The Drama of Creation: Writers on Writing 2005
Distributed by Films Media Group, PO Box 2053, Princeton, New Jersey 08543-2053; 800-257-5126
Produced by the William Inge Center for the Arts and Films for the Humanities & Sciences
Director n/a
DVD, color, 46 min.
College - Adult
Communication, Drama, Theater, Writing
Date Entered: 03/09/2006
Reviewed by Margaret M. Reed, Riley-Hickingbotham Library, Ouachita Baptist University, Arkadelphia, ARThanks to the efforts of the William Inge Center for the Arts in Independence, Kansas, aspiring writers have access to some of the greatest minds in contemporary play writing. The Drama of Creation: Writers on Writing presents a series of excerpts from personal interviews the Center has conducted with artists over the past 25 years.
Center Director Peter Ellenstein introduces the interviews within a framework of questions about the creative process, motivation, idea sources, and collaboration. Among the nearly 20 interviewees are some of the most noted modern masters of the stage – Edward Albee, Tina Howe, Arthur Miller, Peter Shaffer, Neil Simon, and August Wilson.
The assembly of so many important playwrights in a single film distinguishes The Drama of Creation: Writers on Writing from other documentaries. The writers’ willingness to reveal their innermost thoughts contributes to the film’s wealth of creative genius. Moreover, the film uncovers the common threads of imagination that run through the minds of a diverse group of authors.
Highly recommended for academic and public libraries, The Drama of Creation: Writers on Writing is an outstanding resource for writing courses of all sorts.