Chapter 4 – Image Maker: The Playwright
A play in a book is only the
shadow of a play and not
even a clear shadow of it. . . .
[It] is hardly more than an
architect’s blueprint of a
house not yet built or built
and destroyed.
—Tennessee Williams
Chapter Summary
• The playwright envisions the play’s world, its people,
words environment, objects, relationships, emotions,
attitudes, and events:
– Playwright = “play builder”
• Playwriting is a creative act that enlarges our
understanding of human experience.
• Playwriting enriches our appreciation of life.
The Play and the Audience
• Experience of watching a play divided:
– Emotional involvement
– Aesthetic detachment
• Empathy for characters draws us into world of play.
• Awareness that it’s a play keeps us at a distance.
• Catharsis:
– A cleansing or purging of strong emotions.
– Empathy for fictional characters inspires emotions
such as pity and fear, but at a comfortable distance.
The Play and the Audience
• Most playwrights encourage empathy in audience for
characters:
– An exception: Bertolt Brecht
• Alienation effect (Verfemdung)
• Distance encourages judgments about social and
economic issues in play
The Play:
“A Blueprint for a House Not Yet Built”
• Playwright:
– Writes a play to express some aspect of human
experience
– Shapes a personal vision into an organized,
meaningful whole
• Script:
– Blueprint for a specific dramatic experience
• Play attains finished form only in performance.
The Playwright’s Beginnings
• Modes of playwriting:
– Start with idea, dream, and/or image, then work out
an action to express it
– Start with character or real person then develop
action around him or her
– Start with a situation, then let it unfold
• No two playwrights use the same approach
The Playwright’s Beginnings
• Examples:
– Bertolt Brecht:
• Started with outline, then summarized social and
political ideas before building a story based on the
outline
– Sam Shepard:
• Handwrites draft, then works out revisions in
theatre before writing final draft
The Playwright’s Role: Production
• Once script is written, playwright takes a backseat to
director, designers, actors, producers.
• Exceptions:
– Playwrights who direct (e.g., David Mamet)
– Playwrights who act/produce (e.g., Shakespeare)
• Playwright may contribute to production through script
revisions.
The Playwright’s Tools
• Playwright’s “toolbox”:
– Plot: What happens in a play
– Character: The people in a play
– Language: What the characters say (dialogue)
• Conflict:
– Clash of personal, moral, or social forces
– Plot works toward resolution of central conflict
The Playwright’s Tools
• Plot and performability:
– Powerful and sustained dramatic impact
– Compression:
• Play unfolds faster than real time.
– Economy:
• Whatever does not contribute to the overall effect
is omitted.
– Intensity:
• Emotional intensity holds audience’s attention.
The Playwright’s Tools
• Characters must be:
– Believable
– Multifaceted
– Complex
My chief aim in playwriting is the creation of character. . . .
[My] plays have been an effort to explore the beauty and
meaning in the confusion of living.
—Tennessee Williams
The Playwright’s Tools
• Dialogue:
– Must be speakable
– Must contain potential for gesture and meaning
The Playwright’s Industry
• Literary agencies:
– International Creative Management (ICM)
– William Morris Agency
• Essential connections:
– Agent
– Producer
– Director
New American Writing:
Alternative Voices
• Late 1980s saw emergence of playwrights representing
underrepresented minorities:
– Gay and lesbian
– African American
– Latino/a
New American Writing:
Alternative Voices
• Gay and lesbian writing:
– Mart Crowley, Boys in the Band
• Introduced sexual orientation as acceptable
subject
• Important works:
– Bent, Martin Sherman
– The Normal Heart, Larry Kramer
– Angels in America, Tony Kushner
– How I Learned to Drive, Paula Vogel
New American Writing:
Alternative Voices
• African American writing:
– Early works:
• Mulatto, Langston Hughes (1930)
• A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry (1959)
• Important works:
– Slave Ship, Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones)
– Ma Raney’s Black Bottom, August Wilson
– The America Play, Suzan-Lori Parks
– for colored girls who have considered suicide/when
the rainbow is enuf, Ntozake Shange
New American Writing:
Alternative Voices
• Asian American writing:
– Early works pushed back against stereotypes
• Important works:
– Sisters Matsumoto, Philip Kan Gotanda
– L.A. Stories, Han Ong
– Stop Kiss, Diana Son
– M. Butterfly, David Henry Hwang
New American Writing:
Alternative Voices
• U.S. Latino/a writing:
– North American Spanish-speaking theatre in
existence since late 1500s
– Modern era: Luis Valdez and El Teatro Campesino
(The Farm Workers’ Theatre)
• Important works:
– Anna in the Tropics, Nilo Cruz
– The Conduct of Life, María Irene Fornés
– The Floating Island Plays, Eduardo Machado
– Roosters, Milcha Sanchez-Scott
Core Concepts
• When theatrical process starts with script, playwright is
most essential artist in a production
• Playwright builds the world of the play:
– Events
– Characters
– Meaning
• Playwright hands finished script to director, actors,
designers