Chair of the New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Dramatic Writing Program and mentor to such theatre figures as Neil LaBute, Kenneth Lonergan, Doug Wright, and George Wolfe, Janet Neipris distills a career's worth of wisdom, advice, and encouragement in these collected lectures and essays for every playwriting student and practicing playwright. With her gift for succinct and practical instruction, she lays out the questions (and answers) that face every dramatic writer. Chapters like "Fifty Questions to Ask About Your Play" illuminate the concrete work of writing dialogue, plot, scene, and act. Through it all, Neipris never forgets the joy of writing. This is an essential book that will coach and inspire anyone writing a play or a script.