AN ALL-PURPOSE PLAYWRITING WORKSHOP
Facilitated by John J. Caswell, Jr.
GROUP ONE: Tuesdays Oct 14, 21, 28 and Nov 4, 11
GROUP TWO: Thursdays Oct 16, 23, 30 and Nov 6, 13
6-9PM ET on Zoom
$300, which can be paid in installments. Let me know your situation.
Deadline to enroll is Sept 26. Space is limited as session size will be kept small.
ABOUT THE WORKSHOP
This five-week playwriting workshop will give you the tools, inspiration, and support to make progress on that project you keep putting off.
Bring whatever creative challenges vexing you today. Perhaps you're ready to start a new play, or itching to revise an old problematic one. Maybe you just want to generate new material and get back to a practice while being in community with artists.
No matter your goal, I'll be there to support with mind-expanding exercises, helpful readings, lectures and discussions, weekly office hours to address your specific needs, and a culminating one-on-one feedback session about your completed work.
PARTICIPANT EXPECTATIONS
Aside from unavoidable illnesses and life events that prevent our attendance from time to time, please be sure before signing up that your intention is to be present for each session. The workshop will rely greatly on where conversation takes us, making it difficult to impart knowledge after the fact. Also, the process of sharing our work is a vulnerable act made easier as we become more familiar with one another.
Theater is a communal experience made whole by sharing our work. While this can be daunting at first, it’s crucial that we’re all willing to be vulnerable and trust in the kindness of our peers. That said, you should come willing to share your work and to receive the work of others. See WORKSHOP STRUCTURE for more details.
As part of our sharing we will each serve as an audience and curious participant for our peers. This requires reflecting the work back to the author in accordance with the Liz Lerman Critical Response Method (we will review this together). This process requires generosity and a true desire for the artistic success of your peers. We are here to lift each other up and all feedback must be offered in that spirit. This is an ego and competition-free zone.
Between sessions we will be reading short essays, plays, and other material meant to expand our perspectives on theater, writing, and the creative process. These readings will be kept to a minimum and shouldn’t take too much of your time. We will discuss these together so please be ready to contribute to the conversation.
WORKSHOP SESSION CONTENT
Checking In– At the top of each session we will each take the time to check in with the group about whatever is on our mind. We use this as a moment to connect, giving others insight into how they find us emotionally and creatively before we begin to work. Being attuned to the changing energy of our peers helps us to give them what they need.
Reading Discussions / Craft Talk – This will always be a combination of discussing whatever short readings I’ve sent the week before as a jumping-off point for our own work that day. It’s a way to interrogate our understanding of craft and for you to ask questions of me and of the group. This will also usually involve me talking about some element of drama which we will then address in greater detail through our exercises.
Exercises – We will spend at least an hour each week doing creative exercises in the form of writing prompts which are meant to be generative and/or supplemental to your own work outside of class. These exercises might produce new material you’ll then add to your play, or they may clarify thoughts and ideas you have about your work’s direction. You may even start writing a new play entirely, all based on your discoveries! Remain open and curious even if the exercises feel unrelated to your current work.
Mini-Readings – At the end of sessions I will leave space for mini-readings, or readings of small portions of your work no longer than a page or two. This is meant to be quick and informal and could be helpful for a number of reasons. Perhaps you’d like to hear the way a character sounds. Maybe you’d like to hear the reading and then ask a pointed, probing question of the group to guide your next week’s work. Use these for brief investigations.
Occupational Therapy – Also at the end of the session and after any mini-readings, this is a time for you to ask me anything about industry, career, and writing.
Final Readings– We will each share larger chunks of our text with the group (10-20 pages) and engage in discussion and feedback. We will decide in advance who would like to share during each session so you’ll know when you’re up.
IN-BETWEEN WORKSHOP SESSIONS
Optional Chats and Coaching:
I will hold Thursday/Friday office-hours virtually from 3-5 PM ET
Schedule in advance a 20 minute session by signing up (an online form will be provided)
Note: This is not required. Use this option for additional guidance as needed. If you can’t meet during these times and still would like some extra help or discussion, see below.
On-Call Between Sessions:
If you have artistic emergencies, need clarification, are unavailable during office hours, or just want to chat/run something by me randomly, I am available to you outside of our sessions and one-on-ones via text or email. We can also talk by phone if arranged in advance. Please understand I may not always respond immediately but will as soon as humanly possible.
POST-WORKSHOP ONE-ON-ONE
At the close of the workshop I will set individual one-on-ones for all interested participants. You will send me whatever work you’ve finished that you’d like me to read. It can be your whole play if you’ve finished, or parts and fragments. Whatever you find helpful. The one-on-one we set will likely be a few weeks following the end of the workshop so I have ample time to read everyone’s material. If you need to delay your one-on-one because you’d like more time to finish a draft before I read, we can also kick it down the road and you’re free to come back to me when ready.
HOW TO ENROLL
First, fill out the form below. Then I’ll be in touch with next steps!