Playwriting

[Laurelyn]

I have never before ventured into the realm of playwriting . . . and then a few weeks ago an idea for a play jumped under my nose and announced its presence and its desire to be written. "Ok," I told it, "I write all sorts of fiction and poetry, attempting playwriting won't kill me, now will it?"
Famous last words!
All right . . . so it didn't kill me. I'm still alive and kicking, but shortly my swinging foot will connect with something it shouldn't out of sheer frustration. Do any of you write plays and have any advice to give me? Techniques?
I would very much appreciate it.

[willrusuk2003]

yeah i have...
never write plays with too many action scenes, if like lord of the rings it has so many cool ones a good thing to do is have a black stage and simply have the dialogue with some special lighting

[IronParrot]

I guess the main question is, what kind of play do you want to write?

The strongest advice I can give you, if you want to get into writing plays, is to go see live theatre. A lot. And catch a variety, too - some Shakespeare, some Wilde, some Tennessee Williams, some Tom Stoppard - and then you can get a feel for what you envision.

Also, don't write a play like you would write a movie script.

Furthermore, because dialogue is the only tool you have, make every single line count. You'll notice that with all the plays that are generally studied as "classics" of the medium, you can basically take any line and answer at least one of the following questions (more than one if you're really clever):

1) How does it develop the plot?
2) What does it say about the character speaking it?
3) Does it create dramatic irony in contrast with what the audience sees and knows?
4) Does it possess any symbolism or foreshadowing?
5) Overall, what is the PURPOSE of this line?

When you have total control over your dialogue, like how a good actor has total control over every single one of his gestures and nuances, then I'd say you're set to write a really good play.

[Percy Weasley]

Furthermore, because dialogue is the only tool you have,

Ah, but this is untrue!

A playwrite also has complete control over their sets, costuming and props, which can be crucial elements to the atmostphere of the play. Different writers use these differently, but they are certainly not something to be overlooked.

However, this most certainly does not invalidate your point on the importance of every line.

I would also suggest reading some plays, although I would definitely add Ibsen, Shaw, and Miller to the list...look at how they use all of the audience's senses to bring across their themes...

[IronParrot]

Well okay, so I was exaggerating.

Different playwrights exert a different level of control over how everything is staged. For example, Shakespeare is very unspecific about anything, while Arthur Miller writes entire biographies of each and every character as he introduces them in The Crucible.

[Lotesse]

... Just bumping this thread so it is easily accessible again. T'is a subject I have much interest in, though I can't think of anything really to add to it at this particular moment. Perhaps I'll mention the Hungarian author Lajos Egri. He wrote a very, very good book about playwriting called The Art of Dramatic Writing, which I swear by.