Writing Adaptations and Translations for the Stage

Book excerpt: Writing Adaptations and Translations for the Stage is a practical guide for writing adapted works for theatrical performance. Broadway translator and dramaturg Allison Horsley and award-winning playwright and educator Jacqueline Goldfinger take readers step-by-step through the brainstorming, writing, revision, and performance processes for translations and adaptations. The book includes lectures, case studies, writing exercises, and advice from top theater professionals on the process of creating, pitching, and producing adaptations and translations, covering a wide range of topics such as jukebox musicals, Shakespeare adaptations, plays from novels, theater for young adults, and theater in translation and using Indigenous language. Artists who share their wisdom in this book include: Des McAnuff (Tony Award), Emily Mann (Tony Award), Dominique Morisseau (Broadway Adaptor, Tony Award nominee, MacArthur Genius Fellow), Lisa Peterson (Obie Award, Lortel Award), Sarah Ruhl (Broadway Playwright, Tony Award nominee, Pulitzer Prize finalist, MacArthur Genius Fellow), and Tina Satter (Broadway Director, Obie Award, Guggenheim Fellowship). The book also features interviews with artists working both in the US and internationally, as well as guest columns from artists who work in less traditional adaptive forms including cabaret, burlesque, opera, community-engaged process, and commercial theater. Writing Adaptations and Translations for the Stage is an essential resource for students and instructors of Dramatic Writing, Playwriting, and Creative Writing courses and for aspiring playwrights.