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Title: The Elements of Playwriting by Louis E. Catron ISBN: 1-57766-227-X Publisher: Waveland Press Pub. Date: 06 December, 2001 Format: Paperback List Price(USD): $13.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.89 (9 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Catron helped get my play on stage
Comment: I completed the first draft of my play "American Brass" back in 1999. It was pretty awful. Then, I found this wonderful book by Prof. Catron. Following the guidelines and inspiration contained in his book I eventually transformed the draft into a stageworthy script.
Before reading his up front advice "Don't show anyone your first draft", I had given a reader a look at the play. The reader, an experienced theater person, tried to be helpful with constructive comments, which I came to understand after reading Catron's book meant - I had no plot, my characters were flat and I was writing narrratives rather than dialogue.
This book provides a clear understandable guide to the structure and dynamics of a successful play and how to write one. Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite.. and before each rewrite review Caron's book for insight and inspiration.
There's also practical advice - look to get your play on stage not necessarily on Broadway. So I had a high school do a reading and then a church group and now I have the area community theater interested in a full production.
Thank you Prof. Catron
Rating: 5
Summary: CORE TEXTBOOK FOR THE SERIOUS PLAYWRIGHT
Comment: I am a Midwestern physician by day and fledgling playwright by night. One year ago I decided to take an idea to paper and wrote my first play. The story was clear in my mind so the writing went easy. Within six weeks I had completed a rough first draft. At this point I ventured over to the local bookstore to see what books they had on playwriting. There were several, but Louis Catron's The Elements of Playwriting caught my immediate attention. Standing there, I skimmed the contents then read a few pages. The book was full of pearls gleaned obviously from a lifetime of experience in the theater. I bought the book and ordered a coffee to read more, (isn't that the way it always happens?)
Catron goads our left and right brains into action in ten chapters that range from how to get the play started, formatting the text and incorporating Aristotle's six elements of live theater into the work, to suggestions on getting your work published and performed. Various exercises to get the point across are used along the way. The book is a joy to read; a superb "nuts and bolts" treatise for the novice and veteran writer alike. I pick up something new each time I read it. I particularly enjoyed the discussion on how to be a playwright, involving as much with how one "thinks" as what ones "does."
In my opinion, Louis Catron's The Elements of Playwriting is the best book on the subject out there. It helped me complete my play and make it a more polished work. The book would be perfect as the main textbook in any college playwriting class. Louis Catron's "Elements" certainly "plays in the heartland!"
Rating: 5
Summary: BEST OF THE BEST
Comment: I am delighted to see this wonderful title in print again. Unlike many playwriting books on the market today, Catron's guide deals in specifics rather than in mumbo jumbo or vague generalities. (And, from an aesthetic point of view, this reprint edition boasts a far more attractive cover than did the original first edition (hardcover) or the previous paperback edition.)
Dr. Catron deals with being a playwright, the characteristics of plays, turning ideas into plays, creating characters, building plot, constructing dialogue, evaluation and revision, script format, and resources for playwrights. Seven of the ten chapters conclude with excellent exercises designed to get the reader WRITING.
A note of constructive criticism: While the chapter on formatting the script is better than most, I would have liked to have seen it go into even greater detail. Even so, I can recommend this book without reservation and have given copies of it to friends who have become as enthusiastic about it as I.
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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: The Dramatist's Toolkit: The Craft of the Working Playwright by Jeffrey Sweet ISBN: 0435086294 Publisher: Heinemann Publishing Pub. Date: 01 November, 1993 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: The Playwright's Guidebook: An Insightful Primer on the Art of Dramatic Writing by Stuart Spencer ISBN: 0571199917 Publisher: Faber & Faber Pub. Date: 29 March, 2002 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: Playwriting: Writing Producing and Selling Your Play by Louis E. Catron ISBN: 0881335649 Publisher: Waveland Press Pub. Date: July, 1990 List Price(USD): $19.50 |
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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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