Letters to a Young Playwright - by Adam Szymkowicz (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

Adam Szymkowicz is that rarest of things: a full-time playwright. In an era when the business of live theatre seems perpetually on the verge of implosion, most dramatists survive only through soul-sucking day jobs, the largesse of patrons or their own families, or writing for television. Szymkowicz has carved out a distinctive niche for himself without relying on big institutions or the brass ring of a mega-hit Broadway production. Each year, his body of work--over thirty sharp, funny, pop-culture-inflected plays animated by an unabashed romanticism--is staged everywhere from big-city theatres to colleges and high schools.
In Letters to a Young Playwright, Szymkowicz dispenses hard-earned, unsentimental, and entertaining advice to early-career dramatists. Modeled on Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet, it covers topics like writer's block, self-promotion, and the pluses and minuses of pivoting to Hollywood in insightful and digestible short essays. Perfect for beginning playwrights as well as mid-career writers looking to reinvigorate their craft and career, it contains endlessly useful advice and reflections from one of the most-produced living playwrights in America.

About the Author

ADAM SZYMKOWICZ's plays have been produced throughout the U.S. and in twenty other countries. His work is published by Dramatists Play Service, Concord/Samuel French, Playscripts, Broadway Play Publishing, Theatrical Rights Worldwide, Stage Partners, and Original Works Publishing, and are featured in numerous Smith and Kraus and Applause books. His monologue book Small Explosions came out from Applause in early 2023.

Adam received a Playwright's Diploma from The Juilliard School's Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program and an MFA from Columbia University, where he was the Dean's Fellow. He worked as Playwrights Program Manager at Juilliard for eight years, where he supported and sometimes mentored the graduate-level playwriting fellows. He has interviewed over 1,100 playwrights on his blog.

For more, go to www.adamszymkowicz.com.