Play-Making: A Manual of Craftsmanship

Play-Making - A Manual of Craftsmanship is an exceptional primer which aims to answer the essential question: "How are theatrical plays written?"

This valuable resource for aspiring playwrights contains essential techniques for composing a quality stage play. William Archer, an educator in English literature, presents the traditional theory of play composition in a straightforward, engaging manner, that the reader can quickly learn and put the knowledge to practical use.

We begin with an examination of the choice of plotting theme, casting of characters, and the dramatic and undramatic constitution of the play. A sequential examination of the play details how the first act must establish the location and roles, setting up what is to follow with tension and curiosity.

Archer proceeds to cover aspects crucial to a quality drama, such as the ratcheting of tension and contrast of logical developments with those happening by chance. He delves into the methods of concluding the events, be it a conventional climax or an anticlimax. Finally, the book concludes with a series of pointers on dialogue, and the psychological aspects of the characters.