What do you think?
Rate this book
Workshopping the New Play: A Guide for Playwrights Directors and Dramaturgs
Workshopping the New Play is a guide for playwrights, directors, dramaturgs, and other theater professional and students. The book begins with an overview of the basics of playwriting and goes on to cover all aspects of the new-play workshopping selecting a director and/or dramaturg to run the workshop sessions, assembling a team of actor/readers and dealing with constructive criticism, putting together a staged reading of one's work, structuring a successful talkback, and properly and professionally submitting one's work to theaters. Throughout the book are essays by well-known theater playwrights, teachers, dramaturgs, an artistic director, a spoken word performer, and workshopping experts. The book is written in a friendly, nonacademic style, but should be valuable for educators as well as practitioners of theater.
- GenresNonfiction
160 pages, Paperback
Published August 1, 2017
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 28, 2017
An important resource tool for playwrights and random thinkers alike. I live in George Sapio's community, and so I know him primarily from seeing various plays he's written over the years performed in a variety of venues around town. His plays cover such a range pf topic and form, that except for his ironic sense of humor and intelligence, I would hardly recognize the playwright as the same person. I have also seen him on stage as an actor, always a treat in his understated manner.
So it was with great expectations that I looked forward to his book. It turned out better than I had expected: I had never even thought about much of the information he includes in this book. He has written a professional guide for playwrights, with guest articles by other people who take part in the process of developing your play. He has also taught playwright classes around town on various levels, and so it is no surprise that he could create this friendly and highly practical guide for anyone who is interested.
Although the work (marketing, workshopping, rewriting, reworking) that need to be done, and the ego that has to be put aside to write a successful play add up to a Challenge, George makes it sound interactive, social, and worth it all.
So it was with great expectations that I looked forward to his book. It turned out better than I had expected: I had never even thought about much of the information he includes in this book. He has written a professional guide for playwrights, with guest articles by other people who take part in the process of developing your play. He has also taught playwright classes around town on various levels, and so it is no surprise that he could create this friendly and highly practical guide for anyone who is interested.
Although the work (marketing, workshopping, rewriting, reworking) that need to be done, and the ego that has to be put aside to write a successful play add up to a Challenge, George makes it sound interactive, social, and worth it all.
February 18, 2018
I can’t get over this book. I love it. Even though I’ve read it once, it’s a manual I will re read over and over. It’s everything I’ve needed to know about putting up your play, getting it workshopped, and getting it produced. More than that, it walks a new playwright through the process of setting ourself up for success. It has input from current industry experts. This is a MUST PURCHASE for playwrights as I’ve never had a book that goes beyond writing a play to the next steps. LOVE IT. I think this should also be mandatory for any Playwrighting course - grad and undergrad.
December 7, 2017
This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 5.0 of 5
George Sapio has written what is probably the best, most definitive book on the how and the why to workshop a new play.
While writing may be a solitary exercise, once words are on a page they need to be seen, read, or heard. This is especially true for playwrights who write very specifically for actors and an audience. But a large part of writing is rewriting. For fiction and non-fiction writers it is common to send a draft to a variety of readers for comments. And while it's possible to do that with scripts as well, a play needs to be read aloud and heard to get the full measure of what works, what is clear, and what needs improvement. Hence, a workshop.
Many theatres will hold readings of plays - that first chance to hear the script out loud. But fewer will take that next step, to workshop a play. To hire a director, a dramaturg, actors, and really explore a script to find the strengths and weaknesses of a script so that it might be developed, giving the playwright the opportunity to make a play stronger.
Sapio, who has experienced play-writing workshops from different points of view, approaches the playwright though this book with insight, and humor, and a load of good advice. And he cuts right to the heart of what we need to know - he doesn't pad this volume with commentary just to increase the page length.
Some of what Sapio has to say seems like common sense ("Ensuring feasibility for production" or "follow directions when submitting to theatres") yet the fact that he mentions these things is a reminder that there are many people who don't follow the common sense rules and need these reminders.
I also liked that the book reaches out not only to playwrights, but to directors and dramaturgs, to remind them of the purpose of the workshop and how to approach a playwright, possibly nervous and defensive of his/her very personal creation.
This book should be required reading for playwrights at all levels and for every theatre that wants to produce new works.
Looking for a good book? Workshopping the New Play by George Sapio is an excellent resource and guide for anyone writing or directing or producing new plays.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.0
George Sapio has written what is probably the best, most definitive book on the how and the why to workshop a new play.
While writing may be a solitary exercise, once words are on a page they need to be seen, read, or heard. This is especially true for playwrights who write very specifically for actors and an audience. But a large part of writing is rewriting. For fiction and non-fiction writers it is common to send a draft to a variety of readers for comments. And while it's possible to do that with scripts as well, a play needs to be read aloud and heard to get the full measure of what works, what is clear, and what needs improvement. Hence, a workshop.
Many theatres will hold readings of plays - that first chance to hear the script out loud. But fewer will take that next step, to workshop a play. To hire a director, a dramaturg, actors, and really explore a script to find the strengths and weaknesses of a script so that it might be developed, giving the playwright the opportunity to make a play stronger.
Sapio, who has experienced play-writing workshops from different points of view, approaches the playwright though this book with insight, and humor, and a load of good advice. And he cuts right to the heart of what we need to know - he doesn't pad this volume with commentary just to increase the page length.
Some of what Sapio has to say seems like common sense ("Ensuring feasibility for production" or "follow directions when submitting to theatres") yet the fact that he mentions these things is a reminder that there are many people who don't follow the common sense rules and need these reminders.
I also liked that the book reaches out not only to playwrights, but to directors and dramaturgs, to remind them of the purpose of the workshop and how to approach a playwright, possibly nervous and defensive of his/her very personal creation.
This book should be required reading for playwrights at all levels and for every theatre that wants to produce new works.
Looking for a good book? Workshopping the New Play by George Sapio is an excellent resource and guide for anyone writing or directing or producing new plays.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.0
June 20, 2022
I've worked in and around theatre all my life (as a professional actor, director, playwright and producer) and I so wish I had stumbled upon this book years ago! The book is super useful for all theatre creators (novices to pros). It starts with a wonderful primer on what creates engaging drama - with a chapter on play structure and script analysis and then moves to exploring the subtleties of workshopping a new play. Included are lots of logistical tips on how to best utilize a play workshop process and psychological tips on how playwrights can best mentally prepare themselves for the essential, joyful and (at times) challenging workshop process (cutting our favorite lines/scenes can be hard!!). Toward the end, the author gives valuable insights into the business end (post-workshop) of getting your play produced. Sprinkled throughout the book are useful tips from various professional playwrights. A great book for playwrights...but also extremely useful for directors, actors, producers...anyone involved in new play development.
Read
February 8, 2018I have been involved in new play workshops or productions in a dramaturgical sense with college friends, at storefront theatres, and at major LORT theatres. It's an exciting process every time, but I am always keenly aware that this is someone's baby. As a dramaturg, I strive to serve the play and playwright to the best of my ability, so I wanted to see from a playwright's perspective what is helpful in the new play process. I am always additionally interested in seeing works that further the conversation around new work.
June 17, 2020
I absolutely adore this book. It really puts everything I've wondered about playwriting, directing, and producing into perspective. The book truly does a great job of pairing necessary information with personal anecdotes, really striking a nice balance. It has risen to the top of my recommended books for playwrights and theatre artists interested in the development of new works. If you're a theatre-artist involved in either the creation, selection, development, or production of new work... this is the book for you
December 31, 2022
I was very surprised at how accessible this book is. The author writes in a friendly, non-academic tone, and the read is fast and easy. As a relatively new playwright, I was a little suspicious of any situation where someone else might have a say in what I write, but I found out this is absolutely not the case. Mr. Sapio stresses complete ownership of all text, and only recommends table reads to test out the material; the playwright only decides which feedback is relevant.
That said, I truly enjoyed this book. Mr. Sapio is an engaging writer with an eye for critical detail and a wicked sense of humor. He makes no excuses for the difficulty of developing and producing; playwriting is a tough gig, but most art is. But he does his best to inspire! I wholly recommend this book.
That said, I truly enjoyed this book. Mr. Sapio is an engaging writer with an eye for critical detail and a wicked sense of humor. He makes no excuses for the difficulty of developing and producing; playwriting is a tough gig, but most art is. But he does his best to inspire! I wholly recommend this book.
December 11, 2022
What a fun read! I'm a new playwright, just getting into it after XX years of attending shows and helping out backstage. I have just written my first play--a comedy! A friend recommended this book, and I just flew through it. Mr. Sapio has a comfortable, friendly, and easy style and his technique seems well-designed to help a playwright explore their script's potential. I especially appreciated that he took the time to state that all script decisions are made by the playwright (as opposed to screenwriters) and that everything is under their control and judgment. I bought two for Xmas gifts!
November 26, 2022
Why hasn't this been written before? Colleges teach how to write plays, but never how to develop them, which is a critical part of the process. This book answered all my questions about how to approach revision and development, how to engage colleagues to help with the process, how to structure the process for respectful and safe growth of the work. An excellent book and well worth the price. Thank you, Mr. Sapio!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews