Playwriting Structure Character: How and What to Write

Are you fascinated by the world of playwriting? Do you have the burning desire to bring characters to life on stage? Look no further, as we guide you through the intricacies of playwriting structure and character development, providing you with everything you need to know to write a compelling play.

Understanding Playwriting Structure

Playwriting is an art that combines creativity with a well-defined structure. To create an engaging play, you need to master the art of organizing your ideas by following a specific structure.

Playwriting: Structure, Character, How and What to Write

by Stephen Jeffreys (Kindle Edition)

4.7 out of 5

Language	:	English
File size	:	1220 KB
Text-to-Speech	:	Enabled
Enhanced typesetting	:	Enabled
Print length	:	279 pages
Screen Reader	:	Supported

FREE

The three-act structure is one of the most common playwriting structures used today. It consists of an exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. Each act has a specific purpose in advancing the plot and developing the characters. Understanding this structure will help you create a coherent and impactful play.

Developing Compelling Characters

Characters are the heart and soul of any play. They drive the story forward and captivate the audience's attention. But how do you create compelling characters?

Start by understanding your characters' motivations and goals. What drives them? What do they want to achieve? By delving deep into their desires and fears, you can create multi-dimensional characters that resonate with the audience.

Giving your characters distinct voices and personalities is another important aspect of character development. Each character should have a unique way of speaking, behaving, and interacting with others. This adds depth and authenticity to your play.

What to Write About

Choosing the right theme for your play is crucial. It sets the tone, drives the plot, and engages the audience. But with so many topics to choose from, where do you start?

Consider exploring universal human experiences. Love, betrayal, loss, and triumph are just a few examples of themes that resonate with people from all walks of life. By tapping into these universal emotions, you can create a play that touches the hearts of your audience.

Current events and social issues also make excellent subjects for plays. They allow you to spark important conversations and shed light on pressing matters in society. By combining entertainment with a thought-provoking message, you can create a powerful and impactful play.

Playwriting is a unique and rewarding art form that requires a solid understanding of structure and character development. By following the three-act structure and creating compelling characters with strong motivations and distinct voices, you can bring your play to life on stage.

Dive into the world of playwriting, explore different themes, and unleash your creativity. The stage is waiting for your imagination to take flight!

Unsplash.

Playwriting: Structure, Character, How and What to Write

by Stephen Jeffreys (Kindle Edition)

4.7 out of 5

Language	:	English
File size	:	1220 KB
Text-to-Speech	:	Enabled
Enhanced typesetting	:	Enabled
Print length	:	279 pages
Screen Reader	:	Supported

FREE

For over two decades, Stephen Jeffreys's remarkable series of workshops attracted writers from all over the world and shaped the ideas of many of today's leading playwrights and theatre-makers. Now, with this inspiring, highly practical book, you too can learn from these acclaimed Masterclasses.

Playwriting reveals the various invisible frameworks and mechanisms that are at the heart of each and every successful play. Drawing on a huge range of sources, it deconstructs playwriting into its constituent parts, and offers illuminating insights into:

• Structure – an in-depth exploration of the fundamental elements of drama, enabling you to choose instinctively the most effective structure for your play
• Character – advice on how to generate and write credible characters by exploring their three essential dimensions: story, breadth and depth
• How to Write – techniques for writing great dialogue, dynamic scenes and compelling subtext, including how to improve your writing by approaching it from unfamiliar directions
• What to Write – how to adopt different approaches to finding your material, how to explore the fundamental 'Nine Stories', and how to evaluate the potential of your ideas

Written by a true master of the craft, this authoritative guide will provide playwrights at every level of experience with a rich array of tools to apply to their own work.

This edition, edited by Maeve McKeown, includes a Foreword by April De Angelis.

'What Stephen Jeffreys doesn't know about playwriting isn't worth knowing' - Stephen Daldry

'Stephen Jeffreys is as important a teacher as he is brilliant a writer… Without him, I wouldn't have been able to write the plays that I have written' - Simon Stephens

'An incredibly useful writing helpmeet. As witty and humane as its author' - Emma Thompson

'What Stephen taught me has shaped my mind and I have shared this with countless writers' - Kwame Kwei-Armah

'Stephen was a true mentor… I still draw upon much of what he taught me today' - Abi Morgan

'Like a bird in the air, Stephen was utterly in his element as a teacher. We sat spellbound' - Phyllida Lloyd

'I had the great pleasure of working with Stephen on his play The Libertine. Would that all playwrights had his openness, his talent, his hard-headedness, his experience, his enthusiasm, his audacity, his complexity, and perhaps best of all his talent and interest in eliciting the best in others' - John Malkovich

'Stephen's wit was legendary. "Wit": from the proto-Indo-European word "weid" meaning "to see"/"to know". Stephen "saw" clearly and "knew" profoundly; which is why we sought out the clarity of his words and learned deeply from his laughter' - Simon McBurney

'Stephen was more than just a great bloke whose easy laugh set a room alight; he was a genuine geek, an obsessive about the craft of writing… As I read, I was reminded again of his deep connection to plays and how they work. There are gems in here, there is guidance, there is the spirit of Stephen Jeffreys' - April De Angelis