Actors are the reason playwrights do what we do. You bring our words to life. You challenge us and lift us up, you give us a reason to keep going. In this article, I share one playwright’s perspective on some of the triumphs and sticking points of this singular relationship. With all the love in my heart, here are 10 THINGS PLAYWRIGHTS WISH THEIR ACTORS UNDERSTOOD (A Love Letter). Original post from Substack newsletter: HOW TO PLAYWRIGHT by Audrey Cefaly Actors are the reas

Over the course of my playwriting career, I have marveled at the power of “nothing.” I relish with abandon all that is unspoken and unsaid—the glorious tension in a pinpoint of silence. Original post from Substack newsletter: HOW TO PLAYWRIGHT by Audrey Cefaly So perhaps it makes sense then that I’d be drawn to non-speaking roles. I admit, dear reader, somehow, they have found their way into many of my manuscripts—an offstage landlady in Fin & Euba, an onstage stage manager

I wrote my first play twenty years ago. I wrote my second play one year later. Here are 21 things I learned in the year between the two: Original post from Substack newsletter: HOW TO PLAYWRIGHT by Audrey Cefaly Dialogue: Use less. Same with exposition. Stage directions: They are not your boss - and - you are not their bitch. Explore the wonders of this art form (and it IS an art form). If someone comes to you with some BS about stage directions, throw it right in the tras