Embodied Playwriting

Hillary Haft Bucs is a Professor of Theatre at Western New England University, where she teaches Playwriting, Acting, and Improvisational Comedy. With Valerie Clayman Pye, she co-edited Objectives, Obstacles, and Tactics in Practice: Perspectives on Activating the Actor (Routledge 2020).

Embodied Playwriting: Improv and Acting Exercises for Writing and Devising is the first book to compile new and adapted exercises for teaching playwriting in the classroom, workshop, or studio through the lens of acting and improvisation.

Part 1: Creating Characters 1. The Meet and Greet: Creating Opportunities for Surprise and Discovery 2. Improvising Between the Lines: Enhancing the Script by Embodying Subtext 3. Using Improv to Create Original Plays: Respectfully Writing Diverse Characters 4. Character's Search for Authenticity: Improvisation for the Revision Process Part 2: Body and Mind 5. The Picture Project: Originating Story through Movement 6. Physical Expressions in Devised Playwriting 7. Active Group Playwriting: Psychodramatic Techniques Adapted for Playmaking Part 3: Playing Games 8. Building the World of the Play Through Collaborative Performance 9. It's All About Play: Locating the Game in Embodied Playwriting 10. Folkgames as Creative Stimulus for Devising: The Case of Chaskele Part 4: Changemaking 11. 'Laughter that shatters': Improv Techniques for Social Justice Comedy Playwriting 12. Writing for Change: Guiding Activist Playwrights in Classrooms and Communities 13. Community-Based Play Creation 14. Writing Climate Justice: Personal Storytelling and Source Material Devising as Embodied Methodology Part 5: Curated Exercises 15. Embodied Playwriting Exercises for Classroom, Workshop, and Studio: Skill-Building and Content Generation 16. Embodied Playwriting Exercises for Classroom, Workshop, and Studio: The Revision Process