So You Want to Be a Playwright? (So You Want to Be...? career guides)

How to write a play and get it produced - a manual for playwrights. Playwright and former literary manager Tim Fountain guides the budding playwright over the many hurdles involved in getting a play on - from finding a story that only you know, through the detailed construction of the play, and on to the strategies you can use to get it on stage. • What kind of play do you want to write? • Where do you get your ideas from? • How much exposition do you need? • Where do you find your characters' voices? • What should you do when you get stuck? • Where should you send your play? The book also deals with the actual production: choosing directors, designers and actors, and coping with rehearsals, previews and press nights. Includes appendixes of vital websites, and contact details for new-writing theatres, agents and publishers. 'A marvellous and invaluable guide... full of wisdom and no-nonsense practical advice on the tricky but thrilling business of making plays' Willy Russell