A Constructive and Straightforward Guide to Writing for the Theatre for Aspiring Playwrights You won't find a lot of pontificating over Aristotelian theory in this book. What you will find is straightforward, practical guidance to help aspiring and early-career playwrights hone their craft and steer their plays toward successful productions. While many playwriting books focus solely on stagecraft, this one also examines the nuts and bolts of getting your plays produced. After all, writing a play is one thing, but it won't have fulfilled its purpose until it's been brought to life on a stage. Examining everything from structure, dialogue, subtext, and creating well-rounded characters, to formatting, writing synopses and preparing your plays for submission, A Practical Guide to Becoming a Playwright offers a comprehensive explanation of the often challenging process of writing plays and getting them into the hands of producers. Using knowledge and insight gained from more than two decades of writing for the stage and garnering successful productions, award-winning playwright Andrew Biss shares with you everything that he's learned - not from teaching or hypothesizing, but from actually doing. A Practical Guide to Becoming a Playwright is your go-to guide for navigating the frequently nebulous world of playwriting and production. "Very thorough, knowledge from experience and entertainingly so. Reader friendly writing style. No pontificating, clear, detailed.An encouraging book. It does not make the process seem intimidating...Humorous, extremely reader friendly. The writing invites us in rather than talks 'at' us. It feels as if one is sitting around a table chatting with the author." ~Stageplays.com Forum Member "If ever there was a poster boy for 'write what you know', it's Biss, because what he knows really does entertain us." ~Views from the Gods, London "Biss' writing is warm and funny" ~Time Out "Biss has spent a great deal of time either treading the boards or lurking in the wings, and it makes his writing so engaging." ~Views from the Gods, London From the Royal Court Theatre in London to the Playhouse Theatre in Tasmania, the works of award-winning playwright Andrew Biss have been performed across the globe, spanning four continents. His plays have won awards on both coasts of the U.S., critical acclaim in the U.K., and quickly became a perennial sight on Off and Off-Off Broadway stages. In London his plays have been performed at The Royal Court Theatre, Theatre503, Riverside Studios, The Pleasance Theatre, The Union Theatre, The White Bear Theatre, The Brockley Jack Studio Theatre, Fractured Lines Theatre & Film at COG ARTSpace, and Ghost Dog Productions at The Horse & Stables. In New York his plays have been produced at Theatre Row Studios, The Samuel French Off-Off-Broadway Festival, The Kraine Theater, The Red Room Theater, Times Square Arts Center, Manhattan Theatre Source, Mind The Gap Theatre, 3Graces Theatre Company, Emerging Artists Theatre, Curan Repertory Company, Pulse Ensemble Theatre, American Globe Theatre, The American Theater of Actors, and Chashama Theatres, among others. His plays and monologues are published in numerous anthologies from trade publishers Bedford/St. Martin's, Smith & Kraus, Inc., Pioneer Drama Service, and Applause Theatre & Cinema Books. He is a graduate of the University of the Arts London, and a member of the Dramatists Guild of America, Inc. For more information please visit his website at: andrewbiss.com