Array ( [0] => {{Short description|Person who writes plays}} [1] => A '''playwright''' or '''dramatist''' is a person who writes [[play (theatre)|play]]s. [2] => [[File:Benjamin Jonson by Abraham van Blyenberch.jpg|thumb|[[Ben Jonson]] coined the term "playwright" and is the first person in English literature to refer to playwrights as separate from [[Poet|poets]].]] [3] => [[File:Aleksis Kivi.jpg|thumb|The literary production of [[Aleksis Kivi]], the [[Finland|Finnish]] national author, consisted mainly of plays. One of his best-known plays is ''[[Heath Cobblers]]'' from 1864.]][[File:Agatha Christie.png|thumb|251x251px|[[Agatha Christie]], author of ''[[The Mousetrap]]'', the longest run play in history]] [4] => [5] => == Etymology == [6] => The word "play" is from Middle English {{Lang|enm|pleye}}, from Old English {{Lang|ang|plæġ, pleġa, plæġa}} ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause").{{Cite web |date=2024-04-28 |title=Definition of PLAY |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/play |access-date=2024-04-29 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}} The word ''[[wikt:wright|wright]]'' is an archaic English term for a [[Artisan|craftsperson]] or builder (as in a [[wheelwright]] or [[Wagon|cartwright]]).{{Cite web |title=Definition of WRIGHT |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wright |access-date=2024-04-29 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}} The words combine to indicate a person who has "wrought" words, themes, and other elements into a dramatic form—a play. (The [[homophone]] with "write" is coincidental.) [7] => [8] => The first recorded use of the term "playwright" is from 1605,{{cite web |title=Definition of playwright |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/playwright |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180117102704/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/playwright |archive-date=17 January 2018 |access-date=27 April 2018 |website=[[Merriam-Webster]]}} 73 years before the first written record of the term "dramatist".{{cite web |title=Definition of dramatist |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dramatist |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180127083801/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dramatist |archive-date=27 January 2018 |access-date=27 April 2018 |website=Merriam-Webster}} It appears to have been first used in a pejorative sense by [[Ben Jonson]]{{cite web |date=2003-08-10 |title=Jonson, Ben, ''The Works of Ben Jonson'', Boston: Phillips, Sampson and Co., 1853. page 788 |url=http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/jonson/epigram49.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120712214209/http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/jonson/epigram49.htm |archive-date=2012-07-12 |access-date=2012-04-23 |publisher=Luminarium: Anthology of English Literature}} to suggest a mere tradesman fashioning works for the theatre. [9] => [10] => Jonson uses the word in his Epigram 49, which is thought to refer to [[John Marston (playwright)|John Marston]]{{Cite book |last=Allen |first=Morse S. |title=The satire of John Marston |date=1920 |publisher=The F. J. Heer Printing Co. |year=1920 |location=Columbis, Ohio |pages=75}} or [[Thomas Dekker (writer)|Thomas Dekker]]{{Cite book |last=Jonson |first=Ben |title=The poems of Ben Jonson |last2=Cain |first2=Thomas Grant Stevens |last3=Connolly |first3=Ruth |date=2022 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-315-69619-5 |series=Longman annotated English poets |location=Abingdon, Oxon New York |pages=42}}: [11] => [12] => :''Epigram XLIX — On Playwright'' [13] => :PLAYWRIGHT me reads, and still my verses damns, [14] => :He says I want the tongue of epigrams ; [15] => :I have no salt, no bawdry he doth mean ; [16] => :For witty, in his language, is obscene. [17] => :Playwright, I loath to have thy manners known [18] => :In my chaste book ; I profess them in thine own. [19] => [20] => Jonson described himself as a poet, not a playwright, since plays during that time were written in meter and so were regarded as the province of poets. This view was held as late as the early 19th century. The term "playwright" later again lost this negative connotation. [21] => [22] => ==History== [23] => ===Early playwrights=== [24] => The earliest playwrights in Western literature with surviving works are the [[Ancient Greek]]s. These early plays were for annual [[Athens|Athenian]] competitions among play writersFraser, Neil. ''playwright History Explained'', ''The Cowood Press'', 2004, page 11 held around the 5th century BC. Such notables as [[Aeschylus]], [[Sophocles]], [[Euripides]], and [[Aristophanes]] established forms still relied on by their modern counterparts. For the ancient Greeks, playwriting involved ''[[poiesis|poïesis]]'', "the act of making". This is the source of the English word ''poet''. [25] => [26] => Despite [[Chinese Theatre]] having performers dated back to the 6th century BC with [[You Meng]], their perspective of theatre was such that plays had no other role than "performer" or "actor", but given that the performers were also the ones who invented their performances, they could be considered a form of playwright.{{Cite book |last=Ye |first=Tan |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/182662750 |title=Historical dictionary of Chinese theater |date=2008 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-5514-4 |series=Historical dictionaries of literature and the arts |location=Lanham, Md |oclc=182662750}} [27] => [28] => Outside of the Western world there is [[Indian classical drama]], with one of the oldest known playwrights being [[Śudraka]], whose attributed plays can be dated to the second century BC.{{Cite book |last=Stoneman |first=Richard |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/on1032723070 |title=The Greek experience of India: from Alexander to the Indo-Greeks |date=2019 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-15403-9 |location=Princeton |oclc=on1032723070}} The ''[[Natya Shastra|Nāṭya Shāstra]]'', a text on the performing arts from between 500BC-500AD, categorizes playwrights as being among the members of a theatre company, although playwrights were generally the highest in social status, with some being kings.{{Cite book |title=Indian theatre: traditions of performance |date=1993 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ |isbn=978-81-208-0981-9 |editor-last=Richmond |editor-first=Farley P. |edition= |series=Performing arts series |location=Delhi}} [29] => [30] => ===Aristotle's ''Poetics'' techniques=== [31] => In the 4th century BCE, [[Aristotle]] wrote his ''[[Poetics (Aristotle)|Poetics]]'', in which he analyzed the principle of action or ''praxis'' as the basis for tragedy.{{Cite book |last=Aristotle |title=Poetics |publisher=Macmillan |year=1902 |edition=3rd |pages=45 |translator-last=Butcher |translator-first=S.H.}} He then considered elements of drama: [[Plot (narrative)|plot]] (''{{Lang|el|μύθος|italic=no}} {{Lang|el-latn|mythos}}''), character (''{{Lang|el|ἔθος|italic=no}} {{Lang|el-latn|[[ethos]]}}''), thought (''{{Lang|el-latn|[[dianoia]]}}''), diction (''{{Lang|el-latn|[[Lexis (Aristotle)|lexis]]}}''), music (''{{Lang|el-latn|[[Melody|melodia]]}}''), and spectacle (''{{Lang|el-latn|opsis}}''). Since the [[Mythology|myths]] on which [[Greek tragedy]] were based were widely known, plot had to do with the arrangement and selection of existing material. Character was determined by choice and by action. Tragedy is [[mimesis]]—"the imitation of an action that is serious". He developed his notion of [[hamartia]], or tragic flaw, an error in judgment by the main character or [[protagonist]], which provides the basis for the "conflict-driven" play. [32] => [33] => ===Neo-classical theory=== [34] => The [[Italian Renaissance]] brought about a stricter interpretation of Aristotle, as this long-lost work came to light in the late 15th century. The [[Neoclassical architecture|neoclassical]] ideal, which was to reach its apogee in France during the 17th century, dwelled upon the [[unities]], of action, place, and time. This meant that the playwright had to construct the play so that its "virtual" time would not exceed 24 hours, that it would be restricted to a single setting, and that there would be no subplots. Other terms, such as verisimilitude and decorum, circumscribed the subject matter significantly. For example, verisimilitude limits of the unities. Decorum fitted proper protocols for behavior and language on stage. [35] => In France, contained too many events and actions, thus, violating the 24-hour restriction of the unity of time. Neoclassicism never had as much traction in England, and [[Shakespeare]]'s plays are directly opposed to these models, while in Italy, improvised and bawdy [[commedia dell'arte]] and opera were more popular forms. In England, after the [[Interregnum (British Isles)|interregnum]], and [[Restoration (England)|Restoration]] of the [[monarchy]] in 1660, there was a move toward neoclassical dramaturgy. [36] => [37] => One structural unit that is still useful to playwrights today is the "[[French scenes|French scene]]", which is a scene in a play where the beginning and end are marked by a change in the makeup of the group of characters onstage rather than by the lights going up or down or the set being changed.George, Kathleen (1994) ''[[iarchive:playwritingfirst0000geor|Playwriting: The First Workshop]]'', Focal Press, {{ISBN|978-0-240-80190-2}}, p. 154. [38] => [39] => === Contemporary playwrights in the United States === [40] => Contemporary playwrights in the [[United States]] are affected by recent declines in theatre attendence.{{Cite web |last=Pierson |first=Alexandra |last2=Merrill |first2=Amelia |last3=Coutinho |first3=Gabriela Furtado |last4=Pierce |first4=Jerald Raymond |last5=Sims |first5=Joseph |last6=Weinert-Kendt |first6=Rob |date=2023-07-24 |title=Theatre in Crisis: What We’re Losing, and What Comes Next |url=https://www.americantheatre.org/2023/07/24/theatre-in-crisis-what-were-losing-and-what-comes-next/ |access-date=2024-04-29 |website=AMERICAN THEATRE |language=en-US}} No longer the only outlet for serious drama or entertaining comedies, theatrical productions must use ticket sales as a source of income, which has caused many of them to reduce the number of new works being produced. For example, [[Playwrights Horizons]] produced only six plays in the 2002–03 seasons, compared with thirty-one in 1973–74.{{cite web |author=Soloski |first=Alexis |date=2003-05-21 |title=The Plays What They Wrote: The Best Scripts Not Yet Mounted on a New York Stage |url=http://www.villagevoice.com/theater/0321,soloski,44226,11.html |url-status= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071210095919/http://www.villagevoice.com/theater/0321%2Csoloski%2C44226%2C11.html |archive-date=2007-12-10 |access-date=2012-04-23 |publisher=The Village Voice}} Playwrights commonly encounter difficulties in getting their shows produced and often cannot earn a living through their plays alone, leading them to take up other jobs to supplement their incomes.{{Cite book |last=London |first=Todd |title=Outrageous Fortune: The Life and Times of the New American Play |publisher=Theatre Development Fund |year=2009}} [41] => [42] => ====New play development==== [43] => Today, theatre companies have new play development programs meant to develop new American voices in playwriting. Many regional theatres have hired dramaturges and literary managers in an effort to showcase various festivals for new work, or bring in playwrights for residencies.{{Cite book |last=Haimbach |first=Brian Prince |title=Contemporary new play development |date=2006 |publisher=University of Georgia}} Funding through national organizations, such as the [[National Endowment for the Arts]]{{Cite web |title=GRANTS FOR ARTS PROJECTS: Theater |url=https://www.arts.gov/grants/grants-for-arts-projects/theater |access-date=2024-04-29 |website=www.arts.gov |language=en}} and the [[Theatre Communications Group]], encouraged the partnerships of professional theatre companies and emerging playwrights.{{Cite web |title=Home - Edgerton Foundation New Play Awards |url=https://circle.tcg.org/edgertonfoundationnewplayawards/home |access-date=2024-04-29 |website=circle.tcg.org}} [44] => [45] => Playwrights will often have a [[Cold reading (theatrical)|cold reading]] of a script in an informal sitdown setting, which allows them to evaluate their own plays and the actors performing them. Cold reading means that the actors haven't rehearsed the work, or may be seeing it for the first time, and usually, the technical requirements are minimal.{{Cite web |date=26 October 2022 |title=What is a Cold Reading? Do I memorize my lines? |url=https://tophollywoodactingcoach.com/2012/04/what-is-a-cold-reading/ |website=Kid's Top Hollywood Acting Coach}} The O'Neill Festival{{Cite web |title=Young Playwrights Festival {{!}} Eugene O'Neill Theater Center |url=https://www.theoneill.org/ypf |access-date=2024-04-29 |website=theoneill |language=en}} offers summer retreats for young playwrights to develop their work with directors and actors. [46] => [47] => Playwriting [[collective]]s like 13P and Orbiter 3{{Cite web |title=Orbiter 3 |url=http://www.orbiter3.org/ |access-date=2024-04-29 |website=Orbiter 3 |language=en-US}} gather members together to produce, rather than develop, new works. The idea of the playwriting collective is in response to plays being stuck int he development process and never advancing to production.{{Cite web |date=2012-07-26 |title=13 Playwrights Is Preparing To Implode |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/13-playwrights-13p_b_1697919 |access-date=2024-04-29 |website=HuffPost |language=en}} [48] => [49] => ==See also== [50] => * [[List of playwrights]] [51] => * [[Play (theatre)]] [52] => * [[Screenwriter]] [53] => [54] => ==References== [55] => {{Reflist}} [56] => [57] => ==External links== [58] => * {{Wikiversity-inline|Collaborative play writing}} [59] => * {{Wiktionary-inline}} [60] => * {{Commons category-inline|Playwrights}} [61] => [62] => {{Authority control}} [63] => [64] => [[Category:Dramatists and playwrights| ]] [65] => [[Category:Mass media occupations]] [66] => [[Category:Theatrical occupations]] [] => )
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Playwright

A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays.

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