Advanced Playwriting

Advanced playwriting is an art and also a craft.  In the best artistic work, the art and the craft are seamlessly interwoven so that the artist can communicate his or her truth in the most effective way.  The goal of this course is to encourage you to explore what you most want to say as a playwright and to help you develop your skill at saying it through the medium of a live theater.

You will be analyzing how to create rich, complex characters, a compelling story, and a dramatic structure which supports and propels your characters throughout.  You will also focus on conflict and resolution; dramatic economy and dramatic tension; language, silence and visual language; and other essential tools of the dramatic writer.   

In class, you will be writing exercises and a monologue which will then become the basis for several scenes.  Outside of class, you will be writing the first draft of Act 1 of a new play and a plot outline of Act 2. You will be sharing your work with your colleagues and me and discussing it in an environment which is supportive, rigorous and honest. 

The classes are two hours long, and you will be able to share your work in every class throughout most of the course.

You will also be assigned plays to read, and during the ten-week period the class will try to see as many plays as possible to enhance your writing. The textbook is Lajos Egri's “THE ART OF DRAMATIC WRITING.”
   

This syllabus is subject to change but will follow this overall structure.  And the rules don’t change.

As you think about the plays or screenplays you will be writing for this class, and as you write them, mull over these questions (you may not know the answers yet, but the questions should be nudging you.)  We will also refer to these questions as we discuss your work and the work we see or read while we are here.

1. What is the story?
2. What is the world of the play or film?
3. Who are the central characters and what do they want? 
4. What are their obstacles?
5. What initial actions do they take to get what they want and overcome their obstacles? 
6. How does what the characters want change during the story?  How do their obstacles change?  How do their actions change? 
7. What are the pivotal events in the story?
8. What are the themes?
9. What is the tone?  Is it consistent?
10. What is the arc of the whole? 

You must submit a completed full-length play to determine whether you're eligible for the workshop.