short theater essay.

The Playwright vs. Other Writers

Will “The Playmaker” Shakespeare

Ernest “Poppa” Hemmingway

VS.

(Play)Wrights are Writers, Right?

Wait a minute, (you maybe asking) playwrights are

writers, too, aren’t they? Playwrights and other kinds of writers have things in common, right? Yes!

Playwrights are writers!

Here are some of the commonalities between playwrights and other types of writes:

• For starters, they create with words, and language.

• They are all capable of working alone to

accomplish their creative work.

• They all have some point of view that they are attempting to communicate.

But Wait! There’s More! • However, because playwrights work in the theatre,

they are a little different than other writers (and that doesn’t just mean they’re weirder!) We get a clue

to this difference if we look at the word PLAYWRIGHT. Notice the spelling? They’re playWRIGHTS, not playwrites. The word “wright”

means “to build,” which is going to be an important concept in our discussion of the playwright’s work.

• Playwrights are “play builders”

Comparison 1—Subject Matter

Playwrights write about human beings

• Although playwrights may touch on the same topics as other writers, they do it THROUGH the lens of the human experience

• Human beings (or other creatures that behave like humans) are ALWAYS the central focus of the playwright’s work

Writers may write about

many different topics

• History

• Biographies

• Novels

• Science

• Religion

• Self-help

• How-to manuals

Comparison 2—What Gets Written

Playwrights primarily write

OBSERVABLE EVENTS

• What people say

• What people do (emote, kiss, kill, enter,

exit, etc.)

• MINIMAL descriptions— just the bare minimum to

give us an idea of where/when we are, who the characters are,

or other critical info.

Writers will usually include

many details and descriptions in their

writing

• Of locations or settings

• Of characters

• Of what characters are thinking or feeling

Comparison 3—The Final Purpose

For playwrights, once their work has been edited and published, it is NOT truly COMPLETE

• Although the play can be read like any other book, it is meant to be performed.

• Each production of the play will be slightly different, because the play is a blueprint for production

For writers, once their work

has been edited and

published, it is COMPLETE

• Published writing is the

end purpose of most

writers

• No matter who picks that

book up and reads it,

they will read the same

words

• The published book sitting

on a bookshelf is a

COMPLETED WORK

Playwrights as Creators of (Theatrical) Blueprints

With a blueprint, the placement and sizes of the various rooms are laid out, but it doesn’t become a building until it gets built, and even two buildings built on the same blueprint can vary, depending on other design choices (paint color, plumbing fixtures, etc.)

A playwright does something similar. He has created the outlines of the characters and the events, but the outlines don’t get filled in until the rest of the theatre team gets involved, and bring their interpretation to the playwright’s work.

To Recap the Comparison Writer Playwright

• Can write about many different topics

• Includes lots of description

• Finished, published writing is a complete project

• Writing (poem, novel, textbook, article, essay) is the final goal, and needs no additional collaboration

• Humans are the central topic of the work

• Writes observable events

• Finished, published writing is not a complete project—not complete until the play is performed

• Writing is the jumping off point for the theatrical performance, which happens in collaboration with actors, directors, designers, etc.

The End Result Writer Playwright

Now it’s complete! Now it’s complete!