Words for the Theatre

<p>In <i>Words for the Theatre</i>, playwright David Cole<i> </i>pursues a course of dramaturgical self-questioning on the part of a playwright, centred on the act of playwriting.</p><p>The book’s four essays each offer a dramaturgical perspective on a different aspect of the playwright’s practice: How does the playwright juggle the transcriptive and prescriptive aspects of their activity? Does the ultimate performance of a playtext in fact represent something to which all writing aspires? Does the playwright’s process of withdrawing to create their text echo a similar process in the theatre more widely? Finally, how can the playwright counter theatre’s pervasive leaning towards the ‘mistake’ of realism?</p><p>Suited to playwrights, teachers, and higher-level students, this volume of essays offers reflections on the questions that confront every playwright, from an author well-versed in supplying words for the theatre.</p> <p>Preface: Words from a Playwright </p><p>Acknowledgments </p><p>ESSAY I: The Dramatic Text As Transcript and Prescription </p><p>ESSAY II: The Dramatic Text As Type of the Text </p><p>ESSAY III: The Theatre Wants to Go In </p><p>ESSAY IV: Theatre As an Event and Another Event; or, The Sorrows of Realism (Something like a manifesto)</p><p><em>Words for the Theatre </em></p><p>Index</p>