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Want to stage a play, make a fortune, win a Tony, and become a theatrical icon?

Of course! Don’t we all? Now there’s a book for that, and in that book, entitled How to Stage a Play, Make a Fortune, Win a Tony, and Become a Theatrical Icon, Charles Marowitz provides a goldmine of industry insights in a small, slim handbook.

There’s nothing like the opportunity to learn from the experiences of others, and this little work provides a wealth of information directly based on Marowitz’s own experiences in the theatre.

That experience shines through every page of the book, and is what makes it such an invaluable resource.

Beyond the Title

While amusingly and wittily named, the title to How to Stage a Play… is actually somewhat misleading. Despite the hyperbole, the book is not so much a nuts-and-bolts reference on to the process of creating a play, as it is a collection of insights and suggestions from someone who knows and loves the theatre world inside and out.

However, while it’s not precisely about how to stage a play in the traditional sense of the “how-to” book, Marowitz nevertheless offers an assortment of the kinds of invaluable insights you’d only normally get from a four-hour dinner at Sardi's with some erudite and fabulous theatre veteran who’s been there and seen it all.

Making the Right Decisions

How to Stage a Play… isn’t about nuts and bolts, but about decisionmaking at each step of the process– which is precisely where so many productions can go so terribly wrong. The book offers a series of sequential big-picture insights that cover the lifespan of staging a play, from the process of choosing and casting a play and its design team, to play readings, working with actors, handling egoes (and opening night), and more.

Marowitz also addresses such vital issues as public relations, photo shoots, working constructively with playwrights and other personnel, and handling curtain calls, difficult actors, and less-than-stellar reviews.

Timely Advice

Throughout the book, Marowitz’s tone is dry and slightly proper, with a dash of sly wit here and there when you least expect it. My favorite insights include some surprising and welcome pointers that actually go against popular approaches, such as the disadvantages of “all-out” first readings (actors can become too entrenched in too-early interpretations of their roles), and his belief that costume and set design decisions should be put off until the last possible minute, to allow for the play’s creative exploration to take place for the entire creative team. He also makes a case that striving for an atmosphere that is too chummy can be counterproductive, counseling “be wary of too great a sense of bonhomie.”

Evolving the Show

I also appreciated the fact that Marowitz emphasizes that the rehearsal process is – contrary to popular approach – not a process of refining a piece that has already been set, but is instead a process of creative discovery, in which actors, director and designers in fact should be open and alert to where those explorations will take them. This is a continuing theme for the author, and one of the things I really enjoyed about the work – his emphasis that in staging a work of theatre, one must be careful not to ‘set’ the work in stone too early, and that the clay of the creative process should remain malleable long enough to allow everyone involved to really get to the heart of the work.

How to Stage a Play, Make a Fortune, Win a Tony, and Become a Theatrical Icon doesn’t really give you the “how to” info you might expect on actually staging a play, but for readers and theatre folks with at least some experience, the work is definitely a welcome addition to your bookshelf, and it might just push you to do your best work – and, yes, win an award or two!

Purchase Info

Series: Limelight

Publisher: Hal Leonard

Format: Paperback

Author: Charles Marowitz

Price: $12.95

Length: 154 pages

Website:http://www.halleonardbooks.com/product/viewproduct.do?itemid=332695&lid=2&menuid=9925&subsiteid=167&