WWW (World Wide Wisdom):

I'd like to leave you with some suggestions for further online ways to continue your study of playwriting, and to find a sense of community (or broaden the one you already have) while doing so. Some or all of these URLs may be familiar to you -- in which case maybe I can point you to levels of particular interest within the site.

The Playwriting Seminars http://www.vcu.edu/artweb/playwriting is an extensive playwriting how-to of uncommon intelligence, written and maintained by Richard Toscan, a professor of dramatic studies at a college in, I think, Virginia. To me, the "Quotes on Craft" sections at

http://www.vcu.edu/artweb/playwriting/quotesarchive.html

and

http://www.vcu.edu/artweb/playwriting/quotesarchive2.html

which provide 200-some pithy thoughts from working writers and others, are the site's highlight. But the whole thing is definitely worth the rather large investment of your time it asks for.

Theatre Central pretty much lives up to its name, as a comprehensive set of links to theatrical websites. It's at

http://www.playbill.com/theatrecentral/sites.html

though if that URL doesn't work for some reason, you can also reach it via Playbill Online's main site at http://www.playbill.com. (You might have to look carefully for the link on the opening page, somewhere near the bottom of the left-hand side.) I'd particularly suggest you use it to browse the websites of theatres around the world, to see what they're producing, and which ones might be likely places for your scripts.

I very much like the British-based WWW Virtual Library Theatre and Drama Page, particularly for its Electronic Texts and Plays Online index, located at

As you may have figured out by now, I'm of the "if you want to write plays, you have to read them" school. See them too, of course; the problem is we're not always able to see the most interesting new ones, or ones from outside our own country -- so we read them instead, which is just as good in its own, different way. We've tried to turn the E-script bookstore at http://www.singlelane.com/escript/ebooks.htm into a road source for recent scripts from around the world. Or you can go directly to Amazon.com (generally more comprehensive, I've found, than Barnes & Noble's online service, particularly when it comes to obscure stuff), at http://www.amazon.com and search under "Drama" or "Plays".

The major playwriting discussion group online is Plays and Playwrights. Subscribers to the list - a healthy combination of professionals and non-professionals -- receive and contribute messages of all kinds, related to the craft of playwriting. You can take part via the Yahoo Groups website, or e-mail. Visit

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/playsandplaywrights/

to sign up.

And I shouldn't give short shrift to E-script's own "Good Stuff" section at

http://www.singlelane.com/escript/gs.html

where you'll find an extensive archive of Q&As on Playwriting, as well as faculty "Postings" from our early years and the E-script Miscellany.

How's that? If you're looking to continue work on your play, now that our course is (with this handout) done, you may well be able to do so in one of E-script's workshops; I invite you to check them out at the website at http://www.singlelane.com/escript/.

The best way to become the playwright you want to be is, of course, to keep writing -- struggling, coming up against storytelling problems and patches of insecurity and busting through both, hearing your plays read and trying to get them produced. The ultimate goal, I've come to believe, is not to become a playwright like Arthur Miller, or Paula Vogel, or, for that matter, me (unless you are me) -- but like yourself; to bring to the stage the way of seeing the world and dramatizing it that only you have in you. That's the goal. But a lot of damn good plays get written by people simply trying to get there, and the journey itself -- as with any good dramatic journey -- can be reward enough.

Godspeed.

And cheers,

Frank