Sheila Yeger
The Sound of One Hand Clapping
- A Guide to Writing for the Theatre [This title is now OUT OF PRINT]

An idea for a play can be sparked off by a childhood memory, a snatch of conversation overheard, a chance meeting, a newspaper headline... The challenge for the playwright is to transform that idea into a full-scale drama that will engage and entertain an audience in the theatre.

To help the writer meet that challenge, Sheila Yeger draws on her own experience as a professional playwright and teacher of creative writing to offer a practical and comprehensive guide to every stage of the process, from choosing the subject, researching the background, creating characters and dialogue, to understanding structure, form and style.

A truly inspiring book for anyone who has ever said ‘I’ve always wanted to write, but...’

“Sheila Yeger gives much practical advice, but it is her ability to convey enthusiasm for her craft that is the most important.”
~ Allen Saddler, Plays International

Sheila Yeger
Self Portrait

Gwen John, now regarded as one of the finest painters of our time and country, had an immense talent that was largely overshadowed during her own lifetime by that of her brother Augustus. With this portrait Sheila Yeger skilfully interweaves the past and the present to explore the tensions and dilemmas that women as creative artists face in society today.
(Cast 3+m, 6+f)

“...Yeger’s clever biographical drama looks at creativity in women in general, and in the artist Gwen John (1876 to 1939) in particular.”
~ Rick Jones, Evening Standard

“...could any man have subdued his own identity to the degree that Gwen John does in her painting? And could any man have written as powerful and potent a play about her as Sheila Yeger has with Self Portrait? ... This tightly and authoritatively written and convincingly argued play succeeds because it works in precisely the same way that John’s paintings do. It’s an amalgamation of event and emotion painfully reconstructed in intimidating detail...”
~ Michael Quinn, What’s On

“Self Portrait is one of the most exciting intriguing and satisfying new plays I’ve seen this season.”
~ Robin Thornber, The Guardian