Gourt > Arts > Writers Resources > Playwriting (2)
A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is someone who writes dramatic literature or drama. These works may be written specifically to be performed by actors or they may be closet dramas or literary works written using dramatic forms but not meant for performance. The term is not a variant spelling of playwrite, but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder (as in a wheelwright or cartwright). Hence the prefix and the suffix combine to indicate someone who crafts plays. The homophone with write is in this case coincidental.
The term 'playwright' appears to have been coined by Ben Jonson (see his Epigram 49, 'To Playwright') as an insult, to imply an inferior hack-writer for the theatre. He always described himself as a poet. It later lost this negative connotation.
History
The earliest playwrights in Western literature with surviving works are Ancient Greeks with some of the earliest plays being written around the 5th century BC. These playwrights are notable as they established forms that are still relied on by modern playwrights. Notable among them are Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes. More on [ Playwright ]
Playwrights :: Contemporary
Theatre :: Performing Arts
Troupes and Companies :: Theatre
Taylor Swift Broadway Musicals: Playwriting, Songwriting (Duh), Producing, Directing & performing. She'll win Tony Awards in every category.
kmichaelhart (Kevin Hart) Sat, 19 Dec 2009 06:22:10 -0000
Taylor Swift Broadway Musicals: Playwriting, Songwriting (Duh), Producing, Directing & performing. She'll win Tony Awards in every category.
I would've been working on my Fairytale for my playwriting class but I lost my USB. Therefore, I'm not able to save my work in it.
YvetteeeM (___ J.Yve - $) Sat, 19 Dec 2009 05:03:04 -0000
I would've been working on my Fairytale for my playwriting class but I lost my USB. Therefore, I'm not able to save my work in it.
@AliAdler Bah. I've got tv critic spy-kit envy. (This is what I get for going into playwriting instead...)
dloehr (David J. Loehr) Sat, 19 Dec 2009 03:25:53 -0000
@AliAdler Bah. I've got tv critic spy-kit envy. (This is what I get for going into playwriting instead...)
#ie09 playwriting and improv storytelling gr8 4 writing games>> we use playback actors in our corporate simulation games >>they r gr8
j9j (janine cahill) Fri, 18 Dec 2009 23:32:09 -0000
#ie09 playwriting and improv storytelling gr8 4 writing games>> we use playback actors in our corporate simulation games >>they r gr8
Resident Adorable Staff Member sent me a text to tell me we'll be in Playwriting together. This is awesome.
JennitheOdd (Jennifer Bravo) Fri, 18 Dec 2009 22:34:38 -0000
Resident Adorable Staff Member sent me a text to tell me we'll be in Playwriting together. This is awesome.
The second series of 'Unisex the Town' is written for a playwriting class. A technique that helps with finishing the f⦠http://bit.ly/7oaWJy
solobeatz (Jonny B. Mitchell) Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:45:32 -0000
The second series of 'Unisex the Town' is written for a playwriting class. A technique that helps with finishing the f… http://bit.ly/7oaWJy
Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights - Support and service organization dedicated to addressing the professional needs of the Los Angeles playwriting community.
Australian Script Centre - Collects, catalogues, promotes and distributes unpublished Australian plays and now holds hundreds of scripts.
Boston Playwrights' Theatre - Professional Theatre and Graduate Playwriting Program - Award-winning professional theatre, founded in 1981 to promote new plays. Home to the Boston University Graduate Playwriting Program, and producers of the Boston Theater Marathon.
Meta Description: [ Boston Playwrights' Theatre & Graduate Playwriting Program at B.U. ]
Boston Theatre Works Unbound - Equity theatre accepting scripts for its annual Unbound playwrighting festival. Details and submission guidelines available on website.
Dramatic Exchange - Web resource for playwrights, producers, and anybody interested in plays.
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Greensboro Playwrights' Forum - A gathering of North Carolina playwrights, meeting once a month to discuss each other's work-in-progress and aid each other in getting produced or published.
International Centre for Women Playwrights - To support women playwrights around the world.
Meta Description: [ International Centre for Women Playwrights ]
Jassin Office - Publishing and Theatre Law - Advice for writers and theatre workers on copyright, trademark, libel and contract law. Includes free Helpful Articles section.
Meta Description: [ Publishing and entertainment law services,
including copyright and trademark registration services, libel vetting,
contract review and negotiation, and litigation services. ]
La Ronde - Playwright's webring; presenting the work of an individual playwright or groups of playwrights.
Lazy Bee Scripts - Online publisher of pantomimes and plays. Site includes guidelines for authors and playwrights.
Meta Description: [ Pantomime Scripts and Play Scripts from Lazy Bee Scripts - read the complete script for a pantomime or play on line. Includes pantomime scripts for 'Aladdin' 'Puss in Boots' 'Cinderella' 'Snow White' 'Sleeping Beauty' 'Whittington and his cat' and 'Robin Hood' plus one-act plays, murder mystery ... ]
Linda Eisenstein: Practical Playwriting - Excerpts from advice book for playwrights, including 17 Surefire Ways to Get Your Scripts Rejected.
Moondance International Film Festival - To promote and encourage women screenwriters, playwrights, short-story writers, and women who make independent films.
NY Play Development Lab - Serves and supports member playwrights in the creation of new stage works. Offers script labs, readings, and promotion.
NYCPlaywrights - NYCPlaywrights is a nonprofit organization for writers. Meets Wednesdays in NYC for play readings as an aid to development. New writers welcome.
Ohio University MFA Playwriting - Information about the Master of Fine Arts Degree Program in Playwriting at Ohio University.
Meta Description: [ Home page of the MFA Playwriting Program at Ohio University (Master of Fine Arts in Playwriting) ]
Performing and Writing Musical Theatre - A resource for professional and aspiring performers/ composers/ writers. Tips and tricks on the craft of writing and composing.
Meta Description: [ Performing and Writing Musical Theatre is a resource for both professional and aspiring performers/composers/writers as well as teachers, parents and students. Experience the thrill of the stage, tips and tricks on the craft of writing and composing
and look for articles spotlighting your favor... ]
Performingwrites.com - Library of online play synopses and scripts.
Meta Description: [ A play library maintained as a resource for theatre companies and writers, primarily, to encourage unpublished authors and the production of new work ]
Philadelphia Young Playwrights - Philadelphia Young Playwrights is an intensive arts- education program that pairs a professional teaching artist with a classroom teacher. The two work together as an artistic team, guiding and supporting students in the process of writing a play.
Meta Description: [ Philadelphia Young Playwrights is an young an arts-education organization that taps the potential of youth and inspires learning through playwrighting. visit phillyyoungplaywrights.org ]
Pier Playwrights - From Page to Stage - For playwrights run by playwrights. Membership is open to writers in dramatic all forms, resident in the South East of England.
Playmarket - Agency and script advisory service for New Zealand playwrights.
Playwrighting Resources - Directory of links, from Artslynx International Theatre Resources.
Playwrights Foundation - West Coast Center for new play development - resources for playwrights and annual Bay Area Playwrights Festival.
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Playwrights Guild of Canada - Service organization for Canadian playwrights (formerly the Playwrights Union of Canada). Site includes searchable online catalogue.
Playwrights' Center - Minneapolis-based, The Playwrights' Center fuels the theater by providing services to support playwrights and playwriting.
Meta Description: [ The Playwrights' Center fuels the theater by providing services that support playwrights and playwriting. ]
Playwriting 101 - A playwriting tutorial written by playwright and screenwriter Jon Dorf.
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Playwriting at Suite101.com - Articles to assist playwrights.
Meta Description: [ Articles at Suite101 relating to How to write plays, get them produced, get them published, and make some money at it. - dewey decimal 808.2 ]
Playwriting Opportunities for the E-Merging Writer - Free listing of playwriting opportunities: retreats, workshops, contests, ongoing submissions, links and resources.
Meta Description: [ Playwriting contests and competitions listed by deadline date and other handy tools for playwrights to get their work out into the theatre world. ]
ProPlay - Online publisher of professionally-produced stage plays. Full or partial scripts may be read free-of-charge at the site.
Meta Description: [ Professional play scripts available for reading online ]
Resources for Teaching Playwriting Compiled by Adam Russell - Annotated bibliography of recommended texts.
Sheriffs Performance Writers' Group - Based at the Riverhouse Barn in Elmbridge, Surrey, U.K, the Sheriffs Performance Writers' Group aims to develop and write professional theatre for the stage and screen.
Swan Playwrights - The theatre writers' group at Worcester Swan Theatre, UK.
Meta Description: [ The website for the Swan Playwrights. A midlands based theatre group. ]
The Brick Playhouse - Dedicated exclusively to the creation, development, and production of new theatre works.
The Dramatists Guild of America - Professional association of American playwrights. The Guild protects the rights of dramatists in relation to producers and more recently Directors.
The Playwright's Noticeboard - Notices of playwriting opportunities, updated regularly.
Meta Description: [ plays,musicals,theatre plays,scripts,musical scripts ]
The Playwrights Forum - The Playwrights Forum is a non-profit organization dedicated to the artistic development of talented playwrights from the Washington D.C. area.
The Playwrights' Center of San Francisco - A service for playwrights, showing the schedule of staged readings of new plays.
The Playwrights' Co-Operative - Promoting and publishing the works of new and established playrights. Full online or paper catalogue of acting scripts.
TheatreUSA.com Playwriting Links - Education, organizations, support, and assistance for playwrights.
Toscan's Online Playwriting Seminar - Comprehensive overview of the craft of playwriting, from Virginia Commonwealth University
Will Dunne Dramatic Writing Workshops - Offers support for playwrights and screenwriters, including private consultations for dramatic writers anywhere in the world and an ongoing quarterly workshop program for dramatic writers in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Wrightofplay - A rest-stop for aspiring playwrights. Tips, tricks, and techniques. Articles, activism, and a few links.
Write Angle Productions - Devoted to supporting work of member playwrights and developing new scripts for production. Includes ongoing Ten Minute Play contest.
Meta Description: [ Write Angle Productions is a nonprofit organization devoted to supporting playwrights and developing new scripts for production. Our plan is to have a space of our own so we can produce the plays written by the members. ]
Young Playwrights 101 - A free resource site for young playwrights and those who teach them. Also, information about Young Playwrights 101, a complete playwriting curriculum in an e-book.
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