The Playwright's Guidebook: An Insightful Primer on the Art of Dramatic Writing - Softcover

"Stuart Spencer's *The Playwright's Guidebook* is indispensable. Clearly and thoroughly, Mr. Spencer--a playwright himself--leads all playwrights (not only the beginner) through the travails of creation and the jungle of production. He is to be congratulated."--Edward Albee

"Eureka! A clearly written, well-structured, intelligent how-to book about playwrighting. Like the good teacher and good writer that he is, Stuart Spencer guides rather than browbeats. Should be next to the laptop of any aspiring, or working, playwright."--Warren Leight, author of *Side Man*

"If you want to be a playwright, here's your bible." --David Lindsay-Abaire, author of *Fuddy Meers* and *Wonder of the World*

"Mr. Spencer's *Guidebook* is full of solid, straightforward advice in a conversational voice that takes the mystery out of how plays are wrought, not written." --Michael Weller, author of *Moonchildren*, *Loose Ends*, and Co-founder of the Mentor Project at the Cherry Lane Theatre

"A sensible, lucid, thorough and tremendously helpful journey into the always mysterious realities of playwriting." --Romulus Linney, author of *The Sorrows of Frederick*,*Holy Ghosts*, and *Tennessee*

"At last! A straight-from-the-shoulder approach to playwrighting that finally blows the dust off much of the mystique surrounding this craft. Stuart Spencer writes with wit, insight, clarity, brilliant first-hand knowledge, and yes, finally, offers genuine help! Refreshing and beautifully organized, this book is long overdue." --Jack O'Brien, Artistic Director, The Globe Theatres, San Diego

"Stuart Spencer's meticulous handbook does something I had thought was almost impossible: it describes, clarifies and analyzes the mysterious process of building a play. And moreover, he does so with the grace and respect of a first-rate teacher for the intelligence and potential of his students. There is no ideology, no formula for instant success here. Just the distilled experience of a real practitioner generous enough to share, and reliable enough to be trusted." --Jon Robin Baitz, author of *Ten Unknowns* and *Substance of Fire*

Stuart Spencer's most recent play, Resident Alien, has been produced around the country and been optioned for film. He teaches playwriting at Sarah Lawrence College.