The Playwright's Workbook

Rating:
Summary: Best book I've found for the beginner
Review: I've been wrestling with playwriting for more than a decade. The last book I used was Playwriting in Process, which is excellent, but the exercises are too advanced for me. "Write a scene in which two people have a secret but no one talks about it," for example. If I knew how to write a scene I wouldn't need to do exercises!

The Playwright's Workbook, on the other hand, deals in the very basics. Van Itallie explains how each scene needs a "who," "what," and a "where." His writing voice is notable for its simplicity and warmth. For the first time in my life I'm getting the sense that I can actually write plays.

Rating:
Summary: Great Auther
Review: Jean Claude Van Itallie is a great playwright, hes been making good stuff for many many years. In theatre class I have had the privliage to preform many of his pieces and they are very humerous. Any who, if you like to write plays then get this book, he tells about how he does it.