Playwriting: The Writer as a Team Player

Paul Higbee

Playwriting, unlike most other forms of writing, puts the writer in the position of being a team player. Unlike the poet, novelist or short-story writer, he does not create a finished product. He passes what he has to other team members- the director, actors, and others involved in the production-and hopes they score for him. Always, there is the possibility of a fumble. Teams often find that they are only as strong as their weakest member.

Why take the gamble? Why not stick with a genre that allows you to succeed or fail based on your own merits?

The answer is that all playwrights have seen, at least once, how powerful a well-written, well-produced play can be. The playwright's characters literally come to life, actually exist in the flesh for two hours. ("Being a playwright is as close to being God as you can get." a writer friend once told me.) And the fact that a play is a group experience gives it a unique strength. Members of the audience share it, discuss it, and view it as a common experience.

For me, playwriting has been a tremendously rewarding experience. I have tried my hand at several types of writing, but have always felt that my plays have had the most impact on people. If I were to analyze my writing ability to determine why playwriting has been my
strongest area, I think I would decide that creating strong characters is my best talent. That is an absolute must in playwriting. No matter how interesting your plot is, no matter how powerful a message you have to convey, as a playwright you must be able to create believable characters that an audience will care about. Characters are the playwright's medium. Everything that he has to say passes through them.

I know many writers who feel limited by playwriting because of the difficulty of getting their work produced. Is what they feel any different from the short-story writer who is frustrated because he can't find anybody to publish his work? I feel that there is a difference. The short-story writer at least has a finished product. The unproduced playwright really doesn't. The production is what makes the creating process complete. The production is everything.

Many producers have a very limited view of what they want to stage, usually based on, "will it make money?" Given the economic conditions of the 1980's even college and university theatre departments, who have traditionally strived to produce a wide range of plays, are finding it necessary to produce more and more big-moneymakers. New name plays seldom fit that category. At the professional level even the most well-known repertory companies are struggling financially, mostly because corporate donations are drying up. New scripts are always a gamble, and it takes money to gamble.

So where do you go with a script that you've written that you feel is good enough to be produced?

Do not send the play to a publisher...no publisher is interested in publishing a play until it has been produced by two or three different groups. Later, if you decide to send it to a publisher, enclose all the reviews, letters, programs, and everything else you can get hold of to impress with. (Play publishers also act as agents, promoting the script and taking care of business with those wanting to produce it. They usually split the royalty approximately fifty-fifty with non-famous writers.)

But back to the first-time production.

Don't be picky...get your play produced anywhere you can. Talk to high schools, community theatres, college theatres, radio clubs. You will find that you will have to see yourself as a serious writer interested in working with them, willing to attend rehearsals, willing to do eleventh hour re-writing, if necessary (you probably know that a first-time production is often an experimental time, where major changes may be made). If you can sell yourself, you will probably find someone interested in looking at your work.

When you find a group willing to work with you, accept a royalty if they are able to pay it. If they can't, don't worry about it.

Remember again that you are part of a team. A first time production is always exciting for participants, and if it turns out to be a rewarding experience as well, you will discover that you have teammates with a very personal interest in your play. They will suggest your work to friends involved with other theatre groups, and remember it for future groups that they might become involved with.

Who knows: Five years down the road that high school actor who had a bit part in your play might be a big success on Broadway and say to a big-time producer, "Hey...we did a great little play in South Dakota a while back. Let's give the writer a call and see if he would consider letting us do it here in New York."