ABSTRACT
The term spine of the play was popularized by Harold Clurman, co-founder and managing director of the famous Group Theatre which flourished in New York City from 1931 to 1941. (In addition, Clurman was the director of the original productions of Awake and Sing, Golden Boy, Rocket to the Moon, and Member of the Wedding, and author of The Fervent Years, the story of the Group Theatre.) He describes the spine this way:
What is the basic action of the play? What is the play about from the standpoint of the character’s principal conflict? What fundamental desire does the plot of his play symbolize, what deep struggle gives it shape and direction? What is the play’s core? 1
