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Title: The Dramatist's Toolkit: The Craft of the Working Playwright by Jeffrey Sweet ISBN: 0-435-08629-4 Publisher: Heinemann Publishing Pub. Date: 01 November, 1993 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.33 (30 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: The Basics with Clarity, Brevity, and Wit
Comment: I teach college playwriting, so I've read lots of these books. My ideal book for use in the classroom (and for my own review as a writer) is one that strikes a balance between clearly describing the basic principles, providing inspiration and courage for the journey ahead, and leaving enough time to actually write! Jeff Sweet's "The Dramatist's Toolkit" is my current choice. This book introduces a few especially useful tools. It also provides enough biz illustrations to make the beginner feel in safe hands and make the road-weary glad for Sweet's wise and witty companionship. I recently spoke with a dramaturg who said that Sweet's chapter on Ethics was the best writing she'd seen on that subject. I heartily agree. The final sentence in the Ethics chapter is well worth becoming a calligraphied, fancy-framed plaque posted high above the callboard for future generations to hide in their hearts.
Jeff Barker, Professor of Theatre and Playwright in Residence, Northwestern College, Orange City, Iowa
Rating: 5
Summary: BEST BOOK ON PLAYWRITING I'VE READ
Comment: I like to read, and I like to write plays. The not-too-surprising result is that I've read a lot of books on playwriting. Jeff Sweet's The Dramatist's Toolkit is by far the best I've read. With most books on playwriting, I count myself lucky to learn one or two tips I find useful. In the Dramatist's Toolkit, I marked ten interesting points in the first three chapters alone. Sweet is extraordinarily gifted in analyzing why something works in a play and presenting the analysis in a readily understandable way. His discussions of the difference between literature and a play script, the need for audience participation in a play (and how to create it), the use of objects, the transformation or destruction of objects, and the way in which the use of space can illuminate different aspects of a play are all right on the money. While I would recommend this book strongly to anyone thinking of writing a play, I do think it is especially useful to the working playwright struggling to solve a specific problem in a specific script. Just as a wrench is most useful if you have a nut to loosen, and only a paperweight (or blunt instrument) otherwise, The Dramatist's Toolkit is most useful when a deadline looms and a scene just won't jell. If that happens to you, a quick reading (or re-reading) of this book will surely provide several ideas worth trying.
Rating: 5
Summary: A great text for your actual writing
Comment: Its brevity aside, the most striking feature of Jeffrey Sweet's The Dramatist's Toolkit is that it's not written like most playwriting texts. Instead of ponderously essaying Aristotle (though if you want a good analysis of Poetics, I'd recommend Hatcher's Art & Craft of Playwriting), Sweet cuts to the chase of negotiations and subtext. His is the only book on playwriting that I've ever seen to really get to the heart of creating scenes (and the better part of the book focuses on just this).
Because of this emphasis, this is not going to be the book you should refer to for structure; again, Hatcher is strong there, as is Gordon Farrell's Power of the Playwright's Vision (the only text I've seen to give numerous structural breakdowns). However, Sweet's advice - taken well, and with the usual pinch of salt - is very liberating to the writer who's been struggling against formulaic playwriting texts.
Sweet's book is worth its cover price based solely on its discussions of negotiations, which really are eye-openers as to how subtext really works. His section on exposition, with a discussion on high and low contexts, is likewise strong. The book is great as a reference while doing your actual writing, just to remind you of things you can really make work.
Now, Sweet's a bit brief (but powerful) in this book, but makes up for it in the sequel, Solving Your Script. The latter is a reinforcement of the ideas from The Dramatist's Toolkit, with enlightening, well annotated examples. Together, they make up a powerful combination addressing what is so rarely touched on in playwriting books: how to actually write powerful, subtle scenes. Combine them with a couple of good structural books like Hatcher or Farrell, and you've got a much better basis than most of the formulaic texts.
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Title: The Art & Craft of Playwriting by Jeffrey Hatcher ISBN: 1884910467 Publisher: Story Pr Pub. Date: March, 2000 List Price(USD): $14.99 |
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Title: Solving Your Script : Tools and Techniques for the Playwright by Jeffrey Sweet ISBN: 0325000530 Publisher: Heinemann Pub. Date: 15 February, 2001 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Playwriting In Process : Thinking and Working Theatrically by Michael Wright ISBN: 0435070347 Publisher: Heinemann Publishing Pub. Date: 04 August, 1997 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: The Elements of Playwriting by Louis E. Catron ISBN: 157766227X Publisher: Waveland Press Pub. Date: 06 December, 2001 List Price(USD): $13.50 |
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Title: Dramatists Sourcebook 2002-03 Edition: Complete Opportunities for Playwrights, Translators, Composers, Lyricists and Librettists by Theatre Communications Group ISBN: 1559362170 Publisher: Theatre Communications Group Pub. Date: 01 September, 2002 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
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