1st Edition

Words for the Theatre Four Essays on the Dramatic Text

By David Cole Copyright 2019
    82 Pages
    by Routledge

    82 Pages
    by Routledge

    In Words for the Theatre, playwright David Cole pursues a course of dramaturgical self-questioning on the part of a playwright, centred on the act of playwriting.





    The book’s four essays each offer a dramaturgical perspective on a different aspect of the playwright’s practice: How does the playwright juggle the transcriptive and prescriptive aspects of their activity? Does the ultimate performance of a playtext in fact represent something to which all writing aspires? Does the playwright’s process of withdrawing to create their text echo a similar process in the theatre more widely? Finally, how can the playwright counter theatre’s pervasive leaning towards the ‘mistake’ of realism?





    Suited to playwrights, teachers, and higher-level students, this volume of essays offers reflections on the questions that confront every playwright, from an author well-versed in supplying words for the theatre.

    Preface: Words from a Playwright 



    Acknowledgments 



    ESSAY I: The Dramatic Text As Transcript and Prescription  



    ESSAY II: The Dramatic Text As Type of the Text  



    ESSAY III: The Theatre Wants to Go In  



    ESSAY IV: Theatre As an Event and Another Event; or, The Sorrows of Realism (Something like a manifesto)



    Words for the Theatre 



    Index

    Biography

    David Cole is a playwright who has written two prior books of dramatic theory: The Theatrical Event and the Nathan Award-winning Acting as Reading. His plays may be found at www.davidcoleplaysandprose.com.