Rosemarie Tichler and Barry Jay Kaplan take us behind the scenes in conversations with thirteen of today's most distinguished playwrights, including Tony Kushner, John Guare, Wallace Shawn, Suzan-Lori Parks, David Henry Hwang, and Sarah Ruhl. To familiarise the reader with the world of each playwright, Tichler and Kaplan introduce us to the environments in which the work happens, conducting their interviews in the playwright's home, a dark theater, or a coffee shop.

ROSEMARIE TICHLER was casting director and artistic producer at the Public Theater (New York). She teaches in New York University's Graduate Acting Program. She is the recipient of the Casting Society of America's Apple Award, the Villager Award for Excellence in Casting, and two Tony Award Producing nominations. Tichler founded the Public Theater's Shakespeare Lab, now in its sixteenth year. She is on the board of directors of New York's Classic Stage Company. She is the coauthor, with Barry Jay Kaplan, of Actors at Work.

BARRY JAY KAPLAN's plays include Landscape of Desire. He is the recipient of the Joe Callaway Award and the Whitfield Cooke Best Play Award. He is also the author of the best-selling novels Black Orchid (with Nicholas Meyer) and Biscayne. His short stories have been nominated three times for the Pushcart Prize. He is the coauthor, with Rosemarie Tichler, of Actors at Work.