Play-Making

Fülszöveg

PLAY-MAKING
A MANUAL OF CRAFTSMANSHIP
by William Archer
With a new introduction by John Gassner, Sterling Professor of Playwriting and Dramatic Literature, Yale University.
William Archer's "Play-making" has been one of the most influential elements in the modern theatre. Almost nothing has been said on the craft of playwriting since that is not contained implicitly or explicitly within its covers.
It might seem that a manual of playwriting would be as out of date fifty years after it was written as the plays contemporary with it. However, just as some plays continue to be performed because they speak with a modern voice, this volume continues to be studied as the finest exposition of basic play structure. Archer transcends the playwriting style of a particular period, to set down in clear, practical language the permanently essential requirements of solid construction.
Some of the important aspects discussed include choice of theme, exposition, foreshadowing, tension and... Tovább

Fülszöveg

PLAY-MAKING
A MANUAL OF CRAFTSMANSHIP
by William Archer
With a new introduction by John Gassner, Sterling Professor of Playwriting and Dramatic Literature, Yale University.
William Archer's "Play-making" has been one of the most influential elements in the modern theatre. Almost nothing has been said on the craft of playwriting since that is not contained implicitly or explicitly within its covers.
It might seem that a manual of playwriting would be as out of date fifty years after it was written as the plays contemporary with it. However, just as some plays continue to be performed because they speak with a modern voice, this volume continues to be studied as the finest exposition of basic play structure. Archer transcends the playwriting style of a particular period, to set down in clear, practical language the permanently essential requirements of solid construction.
Some of the important aspects discussed include choice of theme, exposition, foreshadowing, tension and its suspension, the obligatory scene, the peripety, blind alley themes, dialogue, character and psychology. Archer offers not high - flown theories or graphs and charts, but immediate, practical advice which can literally save the beginning playwright years of trial and error (and might prove profitable to many a journeyman playwright as well). He is no proponent of the mechanistic "well-made" play, however. Almost every line he writes indicates a preference for good character study. But he also recognizes that character is not enough; the stage makes demands of technique which may be violated with impunity only in rare instances. The answers to these demands are the lessons of this book, and Archer leaves it to the playwright to decide what use he will make of them.
This Dover edition contains a new introductory essay by John Gassner, one of today's outstanding commentators on the drama. He presents a critical evaluation of the book, a description of Archer, modifications of his ideas by later writers, and a penetrating glance at modern dramatic writing.
Introduction. New bibliography of books on playwriting. Index, xlil + 277pp. 5% x 8.
T651 Paperbound $1.75
THIS DOVER EDITION IS DESIGNED FOR YEARS OF USE
THE PAPER is chemically the same quality as you would find in books priced $5.00 or more. It does not discolor or become brittle with age. Not artificially bulked, either; this edition is an unabridged full-length book, but is still easy to handle.
THE BINDING: The pages in this book are SEWN in signatures, in the method traditionally used for the best books. These books open flat for easy reading and reference. Pages do not drop out, the binding does not crack and split (as is the case with many paperbooks held together with glue).
THE TYPE IS LEGIBLE: Margins are ample and allow for cloth rebinding. Vissza