Wisconsin Wrights: Playwriting Intensive

Summer 2014

Location: UW-Madison Campus

Join fellow playwrights in an intensive workshop designed to provide an overview of playwriting basics, plus an opportunity to develop a script by working with actors. In daily craft sessions, participants will work on structure, theme, character, plot, and writing and revising dialogue. The day’s activities will culminate in a session with actors, offering the opportunity to examine pieces with the theatre’s ultimate practitioners. Each evening workshop will be followed by a feedback session, devoted to discussing and analyzing the work. Each participant will also have an individual tutorial with the instructor.

The objectives for the Playwriting Intensive are as follows:

  • Review playwriting basics including structure, theme, character, plot, and dialogue
  • Provide playwrights with an opportunity to outline, draft, and/or revise dramatic writing
  • Provide playwrights with an opportunity to exercise and/or improve their craft through daily writing exercises
  • Provide an opportunity for playwrights to hear their work read aloud
  • Provide a forum for playwrights to analyze and discuss each other’s work with the goal of giving positive support and encouragement
  • Provide a tutorial for the playwright to examine his/her individual voice

If you have a completed script, or a script you are working on, please bring it along. If you’re just getting started, you’ll have an opportunity to develop your ideas, crafting them into play form.

Instructors

Liz Fentress is a director, playwright, and actor. In 2008, her play The Honey Harvest won the North American Actors Association annual playwriting competition and was staged in London’s West End. Kentucky Educational Television’s production of Liz’s autobiographical play, Liz’s Circus Story, which she wrote and performs, won the 2005 National
Educational Television Association award for Best Dramatic Narrative.

Bob Curry writes fiction, plays, and screenplays and teaches writing at the UW-Continuing Studies and Madison College. Recent editing projects include Spirit Falls, Robert Townsend’s recently published novel, and I, Nixon, a play by historian Stanley Kutler, which was produced recently in Chicago. He co-wrote the screenplay for The Last Great Ride, starring Ernest Borgnine and Eileen Brennan.

Schedule

Prior to the start of class: All writers submit work ahead of time so the instructors can read their play or scenes prior to the intensive. Instructors will also have a conversation with participants to determine their goals for the intensive.

Days 1-3
9 am-Noon Discussion and Feedback
1:30-4:30 pm Writing/craft and individual tutorials
6 pm-9 pm Readings with actors

Day 4
9 am-Noon Discussion and feedback
1 pm-4 pm Showcase Event: Local theatre producers and members of the local theatre community are invited to the Wisconsin Wrights Playwriting Intensive Showcase. Each playwright is given 10 minutes for his/her work.

Course Fees

Playwriting Intensive Registration Fee: $295 (includes onsite instruction and all course materials)

Ongoing Script Critique Service: We charge $4/page for the script critique service. The critique includes a thorough analysis of your pages and a letter with suggestions. Expect a good amount of feedback. We believe in telling each writer what is working well and pointing out areas that can be improved along with suggestions or options for making those improvements. Our critiques cover the important aspects including story structure, plot, scene work, characterization, theme, dialogue, setting, transitions, and style. Contact Sarah Marty at 608-263-2790 or smarty@dcs.wisc.edu.