INTRODUCTION TO PLAYWRITING
$250; $225 for Playwrights' Center MembersAt The Playwrights' Center 2301 Franklin Ave East Minneapolis, MN 55406
March 14, 2012 through April 18, 2012
Wednesdays, March 14, 21, 28 and April 4, 11, and 18. 6- 8:30 pm.
Instructor: Joe WaechterThis course is an introduction to the craft and technologies of playwriting. In this six-week workshop, students will receive an overview of playwriting's main elements, while also unlocking and opening up their writer’s voice. Weekly writing assignments and in-class exercises will be enhanced by readings from other writers and their strategic maneuvers. We will ask of these writers, and ultimately ourselves: What works? What doesn’t work? What do we love? Hate? Discussions, workshop and experiments will probably reveal more questions than answers, but these questions will find their way into the work. And by the end, students will have a deeper understanding of this thing called a Play – how it operates, how to build it, how to break it, and how to make it their own.
ONLINE CLASSES
Primary Stages' Einhorn School of Performing Arts offers great online classes. Playwrights' Center members receive a 10% discount on their writing classes. Just contact Primary Stages and mention you are a Playwrights' Center member to get this discount.
Whether you do your best writing at home or on the go, online classes allow you to tackle a project with ease.
The First Draft
with Winter Miller (In Darfur at The Guthrie Theater)
with Kara Lee Corthon (Julius By Design at Fulcrum Theater)
with Lila Rose Kaplan (Wildflower at Second Stage Theater)
The Rewrite
with Liz Duffy Adams (Or, at Women's Project)
with Josh Hecht (The Gay Agenda at Ars Nova)
Classes begin the week of February 21.
Playwriting Seminars
Each month, the Playwrights’ Center offers a seminar about the craft of playwriting. These sessions
are taught by our playwright fellows and run from 6-8:30 pm in the Rehearsal Room at the Playwrights’
Center. Seminars are free to current members and cost $20 for non members.
2012
SEMINARS
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JANUARY 10 - THE CARDS NEVER LIEtaught by Jessica Huang An exercise in discovering the truth. Part idea generation, part unsticking solution, this workshop taps into the way we communicate with ourselves through dreams and divination. Learn how to listen when you tell yourself the solution to your play, prop or plot point. |
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FEBRUARY 7 - PLAYING DREAMStaught by Jerrie Steele Creating a play from your dreams can start with a single visual impression, a snippet of dialog, or an internally audible sound of music. Learn to recognize these starts as magical portals to our collective consciousness; the matrix of where stories we want to tell live. |
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MARCH 6 - DIALOGUE AND DILEMMAtaught by Sarah Gubbins This seminar will explore how to invigorate dialogue by infusing scenes and plays with central dilemmas. |
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APRIL 3 - ACTORS-PLAYWRIGHTS-DRAMATURGStaught by Terry Bellamy Terry is a founding member of Penumbra Theater and has performed in over 250 plays, as well as 40 world premieres. He is an awarded, accomplished actor, director, dramaturg, and with as a Jerome Many Voices fellow this year, a burgeoning playwright. This seminar will delve into the relationships between playwrights, dramaturgs, and playwrights. |
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MAY 1 - CHARACTER FROM OBJECTStaught by Janaki Ranpura We'll improvise little scenes based on objects that you bring in and write from those. If you have an object that reminds you of a character you're working on, bring it in. Or just bring something in your house that catches your fancy. |
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JUNE 5 - WHAT MAKES A PLAYtaught by Keli Garrett Description TBA |
