The Playwriting Seminars

'. . . every time I went through U.S. customs, I was stopped. I'd tell them I worked in theatre. They'd search my bags as if I were involved in some illicit pornographic activity. I've given up now. I say I work in movies. No problem! Welcome to the U.S.A.! Good Luck!'

-- Stephen Daldry

Thursday, February 5, 2009:

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Ken Kwapis : On one of the challenges in screenwriting.

Wednesday, January 15, 2009:

• Format: Unit updated for the difference between "Traditional" and "Modern" manuscript format.

Wednesday, January 7, 2004:

• Dramatists Sourcebook: Links updated for ordering the 2002-2003 edition of this essential guide to regional theatres, agents, and competitions accepting new plays.

• Writing for Television: Addition on writing for the BBC and the BBC's great information resource for writers, the "Writersroom".

• Screenwriting Software: Addition on BBC formatting which is different from US film and TV format..

• Playwriting Resources on the Web: Link updated again for the International Centre for Women Playwrights.

• Playwriting Resources on the Web: Link updated for the International Centre for Women Playwrights.

• Does Age Matter?: Addition of Mordecai Richler to a group of authors who wrote their first recognized plays and novels as teenagers.

• Screenwriting Software: Script Formatting: A buyer-beware caution added on the sort of formatting for plays churned out by some screenwriting programs.

• Screenwriting Software: Script Formatting: Information and link added for Page 2 Stage, a new and inexpensive screenwriting program that appears to be a good entry-level option.

• Writing Dialogue in Accents: New page on indicating accents in scripts.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Naomi Iizuka: On writing characters from different cultures.

• Screenwriting Software - Script Formatting: Direct link added for Screenplay Systems, makers of one of the leading US software packages for formatting screenplays and teleplays.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Charles Busch: On taking notes before starting a script.

  • Michael Frayn: On real people as characters.

• TCG Dramatists Sourcebook: Information and ordering link added for the UK Writers' & Artists' Yearbook the closest thing to the Sourcebook for the United Kingdom including new script opportunites in theatre, film, television, and radio.

• TCG Dramatists Sourcebook: Updated link for ordering the 2001-02 edition of this essential guide to competitions, workshops, and regional theatres interested in seeing new scripts.

• Animals as Characters: Addition of an exception to the rule against using critters in plays, this one by David Rabe.

• Dialogue Spacing & Margins: Page revised to reflect the demise of that ill-conceived attempt to get playwrights to format dialogue with 1.5 spacing in manuscripts instead of single-spacing.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • David Auburn: On revising a monologue.

  • Julie Jensen: On the source of her characters' language and losing plays.

  • John Malkovich: On the perils of screenwriting.

  • Paul Schrader: On off-formula screenplays.

  • Chrystal Skillman: On plays coming from observing people.

• The Dramatists Guild of America: Information added on articles and interviews from back issues of The Dramatist on the DG's Web site.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Francis Ford Coppola: On structure and creativity.

  • David Ives: On what writing sitcoms requires.

  • Arthur Kopit: On the idea for a play.

  • Steven Soderbergh: On the importance of transitions in film.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Kia Corthron: On the evolving concept of a play.

  • Gary Garrison: On rehearsing readings and directors.

  • Craig Lucas: On writing for Hollywood studios.

  • Kathleen Tolan: On the idea for a play.

• Screenwriting Software: Link added to the WGA's Scriptwriting Software Reviews, the most up-to-date source for this.

• Writing for Television: Page revised and expanded, noting the higher level of writing now possible as a result of competition from cable TV networks. Information added on script formatting programs providing format templates for popular TV shows.

• Awards & Recognition for The Playwriting Seminars: As of January 2001, the Google.com search engine ranked The Playwriting Seminars as the Number 1 Site in the field among 33,100 Web sites related to playwriting based on citations by Web authors.

• Dialogue Pages Format: Link added to a downloadable pdf version of this manuscript format example. If you have the free Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can now see this format example in a version more accurately looking like professional manuscript format compared to what you get by printing the Web page version.

• Screenwriting Software - Script Formatting: Page revised, expanded, and retitled from old "Format Software." Link and information added for Movie Magic Screenwriter, a script formatting program widely used by film and television writers in the US.

• To Outline Or Not To . . .: Revised and expanded page adding a practical but still relatively unrestricting approach to outlining.

• About Quotes on Craft: Addition of David Savran's new book of interviews with US playwrights, The Playwright's Voice.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Anne Carey: On adapting plays to film.

  • William Missouri Downs: On screenwriting for the check.

  • Aljean Harmetz: On the rewards of screenwriting.

  • James Houghton: On the new approach to play development at the O'Neill festival.

  • David Henry Hwang: On starting with adaptation.

  • David Lindsay-Abaire: On the idea for a play.

  • Kenneth Lonergan: On the concept for a play.

  • Donald Margulies: On screenwriting as a playwriting grant.

  • Mike Rich: On the idea for a screenplay.

• The Playwriting Seminars Anniversary: November 12 was the 5th anniversary of the Web site and it received 57,400 hits last month. Primary user countries in volume order: USA [65%], United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Japan, Ireland, Germany, Poland, Belgium, France, Malaysia, New Zealand, Italy, Austria, Netherlands, South Africa, Hong Kong, Singapore, Mexico, Argentina, Finland.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Ralph Sevush: On being treated like a screenwriter.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Laurent Cantet: On the idea for a script.

  • John Henry Redwood: On the dangers of playwriting.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Luis Valdez: On gambling with Hollywood.

• TCG Dramatists Sourcebook: Updated ordering information added for the 2000-01 edition of this essential guide to US playwriting competitions and theatres interested in seeing new scripts.

• Playwriting Resources on the Web: New URL/Web address for the International Centre for Women Playwrights.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Stephan Daldry: On the American "porch play."

  • William Goldman: On not writing.

  • Heather McDonald: On mixing linear and non-linear structure.

  • Jason Sherman: On liking your characters.

  • José Sanchis Sinisterra: On the language of politics and art.

  • Larry Strichman: On writing television movies.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • James Houghton: On voice.

  • Warren Leight: On composite characters and starting a play.

  • Richard Nelson: On writing large scale plays.

  • Sally Nemeth: On writing for theatre, film, and television.

  • Caridad Svich: On first drafts.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • David Auburn: On the ideas for a play.

  • Douglas Carter Beane: On agents.

  • Alan Bennett: On composite characters.

  • Michael Frayn: On using real events.

  • Israel Horovitz: On writing for theatre and film.

  • Joe Keenan: On playwrights writing for television sitcoms.

  • Suzan Lori-Parks: On issue-oriented writing.

• THEATRE JOURNAL Review: New Page with the review of The Playwriting Seminars Web site from the journal of the U.S. Association for Theatre in Higher Education.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Robert Redford: On Content vs. "buzz" at the Sundance Film Festival.

• Regional Theatres on the Web: Web address updated for Arena Stage in Washington, DC.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Marcus Hu: On making a pitch to film industry pros.

  • Joe Pichirallo: On selling a film idea.

• Literary Managers & Royalties: Contact information added for LMDA, Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Margaret Edson: On knowing what you're writing.

  • Michael Frayn: On comedy and threat.

  • Charles Fuller: On critics vs. listening to the audience.

• Literary Managers & Royalties: Note added on the rather fine distinction between Literary Managers and "Dramagurges" in relation to new play development.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Horton Foote: On writing about the past.

  • Malcolm D. Lee: On selecting the subject for a screenplay.

  • Kim Morrissey: On humor from context.

  • John Pielmeier: On using mysteries as structure.

  • Paul Schrader: On Hollywood and "dark" stories.

  • Caridad Svich: On ideas vs. experimenting with structure.

  • Jeffrey Sweet: On surviving criticism from the audience.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Alan Ayckbourn: On serious comedy.

  • William Boyd: On film adaptations of novels.

  • Ernest Chambers: On writing for television and theatre.

  • Spalding Gray: On autobiographical monologues.

  • John Irving: On writing screenplays and novels.

  • Michael Mann: On finding what makes characters different.

  • Anthony Minghella: On living other people's lives.

  • Edna O'Brien: On writing and loneliness.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • John Guare: On not changing as a writer.

  • David Hare: On disguising technique.

  • David Mamet: On character-driven screenplays.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Don Hewitt: On film and real life.

  • Tom Murphy: On being difficult for audiences.

  • Frederic Raphael: On talk vs. work.

  • Diana Son: On mixing past and present time.

  • Mark Urman: On American vs. French film comedy.

  • Robert L. Wehling: On soap operas.

• Guidelines for Play Competitions: Page on the basics of these for organizers of competitions.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Ayub Khan-Din: On using anger and humor.

• The Hollywood Hustle: Addition of THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT as a model of current low-budget independent film production.

• Training Your Readers to Read - Part II: Addition of Lloyd Richards' "O'Neill Rule" for how many good plays you can find out of 1,000 unproduced scripts.

• TCG Dramatists Sourcebook: Information added on ordering the new 1999-2000 edition of this essential directory of competitions and theatres accepting submissions of new plays.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • A. S. Byatt: On what a story needs.

  • John Guare: On writing fast.

  • Hanif Kureishi: On happy endings.

  • Amos Oz: On beginnings.

  • Jean-Claude Carrière: On being surprised by characters.

  • David Hare: On a one-person show.

  • Richard Greenberg: On getting to Broadway.

  • Tony Kushner: On the importance of Broadway.