Some readers, especially passionate fans of particular authors and series, revel in complaining about adaptations of their beloved works. Not us. We appreciate that an adaptation might lead to re-readings by the fans and new readings by a few in the audience. Susan rereads Jane Austen, often right after we…
Tag: stageplays
“This story is a movie. That other story needs to be a novel.” One of my pet peeves is the common assumption among writers that particular types of stories are best suited to a single medium. This assumption belies either a lack of skill or a lack of understanding and…
As a playwright, I am accustomed to “directing” the action. One of the attractions of writing for the stage is the primacy of the script, as submitted by the writer to a director. Changes require the approval of the playwright, and well-known playwrights have challenged directors who felt the need…
“I have been working on the screenplay for 10 years.” Few screenwriters and playwrights earn a living, and even fewer do so with only one or two produced works. To make writing a career, you must be receiving residuals and royalties from a larger collection of works that are being…
“Doesn’t the review bother you?” I was asked following a rather harsh criticism of a musical play that premiered this summer (2014). “It didn’t even explain what the critic disliked very well.” Yes, the review bothered me, and I certainly agreed with my theater colleague that the review could have…
Students, seminar attendees, and visitors to our online writing guide have complained that my insistence on knowing (and adhering to) traditional story structures ignores “real art” in favor of production and publication. “You can break the rules after you master the rules,” I respond. “And then, only break them when…
As I finished the draft of a short play, a colleague sent me a message asking how many new manuscripts or adaptations I have written in the last twelve months or so. It seems best to list them: Billie’s Girlfriend, written in early 2014 and submitted to Acting Out! Pittsburgh…