PP -Plays and Playwriting (Overview)

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Plays and Playwriting

Introduction 

As a writer you're holding a dog. You let the dog run about. But you finally can pull him back. Finally, I'm in control. But the great excitement is to see what happens if you let the whole thing go. And the dog or the character really runs about, bites everyone in sight, jumps up trees, falls into lakes, gets wet, and you let that happen. That's the excitement of writing plays--to allow the thing to be free but still hold the final leash. - Harold Pinter, The New York Public Library Literature Companion, 2001

In this module, you will be introduced to the role and process of the playwright, appropriate formatting for a theatrical script, distinguishing characteristics of dramatic dialogue, dramatic characters, and dramatic plot structure, as well as to the Aristotelean Elements associated with theatre.

Review your key terms for this module below:

  1. Playwright - the person that crafts the play
  2. Playwriting - the act of crafting a play
  3. Dramatic - designed for a theatrical performance often characterized by action, From Greek, dran to do, act
  4. Extraordinary - larger than life
  5. Representative - quintessential version or found in day to day life
  6. Dominant Trait - a specific physical or mental trait by which a character is defined
  7. Narrator - storyteller, often external to the story
  8. Genres - a category of artistic or literary composition characterized by a particular style
  9. Freytag’s Pyramid - a modification of Aristotle's structure where he transformed the triangle into a pyramid

Module Lessons Preview

In this module, we will study the following topics:

  • Plays and Playwriting: Introducing the role and processes of the playwright, a proper formatting technique for theatrical scripts, defining characteristics of dramatic plot structure for a theatrical script, multiple categories of dramatic characters and theatrical genres, defining characteristics of dramatic dialogue, and the Aristotelean elements of tragedy.
  • Reading Plays: How to read analyze, compare, and discuss scripts from various styles and periods.

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