A Process for Playwriting

much meaning, wasn't really headed anywhere, but just kept on going and going. Or a story line that was very predictable or worse, boring. Lack of a process can also result in lack of structure and lack of an interesting story.

The Play as a Project

Many people look at the playwriting process as a project. In the artistic world, just about any current endeavor is called a project. But taking guidance from aspects of the business and manufacturing worlds, project takes on a deeper meaning. And in these other worlds, the persons leading these efforts are called project managers.

So the play is the project and you are the project manager. What exactly does that mean? Project managers control the budgets, schedules, risks, issues, communications, and quality aspects of their projects. Good project managers can estimate with confidence and enthusiasm, can give status on a project quickly, and know how the pieces are fitting together or not. Bad project managers can completely ruin the effort.

One major difference in this comparison, however, is that in playwriting, you are managing a team of one; you wear all the hats. Most of the time, that also includes being the sponsor of the project, the backing. You usually have no one to report to except yourself. So you must be in charge, self-starting, and disciplined to be able to accomplish it all.

The Playwriting Process Overview

This playwriting process consists of six phases that will be encountered in the lifecycle of developing the script. Each phase accomplishes a certain amount of major work, only one of which is dedicated to writing. Many books and teachers will say that writing is rewriting. I would add that writing is also planning. In these six phases, the first three are planning and the last two are trial and marketing.

These are the six phases, with very brief descriptions of their intent:

• Idea - Determining whether the idea has enough merit to pursue it; whether it can be practically staged; and whether it should be a stage play vs. a novel, screenplay, or other venue.
• Concept - Determining the approach; whether it may be a one-act, full-length, musical, comedy, drama, mystery; making estimates for the number of characters; and some rough ideas about the time and setting.
• Definition - The planning, including outlining, determining scenes and sets, number of characters, scene and act breaks.
• Development - Compiling all the notes and writing the scenes and dialogue, completing the
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