How to Publish a Play

Video Transcript

"Hi have you ever wondered how to publish a play? I am John Conlon here with a few tips and some advice. First of all production and not publication is the primary objective of the playwright. Publication is the last step so first write the play, then have somebody else read the play, have several somebody elses read the play and if you can workshop the play with a director at a local school or college. That will give you an idea of how the audience can react to a play as well as how actors can interpret your words. In the course of rehearsing in a workshop production the best thing a playwright can do is to listen and not offer advice or interpretation. Once the play is workshopped, then it is time to rewrite the play and again and again. Revision is something that happens in plays all the time. Even in production things can be revised even up until the last moment before the curtain opens. To publish a play look for literary agents who publish works like yours or find an agent who might be interested in taking a chance on you. Another way is of course self publishing, you can publish the play yourself, just make lots of copies and another way is to enter playwriting competitions which offer the possibility of production and publication eventually. Again publication is the last step in a long journey but publication is one of those things that will insure that your play reaches not only your friends and immediate family but also a larger audience out in the world which is why you are writing a play to begin with. I'm John Conlon, these are a few words about how to publish a play."