Table of Contents
Acknowledgments xi
Chapter 1 Before We Get Started 1
Who This Book Was Written For 1
Learning Playwriting from Many Sources 1
How I Wrote My First Play 2
Ten Ways to Get the Most out of This Book 4
Chapter 2 What Is a Ten-Minute Play? 7
The Ten-Minute Play: A Definition 7
When Did Ten-Minute Plays Begin? 7
Why Write a Ten-Minute Play? 8
Popularity of Ten-Minute Plays 8
Basic Rules for All Ten-Minute Plays 9
Chapter 3 Before Beginning Your Ten-Minute Play 11
Perking with an Idea 11
Deciding When to Begin 12
The Actor and the Playwright 13
As an Actor, Do I Have the Skills Necessary to Create My Own Material? 13
Fear of Writing 14
Working Internally as an Actor and as a Writer 14
Techniques for Dealing with Writer's Block 15
Freewriting 16
Eleven Rules of Freewriting 16
Benefits of Freewriting 17
After You've Completed the Freewriting Session 17
Clustering (or Webbing): Finding the Initial Core of Your Work 17
How to Cluster 18
Starting Your Play with an Outline 19
Comparing Processes for Actors and Playwrights 19
Chapter 4 Playwriting Basics 21
Aristotle's Poetics 22
Freytag's Pyramid 24
Freytag's Five Dramatic Arcs 24
Chapter 5 Script Format 25
Chapter 6 Beginning Your Ten-Minute Play 31
How I Start My Ten-Minute Plays 31
Starting a Play with an Idea, a Theme, or an Image 33
Chapter 7 The Next Steps 35
Intention, Objective, and Action 35
The Setting and Time 36
The Best Way to Tell Your Story: The Play's Structure 36
Complications Arise 36
Realizing and Developing the Story of the Play 37
Actors Working on Their Plays 38
Ending the First Draft 38
Finding Your Title 39
After the First Draft 39
Chapter 8 Reading the First Draft 41
At What Point Should You Have Someone Else Read What You've Written? 42
Selecting the Right Person to Read Your First Draft 42
The First Reading of Your Play 43
Cold Readings of Your Ten-Minute Play 43
Should You Be an Actor in the First Readings of Your Ten-Minute Play? 44
Listening to Feedback and Comments 44
Not Allowing Others to Rewrite Your Play 44
Back to Rewrites 45
Chapter 9 Getting Your Play Out 47
E-mail Submissions 49
Actors: Should You Be in the First Production of Your Play? 49
Chapter 10 Interviews with Playwrights of Ten-Minute Plays 51
Jenny Lyn Bader 51
Don Nigro 56
Craig Pospisil 58
Mark Harvey Levine 62
Arlene Hutton 64
Alex Broun 67
Rich Orloff 69
Chapter 11 Interviews with Producers of Ten-Minute Plays 73
Kate Snodgrass 73
Alice Walker 75
Seth Gordon 78
Chapter 12 Interviews with Publishers of Ten-Minute Plays 81
Sarah Bernstein 81
Geri Albrecht 83
Lawrence Harbison 85
Chapter 13 Three Successful Ten-Minute Plays 89
The Popcorn Sonata Jenny Lyn Bader 89
Discussion on Writing The Popcorn Sonata 98
On the Edge Craig Pospisil 102
Creating On the Edge 113
The Pain in the Poetry Glenn Alterman 116
Creating The Pain in the Poetry 123
Chapter 14 Where to Submit Your Ten-Minute Play 127
Ten-Minute Play Festivals 128
Publishers of Ten-Minute Plays 145
Chapter 15 Observations about the Ten-Minute Play 147
Anastasia Traina, Playwright 147
Scott C. Sickles, Artistic Director, Workshop Theater Company, New York City 148
Dirk Knef, Literary Advisor, After Folsom Festival (Berlin, Germany) and others 149
Suzanne Bradbeer, Playwright 149
Eduardo Arbo, Playwright, Barcelona 150
Elaine Romero, Playwright 150
Chapter 16 And in the End 153
Playwrights: Some Key Points to Remember 153
Some Key Points for Actor/Playwrights 154
Selected Bibliography 155
About the Author 157
