for every college course on television. The interviews with television's A-List are insightful, humorous, and inspiring. Anybody interested in breaking into television writing would benefit highly from this book.

The Light At The End Of The Tunnel!.......2006-03-05

I had an idea for a TV pilot brewing for quite a while. I spent a few months working on the concept. Then I spent another few months writing and rewriting it...trying to make the script the best I could. Then, when I was done I had the realization -- How Am I Going To Sell It? That question has troubled writers since the beginning of the fountain pen. So, I began to read script writing magazines and bought some books on the subject. None were hitting the core or practical enough for me to relate to. Well, that was until I opened Created By.

I have to say that this book showed me "the light at the end of the tunnel." I started reading advice from industry professionals that seemed real. I learned that many of the top TV show creators were once just like me -- a struggling writer with a script and a dream. I got some good solid and priceless advice on how to get my script read. I have just sent my pilot out to some agents!!!!

If you have a script just sitting in your hard drive with no idea how to sell it this book is your resource. Wish there were more books like this out in the marketplace.

A must buy!.......2006-03-04

I am a television writer who has seen a lot change in this business over the years. Because of the rapid popularity of reality television, it is harder than ever to break into the TV writing game. There are a lot of books out there that claim to show you how to get a job as a sitcom or drama writer. However, in my opinion this book is the best ever written on the subject. You get to hear from the TV show creators themselves how to write a spec script, rewrite a script, get hired on a show, pitch a network, market a show, hire talent, and much more. The author did his homework and rounded up some of the top TV show creators in this business. I found the questions asked and the stories told to be very interesting as well as encouraging. I tip my hat to the author. This is a must buy!

well done.......2006-01-04

I am a big Larry David fan. So I bought this book to hear what he had to say about creating Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm. The interview with Larry was really great. The book is very well done.

pleasantly suprised.......2006-01-02

Created By is NOT just another one of those "how to" books that show struggling writer's how to go from crashing on their friends couch in Hollywood, to magically landing into the writers room of a top-rated sitcom. This book offers a lot more than that. It has depth and substance. It is a journey into the minds of some of the greatest television writers of our time.

Don't get me wrong, it surely gives you some great insight on how to make it. But it offers much more. I felt I really connected with the showrunners interviewed. I showed me that no one is an overnight success story. It also demonstrated that everyone has their own journey and road to success. It also taught me about what happens when the business side of the entertainment industry interacts with the creative side. Some of the stories made me laugh and some made me reflect. What a positive book!

I was not sure what I would get out of this book when I originally bought it. But I was pleasantly suprised and very inspired.

Write to TV: Out of Your Head and onto the Screen

Average customer rating:

Cook's Book a "Recipe" For Scriptwriting Success!
A Reality Check for Writing for TV
Bravo!
Recommended by a Professor for anyone who wants to break into the business!!!
"Write to TV" cuts right to the chase on how to launch your TV writing career

Write to TV: Out of Your Head and onto the Screen
Martie Cook
Manufacturer: Focal Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0240808762

Book Description

Learn to craft smart, original scripts and teleplays for a variety of television formats, including comedy, animation, drama, movies of the week, pilots, reality television, TV news magazine, and children's programming. Using the tools the author provides: checklists, sample outlines and treatments for each format, sample script pages, war stories from writers and executives, and a sample query letter to introduce finished script pages to agents, you'll avoid common pitfalls and come across as an industry veteran. Benefit from the experience of pros: 45 luminaries contribute their experience and wisdom, including Jay Leno, Mike Wallace, Norman Lear, Paul Haggis, writers for "Grey's Anaatomy," "Desperate Housewives," and more!

With twenty-five years of industry experience as a television writer and producer, Martie Cook teaches you not only how to hone your craft but also how to break into the industry. Guiding you through the often confusing television hierarchy, Write to TV offers practical advice on important issues such as how to get an agent, how to write a query letter, how to network, even how to "do lunch". By learning how to craft smart scripts for a variety of television formats and how to get your foot in the door and keep it there, this invaluable book will help you get that big idea out of your head, onto the page, and then to the top of the heap.

Learn how to craft smart scripts for a variety of television formats and break into the business through:
* Examples: In addition to examples of common pitfalls, book includes sample outlines for various formats.
* Industry wisdom: Benefit from the advice of an experienced writer. But you don't have to take her word for it--the book is filled with advice, stories, and examples from people currently working in the TV industry.
* Practical advice: Business section offers practical advice on important issues like getting an agent, how to write a query letter, and how to network your way into a job.

Customer Reviews:

Cook's Book a "Recipe" For Scriptwriting Success! .......2007-04-09

This is one of the best books on TV writing I've seen. Cook walks us through an easy to follow step-by-step process of writing a professional television script. She also gives all kinds of tips on how to get your script into the hands of a producer and/or agent. I also found the advice from industry insiders like Jay Leno, Paul Haggis and writers from shows like The Simpsons and Grey's Anatomy extremely interesting and useful. If you want to be a television writer, this is one book you definitely want to read.

Marilyn Cummings
Member Director's Guild of America

A Reality Check for Writing for TV.......2007-03-29

A comprehensive guide to anyone aspiring to become a TV writer. This book provides detailed informatin and indepth insight in all areas of the genre - from episodic to children's TV. This should be required reading for indiviuals seriously considering TV writing as a career.

Bravo!.......2007-03-22

Martie Cook should be commended. She has crafted a sterling volume of informative anecdotes. I fully enjoyed her on the money look at the television industry from a writer's standpoint. I highly recommend this book to any one with interest in the television industry, or anyone who wants to see what it takes to succeed in any field of endeavor. I plan to mention this book to all my friend's and relatives in the hopes that they get as much satisfaction out of reading it as I did.

Recommended by a Professor for anyone who wants to break into the business!!!.......2007-03-11

"This book takes a "real world" approach to TV writing. If you want to be a TV writer, but don't know where to begin, Cook's book will take you through the whole process, and make it seem amazingly easy. She covers practical things like how to choose a spec script that's right for you, how to find the right story for your spec, and formatting. Additionally, there is a whole section on what to do with your script once you have written it - things like how to get an agent or land your first job in the business even if you don't know anybody. Also, throughout the book there are interviews with current TV writers who also give tips on how to get your script noticed."

"Write to TV" cuts right to the chase on how to launch your TV writing career.......2007-03-10

I have read scores of books on screenwriting, but this one really stands out. With up-to-date savvy and down-to-earth clarity, Cook's book thoroughly covers all of the essentials you'd expect in a TV writing book: story, character, plot development, narrative structure, dialogue and formatting. What makes this book refreshingly different from the rest is that there is a wealth of advice and insight from TV writers on hugely successful shows such as "Grey's Anatomy" and "Desperate Housewives." So, you get lots of different viewpoints from creative pros at the top of their game. I also found Cook's guidance for breaking into the business, getting an agent, persevering, and eventually landing that first staff job to be immensely helpful, practical and encouraging. If you have any ambitions of writing for TV and doing it well, then the first step is to get this book now! One of the best investments I've ever made to put my TV writing career on a truly promising path.

Perfect 10: Writing and Producing the 10-Minute Play

Average customer rating:

Well done!
Simple and Straightforward

Perfect 10: Writing and Producing the 10-Minute Play
Gary Garrison
Manufacturer: Heinemann Drama
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0325003122

Book Description

Perfect Ten is the perfect nuts-and-bolts primer for writing and producing the hottest trend in American theatre today: the ten-minute play. Look in any small or medium-sized theatre and you're bound to run smack up against it. This new creative form is growing faster than anyone can keep track of, with a whole new generation of artists embracing it.

Writing with the same sharp wit and wise, conversational voice of , Garrison demystifies the process of writing and producing the ten-minute play by breaking it down structurally, dramaturgically, and theatrically. If you're a working playwright, you'll learn what to do and not to do, discover which professional theatres are looking to produce the ten-minute play, and read advice from literary managers and artistic directors on how to write a play that's greeted with a production, not a rejection letter. If you're a theatre manager, director, or artistic director, you'll learn about the rewards as well as the very real problems of producing an evening of ten-minute plays. For the student of playwriting, you'll examine how five very different writers approach the same idea and apply it to your own work, which you'll explore dramaturgically against the ideas in the book.

Customer Reviews:

Well done!.......2005-05-31

I was very pleased with the way this book was written and organized. As a fledgling author of ten minute plays, I found Mr. Garrison's book to be very helpful, witty and professionally done. His experience as director of ten minute play festivals is invaluable to anyone planning on doing the same. As a member of a community theater looking to include ten minute plays in their repetoire over the next few years, Mr. Garrison's book has given me a good idea of what I'm in for. Well worth the price of the book.

Simple and Straightforward.......2002-12-06

Most how-to-write guides are completely worthless. Once you've learned your grammar and have the concepts of conflict and resolution mastered, the writer's ard lapses into something some people can do and some people can't, and no one really knows why. I keep buying how-to-write books, like this one by Gary Garrison, hoping one will eventually deliver more.

Well, this one delivers. By assuming the reader has already tried at least some writing, the paradigm shifts from simple instruction to specific points that green writers often need fine-tuned. Garrison seems more like a copy editor at times, making suggestions for clarity and story efficiency, than a mere how-to writer.

The book is slim, little more than a pamphlet, and the conversational tone sometimes comes across as flippant, so not everyone will enjoy working with it. Also, there's only about so much you can learn from reading a book; if you expect your work to be magically transformed by Garrison's charisma and ability, you're in for a sore disappointment.

However, this book is more useful than not. The two most useful chapters are Five and Seven. In Chapter Five, Garrison interviews experienced ten-minute play producers, who make some actual nuts-and-bolts suggestions to improve the average young playwright's style. In Seven, Garrison reprints five whole ten-minute plays and asks astute study questions about them.

Book Description

This is a practical introduction to the basic principles, structures and processes of writing plays. Beginning with simple concepts and exercises, this book gradually builds in complexity, until the reader is writing his or her one act play.

Writing plays is unique because feedback, alternative approaches and discussion spur creativity. This book encourages this and thereby encourages the reader to write. The reader will discover how stage plays differ from screenplays, novels and television. The book also describes how autobiographical materials are transformed into playable parts, and how characters are moved by action. `Playwriting: The first workshop' gives readers the necessary background to begin working on their first play.

Captures the workshop experience through writing, analyzing and testing plays.
Contains synopsis and analysis of several well-known plays, such as `The Dining Room'.
Each chapter provides study questions and exercises that reinforce important concepts.

Customer Reviews:

An Excellent Book for the Aspiring Playwright.......2004-10-09

This book is amazing. Anyone who is interested in writing plays must read this book. The author walks you through the steps of playwriting and gives you critiqued examples to help illustrate her lesson. A top notch guide to playwriting.

Vale's Technique of Screen and Television Writing

Average customer rating:

Vale's Technique of Screen and Television Writing
Excellent tool
Solid text

Vale's Technique of Screen and Television Writing
Eugene Vale
Manufacturer: Focal Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0240803558

Book Description

Vale's Technique of Screen and Television Writing is an updated and expanded edition of a valuable guide to writing for film and television. Mr. Vale takes the aspiring writer through every phase of a film's development, from the original concept to the final shooting script. Teachers of the craft as well as writers and directors have acclaimed it as one of the best books ever written on how to write a screenplay.

This book combines practical advice for the aspiring or established writer with a lucid overview of the unique features of this most contemporary art form, distinguishing film and video from other media and other kinds of storytelling. It teaches the reader to think in terms of the camera and gives practical advice on the realities of filmmaking. At the same time, Vale, who began his own career as a scriptwriter for the great French director Jean Renoir, provides a solid grounding in the history of drama from the Classical Greek theater through the great cinematic works of the twentieth century. Both philosophical and pragmatic, this is a very readable book for students and active professionals who want to improve their writing skills, and for film enthusiasts interested in knowing more about what they see on the screen.

Mr. Vale is that rare combination, a practitioner of great experience who can offer a lucid explanation of his craft.

Eugene Vale was born in Switzerland and began his career in France in the 1930s. He was an award-winning novelist, film and TV scriptwriter and teacher, whose works include the bestselling novel The Thirteenth Apostle and the scripts for Francis of Assisi, The Bridge of San Luis Rey, and The Second Face. He also worked in many other areas of the motion picture industry, including directing, producing, cutting, distribution and finance. His archives are held by Boston University and University of Southern California. Mr. Vale died in 1997, shortly after he completed the updated version of this handbook.

· The classic textbook from the eminent novelist, playwright, and master screenwriter
· Updated, revised, and expanded to include examples from recent films
· A guidebook to scriptwriting for both beginners and professionals, and a joy for the movie-lover

Customer Reviews:

Vale's Technique of Screen and Television Writing.......2002-01-07

Vale's book should be a cornerstone of any screenwriting education...a classic that has withstood not only the test of changing times and movie tastes, but eloquently focuses on those
basics which make for great screen story. This book deserves to be on any screenwriters top shelf, and will be returned to often and for life!

Excellent tool.......2001-11-07

In this book Eugene Vale develops and explains his excellent technique of writing a movie or teleplay script, thereby covering all aspects of the production of a script from the initial idea to the finished shooting script. Although the book explains a lot of theory, it's firmly rooted in common sense and is more than anything about the craft of screenwriting from a craftsmans point of view. The theory is very well explained and easy to understand. With this book Mr. Vale gives us an important and advanced tool for analysing and creating a working dramatic construction. I won't hesitate to recommend the book, it's simply a must for students and aspiring screenplay writers.

Solid text.......2000-06-25

Vale's Technique is clearly written for someone interested in the nuts and bolts of film writing; and, while it can seem tedious, there is much to digest in this undervalued text. This book is free of the hype many screenwriting manuals serve up and methodically divulges the inner workings of film's blueprint.

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