Form Following Function in New Playwriting: Proof by David Auburn

Classic playwriting conventions demanded that plays follow certain structures. Consequently, the playwrights had limited options to develop their ideas.However, over years, experimentations with form and structure proved that the form of plays do not have to be limited. Rather, content and form areinterrelated and the content can determine the form and structure of the play. Therefore, the dramatists can achieve their goal by devising the best form forthe subject matter they have in mind. One of the examples that best illustrates this approach is David Auburn s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Proof written in 2000. This play concernsCatherine, the daughter of a mathematical genius, who struggles between genius and mental illness. This paper aims to explore how in this play thecontent and form are interrelated and form is effectively at the service of thecontent of the play. This study illustrates the significance of form followingfunction, rather than being a restrictive framework for the play. This canmotivate playwrights to come up with the most effective form which is necessitated from the demands of the content of the play.

Keywords:

playwriting , form , content , Proof , David Auburn