![]() So, the US, where there is no subsidy, leaves theatres more dependent on small casts, simple sets, received conventions, stars and redemptive narratives. SS – Money fundamentally defines all the differences. KP – What differences have you observed about the UK and US theatre scenes, or indeed any other countries you’re particularly familiar with? And the original pieces synthesise all these things as well as exercising my imaginative response to my world. The adaptations are exercises in dramaturgy and form a version of the story in dramatic language. SS – I like it all: the process of adapting from other sources, writing new versions of plays not written in English and generating my own original work. KP – Do you prefer to adapt existing stories or produce original drama? What are the challenges of each? The playwrights whose structural creativity most inspires me are Caryl Churchill’s (especially in her 21st Century plays), Sarah Kane and Robert Holman. SS – The point for me is not to aspire to perfection but to creativity. KP – Which writers or wrights would you recommend people read/watch for examples of great structure (other than yourself of course!)? I try to be as creative with the structure of my pieces – fundamentally how many scenes there are, and where and when they are set – as I would be with language or image or action. At university I realised I couldn’t sing and that the theatre could be a form that synthesised my teenage love of drama and live music, so I just started writing plays. It contains the force of the melody and idea more than any other element. Dramatic structure is like song structure in music. As wrights rather than writers our work concerns itself with shaping and making. SS – For me it is fundamental and increasingly creative and exciting. KP – What are your thoughts on structure in scripts? What part does it have to play, and at which point(s) in the writing process? SS – Plays defined by thoughts, feeling or poetry rather than action. KP – Is there anything that would turn you off a new script? If you are true to your sense of the world and determined to wrought the plays with as much clarity as possible, your own voice will define the originality. ![]() I would concern myself with this rather than with worrying about originality. Build them around behaviour rather than thought or feeing. SS – The thing I look for is making sure plays are dramatic rather than descriptive. ![]() KP – What do you think makes a new writer/piece of work stand out? And keep working to get them as good as possible. So, keep the plays taut and dramatic, original and challenging. ![]() Theatre remains a meritocracy in the UK, I think. Simon Stephens – I think my main advice would be to encourage playwrights to concern themselves with the work rather than the career – to worry about getting their plays as good as they can be, rather than negotiating the vicissitudes of the industry. What general advice would you give to new writers, both on writing and on getting their work noticed? Katherine Press – Hi Simon, and thanks for joining us. In this interview, multi-award-winning international playwright Simon Stephens ( The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Punk Rock) speaks to John Yorke Story’s Katherine Press, and shares his thoughts on drama, creativity and the musical structure of scripts. With its reliance on text, without the framework of camera angles, theatre is often viewed as a valuable training ground for screenwriting, as well as a celebrated medium in its own right.Ĭountless playwrights have transitioned from writing for stage to screen, bringing with them an exemplary understanding of their craft. The fundamentals of story structure transfer across genres, and remain essential to hooking and retaining an audience. A well-written story is a gripping story, whatever the format – TV, film, radio or theatre. ![]()
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