Playwriting 101

Introduction

This playwriting tutorial was written by playwright and screenwriter Jonathan Dorf, whose plays have been produced in every US state and on every continent but Antarctica. Co-Chair of the Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights and longtime playwriting advisor to Final Draft, he co-founded YouthPLAYS, the publisher of plays for young actors and audiences, and has served as US cultural envoy to Barbados and Visiting Associate Professor in the graduate playwriting program at Hollins University. He received his B.A. magna cum laude in Dramatic Writing and Literature from Harvard College and his M.F.A. in Playwriting from UCLA. Creator of the book Young Playwrights 101 and the course Introduction to Playwriting, Jonathan Dorf is available as a script consultant.

Table of Contents

  1. The Play's the Thing and Types of Plays
  2. Different Theater Spaces
  3. Story Structure and Write to be Read
  4. Story Development
  5. What Does a Play Look Like? What Should My Play Look Like?
  6. Manuscript Format Elements and Play Page Layout
  7. Title Page Element
  8. Cast Page Element
  9. 'Musical' Numbers Page Element and Act/Scene Heading Element
  10. Setting and At Rise Description Element
  11. The Stage and Character Name Element
  12. Dialogue Element
  13. Lyrics and Stage Direction Element
  14. Transition Element
  15. Page Break Rules and Binding
  16. Submitting Your Work
  17. International Submission Formats and Conclusion

Recommended Tools