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TEN-MINUTE PLAYWRITING: A STUDY OF DESIGN, METHOD, AND STRUCTURE

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Date Issued:
2014
Abstract/Description:
The purpose of my research was to discover the most effective ways to write ten-minute plays. I adapted various "suggestions" proposed in the many playwriting books I gathered to find the way that worked best for me as an artist. The majority of the books I read suggest writing ten-minute works before attempting a one-act or even a full-length play. My resources yielded a plethora of information on how to actually write a play. Three of my sources that proved to be enlightening were The Art & Craft of Playwriting by Jeffrey Hatcher, Playwriting for Dummies by Angelo Parra, and Naked Playwriting: The Art, the Craft, and the Life Laid Bare by William Missouri Downs and Robin U. Russin. I also attended a master class with playwright Tim Bauer, and he gave me insight on approaching writing ten-minute plays. Through my research, it became evident that the real problem with writing is not so much the structure or the way a person writes, but the actual writing itself. Each of my resources had valuable information that made my job as an artist easier, but none of them, even the tips Bauer gave me, worked one hundred percent of the time. Some plays were easier to write if I wrote them without stage directions first, as Bauer suggested, but others stalled if I didn't write my vision of the stage before actually writing dialogue. The research I have completed can aid a multitude of future creative artists. My Five Tips for Writing and Three Tips for a First Production are useful insights that would have been invaluable had I known them when I started writing.
Title: TEN-MINUTE PLAYWRITING: A STUDY OF DESIGN, METHOD, AND STRUCTURE.
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Name(s): Peacock, Jeffrey, Author
Weaver, Earl, Committee Chair
University of Central Florida, Degree Grantor
Type of Resource: text
Date Issued: 2014
Publisher: University of Central Florida
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: The purpose of my research was to discover the most effective ways to write ten-minute plays. I adapted various "suggestions" proposed in the many playwriting books I gathered to find the way that worked best for me as an artist. The majority of the books I read suggest writing ten-minute works before attempting a one-act or even a full-length play. My resources yielded a plethora of information on how to actually write a play. Three of my sources that proved to be enlightening were The Art & Craft of Playwriting by Jeffrey Hatcher, Playwriting for Dummies by Angelo Parra, and Naked Playwriting: The Art, the Craft, and the Life Laid Bare by William Missouri Downs and Robin U. Russin. I also attended a master class with playwright Tim Bauer, and he gave me insight on approaching writing ten-minute plays. Through my research, it became evident that the real problem with writing is not so much the structure or the way a person writes, but the actual writing itself. Each of my resources had valuable information that made my job as an artist easier, but none of them, even the tips Bauer gave me, worked one hundred percent of the time. Some plays were easier to write if I wrote them without stage directions first, as Bauer suggested, but others stalled if I didn't write my vision of the stage before actually writing dialogue. The research I have completed can aid a multitude of future creative artists. My Five Tips for Writing and Three Tips for a First Production are useful insights that would have been invaluable had I known them when I started writing.
Identifier: CFH0004600 (IID), ucf:45252 (fedora)
Note(s): 2014-05-01
B.F.A.
Arts and Humanities, Dept. of Theatre
Bachelors
This record was generated from author submitted information.
Subject(s): ten-minute plays
ten-minute playwriting
playwriting
theatre
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004600
Restrictions on Access: public
Host Institution: UCF

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