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Full Schedule How to Enroll Member Discounts Refund And Cancellation Policy Mailing List Directions Ten Min Workshop (02/27/2010)
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CREATION THROUGH COLLABORATION This unique class explores the collaborative process for Chicago Dramatists' world premiere of Will Cooper's 'Jade Heart.' Led by a produced playwright and a director of new works, the class goal is to expand the playwright's understanding of moving a piece from the page to the stage. How do directors and designers add to the process in a production? How can the playwright use their ideas in thinking about and developing a script? How can the playwright work most effectively with collaborators in production? The class will consist of (A) moderated conversations with the 'Jade Heart' designers, director and actors, and other artists, to see first-hand the journey that a world premiere play may make in rehearsal, and (B) a series of exercises to explore how directors' and designers' choices can shape the world of your words. The class will attend the 'Jade Heart' first preview on April 22 and another performance two weeks later on May 6 to see how it has changed. On these two evenings, the class will meet from 8:00 to 11:00 PM, which will include an hour of class discussion following the performances. This Course is offered at the following times: DEVELOPING A PLAY-IN-PROGRESS This is a workshop for writers who want to develop a script on which they have already begun work. This may include anything from a short scene to an entire draft of a play. The class will explore the skills and qualities of effective dramatic writing by reading and discussing participants' scripts in a supportive and challenging environment, with the goal being to ready their plays for production. This Course is offered at the following times:
DISCOVERING THE SOUL OF YOUR STORY Through lecture, discussion, group exercises, and between-class assignments, participants will learn to apply two new and original techniques for uncovering the deeper meaning of their story and charting its truest course. One technique will help writers identify what their main character truly wants and how the nature of that want affects the structure of their story. The other technique will help writers discover the underlying meaning of their story and express it with utmost clarity through the plot. Participants will also learn to combine the techniques to generate new stories from scratch. This class is designed for all levels of playwrights: beginning, intermediate, and experienced. Participants should come to the first class prepared to share and work on an active personal project (any stage of development, length, style, or genre). This Course is offered at the following times: HOW TO MARKET YOUR PLAY How do you get a theatre to produce your play--or even to consider it? Between the writing and the production is the critical step, which many playwrights procrastinate over or can't figure out: the marketing. This class is intended to help playwrights get produced. LEARN HOW TO: * make initial contacts * create the best impression, in person and on paper * prepare a resume that will work for you * write an effective synopsis * develop contacts within the theatre community * figure out the most viable markets for your play * seek out contests and awards * use playwright organizations, directories and other tools * prepare a manuscript for submission * negotiate a production contract * attract and secure the services of an agent This Course is offered at the following times:
MASTER CLASS - ARTHUR KOPIT Major American playwright and master teacher Arthur Kopit brings his acclaimed Master Class to Chicago Dramatists for a select 12 playwrights, plus observers. Full participant playwrights will spend the morning writing scenes with Mr. Kopit. (Playwrights must bring a laptop.) The afternoon will be spent hearing these scenes read in the theatre by Chicago Dramatists' favorite actors and critiqued by Mr. Kopit. Observer playwrights may join the class at noon. After the class, the entire group will adjourn to a nearby restaurant for an informal, cash-bar, post mortem and continued discussion. The entire day will be an invaluable, one-of-a-kind, developmental experience for everyone involved. HOW TO APPLY: Full participation ($300) is by invitation and limited to 12 Chicago Dramatists Resident and Network Playwrights. Resident Playwrights should contact Artistic Director Russ Tutterow to enroll. Network Playwrights are asked to submit a 10-page sample and their bio or resume to Mr. Tutterow at rtutterow@chicagodramatists.org. An unlimited number of observers ($100) may join the group at 12:00 PM This Course is offered at the following times: PLAYWRITING - Level II This class, for writers continuing on from Playwriting Fundamentals or writers wanting to polish their skills, will explore elements of storytelling that can make a play more compelling; including the use of time and space, metaphor and monologues, heightening subtext and polishing dialogue skills, and keeping the essential conflict on stage. Material will come from the students' writing assignments. This Course is offered at the following times: PLAYWRITING FUNDAMENTALS This class is designed for beginning playwrights and also for more experienced writers looking to hone their basic skills. Through a variety of in-class writing exercises, at-home writing assignments, class discussions, and in-class readings of participants' work, writers will learn the essentials of good playwriting, including character motivation, plot structure, dialogue, and dramatic conflict. Writers will have the opportunity to share their work in a supportive and challenging environment. The class also will cover practical elements of the craft, such as proper formatting, script presentation, and the submission process. This Course is offered at the following times: PLAYWRITING FUNDAMENTALS Beginning playwrights and writers who wish to hone their skills will delve into the world of story structure. Through a variety of in-class writing exercises, at-home writing assignments, class discussions, and in-class readings of participants' work, writers will learn the essentials of good playwriting, including character motivation, plot structure, dialogue, dramatic conflict, as well as proper formatting and the submission process. Playwriting Fundamentals offers writers the opportunity to share work in a supportive and challenging environment, which will culminate in a professional reading of their work at Chicago Dramatists on the evening of March 29. This Course is offered at the following times:
PLAYWRITING FUNDAMENTALS Suitable for beginning and experienced playwrights alike, this class will focus on freeing and expanding the writer's theatrical imagination, while drawing on the basic building blocks of good playwriting: dramatic structure, character development, and dialogue. Participants will hone their skills through a series of writing exercises and explorations of dramatic form (monologues, ten-minute plays, one-acts, and full-lengths) and will share their works-in-progress in a supportive atmosphere. The class also will address the business of playwriting and the submission process from an insider's point of view. This Course is offered at the following times: SCENE SHOP Now in its third year at Chicago Dramatists, this popular workshop is designed to be an ongoing salon for experienced playwrights who are currently working on a play or about to begin one. Each weekly three-hour session offers a guided writing exercise to explore character and story ideas, and the opportunity to hear scene work from home read by professional actors and discussed by the group in a supportive setting. As a result, writers don't have to wait until they complete a whole draft of a play to hear their characters off the page and to get input from other writers. Selected scenes from the Fall and Winter quarters will be assigned to directors and presented on stage in our first Scene Shop Showcase on the evening of May 17. This Course is offered at the following times: SCREENWRITING LAB - The American Screenplay This class offers a workable map for anyone aspiring to penetrate the thickets of Hollywood with their screenplay or with as little as a story idea. Through lecture and discussion, writers will learn the basics of screenwriting, with a particular emphasis on character and finding that great hook that will cause a producer to shout, 'That's a movie!' There will also be ample time allotted to in-class writing assignments such as clarifying story ideas, developing plot outlines, and script critique. This Course is offered at the following times: SOLO SHOW - Writing the 1-Person Play This class is designed for actors, playwrights, solo artists, and storytellers of all levels, from those who are thinking about writing a one-person play to those who are in the final stages of polishing their own solo show. This hands-on workshop will focus on: This Course is offered at the following times: |
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