Playwriting: Structure, Character, How and What to Write

For over two decades, Stephen Jeffreys’ remarkable series of workshops attracted writers from all over the world and shaped the ideas of many of today’s leading playwrights and theater-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 and an exploration of the fundamental “Nine Stories,” plus 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.