Chapter 4 Image Maker The Playwright A play

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 1980 s 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 (Le. Roi 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 1500 s – 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