DWB - Dramatic Writing is a Business (Overview)

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Dramatic Writing is Business

Introduction

“There's no business, like show business
like no business I know
Everything about it is appealing,
everything that traffic will allow
Nowhere could you get that happy feeling
when you are stealing that extra bow”
- Irving Berlin, Annie Get Your Gun

Watch the first minute from the song: "There's No Business Like Show Business."

The key focus of Irving Berlin’s 1946 classic song from Annie Get Your Gun, is a tongue in cheek send-up of the contradictions of glamour and excitement in performing in an attempt to convince Annie Oakley to join the Wild West Show. It contrasts “real” jobs with show-business. The song later inspired a movie in 1954 with Ethel Merman, the plot of which focuses on the hard ups and downs of life in the Arts. Comedy aside, there is a great deal of truth in the song. Work in the arts can be demanding, challenging, unexpected, unreliable, and at the same time exciting and fulfilling. The song is an attempt to woo Annie away from stability she knows for the chance of “making it big.” In the 1870’s rural American West a viable job in performance was not necessarily accessible. Even in the 1940 and 50s during the Golden Age of Broadway and the Movie Musicals, the idea of a career in the arts may have been quite a gamble, particularly in Georgia.

This is no longer the case!

Georgia’s Creative Economy

The creative industries in Georgia represent a combined $37 billion in revenue, including 200,000 employed with $12.1 billion in earnings, and $62.5 Billion in total economic impact. The creative industries represent 5 percent of all employment and 4 percent of all business revenue in the state.

The arts are a viable and thriving career path in Georgia!

Key Terms

Review the module's key terms below:

  1. Pitch- A pitch is a presentation of your idea
  2. Producer- Oversees film production, selects the script, coordinates directing, editing, and arranging the financing
  3. Director- Directs the making of the film, guides the technical crew and actors.
  4. Production Executive- Contributes to the film’s budget
  5. Agent- Handle the implementation of the business side of things, such as negotiations, packaging, and getting their clients onto assignments
  6. Employability Skills- a set of skills and expectations for the workplace

Module Lessons Preview

In this module, we will study the following topics:

The Pitch: In this lesson, you will learn how to market original content with industry standard pitching formats

Modeling Employability Skills: In this lesson, you will explore how to break down the GSE Professional Employability Standards for Dramatic Writing for use in marketing your material.

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