Developing playwright(s): New visions and voices for new play development

摘要

This dissertation investigates and illuminates the two-year development of a script, Ain't Nothin' Quick 'n Easy, from a workable initial draft to a producible script. Part One of the dissertation includes an autoethnographic investigation into a play development community, the 2003 WordBRIDGE Playwrights' Laboratory. This discussion examines my entrance into the community, my participation in the workshop, how this experience shaped my identity as a playwright, and proposes a model for creating a play development laboratory.;Part Two presents an analysis of Ain't Nothin' Quick 'n Easy based in the work of Kenneth Burke. Deriving methods from Burke's theories of literary and rhetorical analysis, I have closely examined a script of my own creation to more clearly discern a perspective on the script, ways to see what the script is communicating, and how the parts function to create the emotional effect of the whole. This form of "self-dramaturgy" has allowed me to revise the work with a clearer working knowledge of how the script functions as a whole.;The dissertation includes three appendices: Appendix One is a draft of the script prior to my work at WordBRIDGE. Appendix Two is a draft of the script completed after my work with Burkean methods. Appendix Three provides samples of specific tools used in the Burkean analysis.