Playwriting - (Writers' and Artists' Companions) by Fraser Grace & Clare Bayley (Paperback)

About the Book

"Playwriting: A Writers' & Artists' Companion is a comprehensive companion to writing for the stage. Part 1 includes reflections on the art and the craft of playwriting, guidance on writing for a full range of genres and spaces and a brief history of playwriting itself. Part 2 contains inspiring advice and reflections from leading playwrights. Part 3 offers practical exercises and advice on planning and conducting research, working out plots and characters, mastering authentic but accessible dialogue, navigating the industry and the rehearsal and production process"--

Book Synopsis

Full of inspiration and practical advice, Playwriting: A Writers' & Artists' Companion is a comprehensive companion to writing for the stage.

PART 1 includes reflections on the art and the craft of playwriting, guidance on writing for a full range of genres and spaces and a brief history of playwriting itself.

PART 2 contains inspiring advice and reflections from leading playwrights: April De Angelis, Bryony Lavery, David Greig, Christina Reid, Dennis Kelly, Frank McGuinness, Lynn Nottage, Howard Brenton, Roy Williams, Tanika Gupta, Timberlake Wertenbaker, Polly Stenham, Tom Stoppard, Jack Thorne, Steve Waters, E.V. Crowe, David Henry Hwang, Lin Coghlan, Zinnie Harris and Anne Washburn.

PART 3 offers practical exercises and advice on planning and conducting research, working out plots and characters, mastering authentic but accessible dialogue, navigating the industry and the rehearsal and production process.

Review Quotes

"A readable and mostly comprehensive introduction to writing for the stage for new playwrights ... For true beginners this book would be an extremely helpful companion on their journey ... It will likely be useful to the lone emerging playwright or in conjunction with an introduction to playwriting course. Grace and Bayley update some of the older playwriting texts and earnestly steer away from being overly prescriptive. For these reasons Playwriting is a useful addition to the bookshelf." --Theatre Topics

"[In] this comprehensive guide to writing for the stage by award-winning playwrights Fraser Grace and Clare Bayley ... there are illuminating tips from 20 established writers - Frank McGuinness, Tom Stoppard and April De Angelis among them." --Youth Drama Ireland

About the Author

Fraser Grace is a playwright and former actor and performance poet. His first play, Perpetua, was joint winner of the Verity Bargate Award and was produced by Soho Theatre/Birmingham REP. Since then he has written for theatres all over the UK, including Breakfast with Mugabe for the Royal Shakespeare Company, whose production won the John Whiting Award in 2006 and a Silver Sony Award when broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and the World Service. The play has since been revived in the UK, and has enjoyed extended runs in the USA, both off-Broadway and in California, in 2014. Since 2011 Fraser has convened the Master's Playwriting Course at the University of Birmingham, UK.

Clare Bayley is an award-winning playwright. Her plays include Blue Sky, The Container, which won a Fringe First and the Amnesty International Award (Udderbelly, Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2007) and has been produced at the Young Vic, London (2009) and in Cardiff, Baltimore US, Toronto Canada and Melbourne Australia. For radio she has written In The Van, a 15 Minute Drama for BBC Radio 4 (2012), Portobello Beach for BBC Radio Scotland (2012), and for BBC Radio 4: The Secret Place, The Bringer of Sweets and Northern Lights. She is a former theatre editor of The Independent and currently teaches creative writing at London South Bank University, UK.