A comprehensive resource for writing dramatic narratives about real people.
O’Neill explores the ins and outs of writing biographical drama in this writing manual.
Biopics and their theatrical equivalent, biodramas, have always been a popular art form. Audiences love movies and stage shows that portray the lives of famous athletes, politicians, musicians, and others who’ve experienced remarkable events in their lives. Writing these plays and screenplays can be a bit more complex than creating purely fictional fare, however, as the biodramatist walks a fine line between fidelity to the facts and a commitment to telling a compelling, narratively satisfying story. As O’Neill explains in her introduction, the biodramatist must “transform the facts into dramatic visual scenes for the audience and reader to experience.” This book, which is aimed at novice and seasoned writers alike, is intended to provide a map for those embarking on a biographical project. It covers everything from essential writing and researching tips to strategies for selecting a fruitful subject to the ethics and legalities of portraying real people. The author offers a list of questions every would-be biodramatist should ask themselves, such as how timely a person’s story is and what new perspective a writer might bring to it. O’Neill also discusses biodrama as a genre—she uses the term to refer to both film and theatrical productions—examining its enduring popularity and examining some prominent examples, such as the award-winning films Amadeusand Bohemian Rhapsody. In addition, O’Neill includes a number of writing exercises in order to get her readers into the biodramatic mindset.
Over the course of this guide, O’Neill’s prose is straightforward and workmanlike. She’s often quite frank with her advice, as when she explains what sort of person is a suitable subject for a biodrama, and details why an unnamedfriend of hers simply doesn’t fit the bill: “No addictions, no steamy affairs with famous stars, no nasty divorces, no criminal activity, no theft of his great ideas, no exciting obstacles to overcome. He had a stable social life, which fed his success.” She uses her own play Barassi, about the celebrated Australian rules football player Ron Barassi, as a model for the adaptation process, which is useful in how it shows how a biodramatist may negotiate specific problems. She also helpfully includes advice gleaned from other successful practitioners of the art form, including José Rivera (who adapted the life story of Che Guevara for the screen as The Motorcycle Diaries), Kenneth Lin (who worked on a staged story about Russian billionaire Mikhail Khordokovsky), Robert Reid (who wrote a play about comedian Bill Hicks), and Polly Teale (who wrote a play about the Brontë sisters). Perhaps the most valuable information that O’Neill offers, however, is her thoughts on research—some of which aren’t always obvious, such as the value of learning more about the lives of your subject’s contemporaries. Much of her advice will be relevant for would-be novelists, as well, as she outlines considerations that are important for all writers to consider.
A comprehensive resource for writing dramatic narratives about real people.Pub Date: July 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-0648890607
Page Count: 196
Publisher: Endeavor Literary Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.
The veteran actor, comedian, and banjo player teams up with the acclaimed illustrator to create a unique book of cartoons that communicates their personalities.
Martin, also a prolific author, has always been intrigued by the cartoons strewn throughout the pages of the New Yorker. So when he was presented with the opportunity to work with Bliss, who has been a staff cartoonist at the magazine since 1997, he seized the moment. “The idea of a one-panel image with or without a caption mystified me,” he writes. “I felt like, yeah, sometimes I’m funny, but there are these other weird freaks who are actually funny.” Once the duo agreed to work together, they established their creative process, which consisted of working forward and backward: “Forwards was me conceiving of several cartoon images and captions, and Harry would select his favorites; backwards was Harry sending me sketched or fully drawn cartoons for dialogue or banners.” Sometimes, he writes, “the perfect joke occurs two seconds before deadline.” There are several cartoons depicting this method, including a humorous multipanel piece highlighting their first meeting called “They Meet,” in which Martin thinks to himself, “He’ll never be able to translate my delicate and finely honed droll notions.” In the next panel, Bliss thinks, “I’m sure he won’t understand that the comic art form is way more subtle than his blunt-force humor.” The team collaborated for a year and created 150 cartoons featuring an array of topics, “from dogs and cats to outer space and art museums.” A witty creation of a bovine family sitting down to a gourmet meal and one of Dumbo getting his comeuppance highlight the duo’s comedic talent. What also makes this project successful is the team’s keen understanding of human behavior as viewed through their unconventional comedic minds.
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-26289-9
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
A beautifully produced, engaging homage.
Celebrating a beloved artist.
Published to coincide with a major exhibition of works by British-born artist David Hockney (b. 1937) at the Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, this lushly illustrated volume offers a detailed overview of the artist’s life and work, along with chapters focused on his various styles and subject matter, a chronology, and a glossary of the many techniques he employed in his art, including camera lucida, computer, and video. Contributors of essays include noted art historians and curators, such as Norman Rosenthal, who edited the volume; Simon Schama; Anne Lyles; James Cahill; and François Michaud. Growing up in the north of England, Hockney was drawn to the light and sparkle that he found in Hollywood movies. When he finally arrived in Los Angeles, the sunlit landscapes inspired him, and his new sense of artistic freedom concurred with sexual freedom: As a gay man, he felt liberated from the constraints that had weighed on him in Britain, even in the “relative Bohemia” of the Royal College of Art. Essayists reflect on his artistic interests, such as landscapes, portraiture, flowers, and the opera—for which he created boldly exuberant sets—as well as on his influences and experimentation. Michaud examines the impact on Hockney of a visit to Paris in the 1970s, where he became familiar with Henri Matisse and his contemporaries from museum exhibitions. In the 1990s, visiting his mother and friends in Yorkshire, Hockney painted both outdoors and in the studio, experimenting with various media—including the photocopier and fax machine—as he worked to render the woodsy landscape. As a companion to the exhibition, the volume offers stunning reproductions of Hockney’s prolific works. Enormously popular with museumgoers, Hockney, Rosenthal exults, “transforms the ordinary and the everyday into the remarkable.”
A beautifully produced, engaging homage.Pub Date: June 3, 2025
ISBN: 9780500029527
Page Count: 328
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: April 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2025
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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