playwriting advice | Play Submissions Helper

Your Play Needs These 7 Elements

by PSH | Jan 12, 2023 | play submission advice & tips, playwriting advice, playwriting tips

Storytelling is one of the oldest art forms known to man. We’ve been telling stories as long as we’ve had the language to do it. So it should come as no surprise that, by now, we have a pretty solid understanding of the most important narrative elements....

Don’t Settle For A So-So Premise

by PSH | Dec 9, 2022 | play submission advice & tips, playwriting advice, playwriting tips

Without a doubt, the #1 most common question that people ask writers is: “Where do you get your ideas?” We get them, of course, everywhere. From snippets of overheard dialogue. From images of a forboding landscape. From a relationship dynamic between two...

The Value of Having A Playwriting Partner

by PSH | Nov 16, 2022 | play submission advice & tips, playwriting advice, playwriting tips

Most people think of writing as a solitary pursuit. We get this romantic image of a man or woman sitting alone at a desk, typing or scribbling in a flurry of inspiration. And to be sure…as a playwright, you’ll spend plenty of solitary time with your butt...

Write a more emotionally profound play

by PSH | Oct 13, 2022 | play submission advice & tips, Play Submissions, playwriting advice

Today, I want to talk a little bit about how you can make the most of the emotional transfer that’s an inherent part of the theater experience. When you’re watching a play, there’s a transfer of emotions that takes place between the actors and the...

Important Playwriting Decisions

by PSH | Sep 9, 2022 | play submission advice & tips, playwriting advice

One of the most common mistakes I see playwrights making is focusing too much on the minutae in their script–and don’t place enough attention on making the strongest decisions they can. What do I mean by “minutae” and “decisions”?...

Subtext For Playwrights

by PSH | Aug 12, 2022 | play submission advice & tips, playwriting advice, playwriting tips

Stanislavski famously said: “Spectators come to the theatre to hear the subtext. They can read the text at home.” How right he is. Subtext adds an extra layer of complexity to every line. It can take an ordinary conversation and lend it a magnetism that draws the...

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