WSJ.com: "To catch the latest work of a hot American playwright, there's no need to go the theater—just turn on the TV.
Keith Huff, who wrote last fall's Broadway hit 'A Steady Rain,' just started a new job as a writer for the AMC show 'Mad Men.' Seven of the nine people writing the next season of HBO's 'Big Love' are playwrights. Of the 200 applicants for writing jobs for an upcoming FX drama, 'Lights Out,' about an aging former heavyweight boxing champion, one in three were playwrights."
3 comments:
I think playwrights make better writers of story in general. It is more dialogue driven and more dynamic, instead of focusing on short scenes that jump from location to location, playwrights ground them to one or two locations. Not only does it save money but it creates character development that would otherwise be missing from normal daytime/prime-time television. In fact the only TV show that I know has great character development is Brothers and Sisters created by a playwright.
I never would have realized that playwrights would also write for TV. I also never really thought about how the writing style would be different, dialogue versus a very visual approach. I think it's good that writers can move between tv and theatre. Although, I feel that a tv writer would generally be less successful transitioning away, and perhaps less accepted. Also, the difference between a team of writers for television and often a single writer for a play can really affect style.
It makes sense that a lot of playwrights are migrating to television not only because of the money but because of the accessibility of television as opposed to theater and how acclaimed television can reach greater audiences. Its a way to effect more people with your work. Many people might say that changing to television shows might be selling out but I think its a great thing because the quality of television (with all those horrible reality television shows and cheesy prime time dramas) can improve with more provocative and controversial shows. The article points out that "Big Love" and "Mad Men" are shows with playwrights writing on both of the shows, and its not surprising that they are very original and dynamic shows. The article also states that playwrights are getting more involved with Broadway, that's exciting, maybe they'll produce less shows based on pure fluff and more actual substance.
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