Next!

Despite it taking much work and having long gestation periods, I work almost entirely in full-length works of 70 minutes (70 is the new 90) to 2 hours. While I've written three 10-minute plays - one of which was produced by the Playwrights' Center of San Francisco - I don't find them fulfilling to write …

Politeness in dialog

In The Economist is an article on politeness in English (subscription apparently now required) and in other languages around the globe.  This is - well not quite timely; I've been working on the first draft of this play for over three years - of interest to me in the alternate history play I've been working …

Write what you don’t know

After my dismissal of Chekov's law, the next phrase I'd love to see disappear from playwriting feedback sessions is Write What You Know. I put that in all caps because if you've ever heard this at a feedback session you know it is delivered as a lecture from on high - you can hear the …

Erasing history

Some theatre Web sites are not particularly playwright-friendly. There is some very basic information theatre Web sites need to contain to attract the playwrights and plays they want and keep unsuitable ones away.

Repeal Chekov’s Law

You know the law, the one that says (approximately) if you introduce a gun in the first act then it has to go off by the third. Get rid of it. Now!