Release date: October 19, 2018
Subgenre: Non-fiction, Playwriting
About The Dead Stage - A Journey From Page To Stage:
“The Dead Stage – the period of time between completing the working draft of a stage play and placing it with an interested party.” – Dan Weatherer
Dan Weatherer, an author turned playwright, learned quickly that there are practices playwrights can implement to dramatically increase the appeal of their work.
Inside, you’ll find advice that will enable you to better tailor your work to the needs of the theatre industry, without having to compromise on style, content or subject matter. Dan discusses his early mistakes, and presents the advice of notable theatre professionals including the award-winning playwright, Deborah McAndrew, noted actor Matthew Spence, and London Horror Festival producer, Kate Danbury (along with many, many more!).
You’ll also be able to read several of Dan’s completed stage plays, which are presented in a preferred industry format, and often contain side-notes detailing the success (and failures) of said pieces.
From budgets to set design, run-time to cast size, if you ever felt the desire to write for the stage, following the advice presented in this book will help improve your chances of pairing your script with an interested party, hopefully making The Dead Stage pass almost unnoticed.
Proudly represented by Crystal Lake Publishing—Tales from the Darkest Depths.
Excerpt:
So you have penned your theatrical debut and it is a masterpiece, but what now? How do you
get your freshly completed stage play from your hard drive and onto the stage?
Believe it or not, this is not as daunting or as complicated a process
as it might sound. While there is no 100% sure-fire way to ensure your piece
gets to be performed on stage, I will
share a few useful tips that will save you a lot
of time when it comes to submitting material, and help manage your
expectations of what you can expect to experience during the process. Again, I must stress that this is in no way, shape or
form the ONLY way to get your work onto the stage, but as of writing this I
have only been writing as a playwright for eighteen months, and I have already
had several pieces of work staged/aired in the UK/USA, and have successfully
landed representation as a playwright. What has worked for me may work
for you.
OK, so let’s dive in with what I have
learned during my short stint as a playwright:
First, some truths as regards to theatre
and new writing (most of what I will discuss is born of my experience with the
UK theatre scene, but I imagine some of
it will ring true wherever you are in the world). New writing is seen as a gamble, more so than with regard to traditional
book publishing. Many believe that theatre is the toughest nut to crack when
compared to film and book industries. The aim of the theatre is to make money
by filling seats. The sad truth is that new writers are not often seen as seat fillers, and theatre companies are
reluctant to take a risk on any piece, regardless of its merit, if they feel
the name of the author is not enough of a draw to cover their overheads and
make a profit.
However, don’t despair! There are many theatres that DO encourage new
writing, and they often post submission calls detailing exactly the kind of
work that they are looking for. I use the
Play Submission Helper and the London Playwrights Blog. Check them often and I guarantee you will eventually come across a theatre/group that will be
willing to read your work. From then, it is a case of following their
submission guidelines and waiting patiently for a response (please bear in mind
that response times vary considerably, and as with any submission, decisions are based a multitude of factors, and feedback is rarely provided with a rejection).
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About Dan Weatherer:
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