Teaching Playwriting

Playwriting is a skill under-explored in the classroom, despite the strong evidence that it's an engaging and rewarding activity for young people. Teaching Playwriting addresses this gap and is an essential resource for teachers wanting to gain the skills and confidence necessary to introduce playwriting to their students. Based on rich research and clearly explained theoretical concepts, the book explores the lessons from creativity theory that will provide the teacher with the skills and knowledge necessary to empower students' writing and creativity. It also includes extensive practical activities and writing exercises to develop students' playwriting proficiency and creative capacity. Discussing key concepts in playwriting such as idea, dialogue, character, action and structure, the book enables teachers to respond to the unique learning needs of their students and help them tell their stories and reach their potential as young playwrights.

Paul Gardiner

Part 1: Why Playwriting? The benefits of teaching playwriting with students Chapter 1: Why teach playwriting? Chapter 2: The spectrum of ideas: knowledge to aid creativity Part 2: How playwriting works - the teaching approach Chapter 3: A playwright's wheel Chapter 4: Teaching the idea Chapter 5: Writing dialogue Chapter 6: Generating action Chapter 7: Creating character Chapter 8: Story structure Chapter 9: The poetic Chapter 10: Page to stage Chapter 11: Conclusion