Playwriting : the structure of action

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Title:

Author:

Smiley, Sam, 1931-

ISBN:

9780300107241

Personal Author:

Smiley, Sam, 1931-

Edition:

Rev. and expanded ed.

Publication Information:

New Haven : Yale University Press, c2005.

Physical Description:

xii, 324 p. ; 21 cm.

General Note:

First published: 1971.

Contents:

Preface -- Part I: The Playwright's solitary work. 1. Vision -- 2. Finding and developing ideas -- 3. Drafting and revision -- Part II: Principles of drama. 4. Plot -- 5. Story -- 6. Character -- 7. Thought -- 8. Diction -- 9. Melody -- 10. Spectacle -- 11. A Way of life -- Appendix1: Manuscript format -- Appendix 2. Copyright protection.

Subject Term:

Playwriting.

Crâeation dramatique.

Added Author:

Bert, Norman A.

Electronic Access:

Table of contents only http://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip0512/2005013230.html
Contributor biographical information http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0622/2005013230-b.html
Publisher description http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0622/2005013230-d.html

Copies:

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Copy	Status
Searching... 1:IIEMSA	1:GEN-BOOK	33168020371387	808.2 S641P 2005	1	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

A classic guide to dramatic writing now revised and expanded for a new generation of playwrights and screenwriters

This practical guide provides the principles of dramatic writing. Playwrights and screenwriters will discover these essential principles and acquire the tools to put them to use. Sam Smiley incorporates extensive new material in Playwriting: The Structure of Action, a revised edition of the book that dramatists in theatre and film have relied on for more than twenty-five years. No writer, director, critic, or teacher concerned with dramatic writing should be without this intelligent and inspiring guide.

Sam Smiley offers insights derived from a lifetime of writing, teaching, and consulting. While preserving the best of the earlier edition of the book, he offers new discussion on contemporary playwrights (Tony Kushner and Tom Stoppard), on copyright law, on new writing approaches, and on nontraditional dramatic forms.

Reaching far beyond simplistic how-to instructions, the book focuses on identifying and explaining principles essential to creating dramas: plot, character, thought, diction, melody, and spectacle. Smiley explains these classic topics and provides the modern keys for realizing each element in effective dramatic scripts.