CLASS DESCRIPTION
Do you want to write a first, second, or seventh draft of a new play this fall? Want to ensure you don’t tear your hair out or quit when you face setbacks? Would you benefit from supportive feedback on your pages, weekly writing prompts, a one-on-one meeting, and sweet, sweet weekly deadlines?

Writing a play takes patience, chutzpah, and many rounds of problem-solving. There’s no better feeling than having written, but to get there, you have to push aside your self-doubt. A playwright’s workshop offers clarity, support, and accountability to steer you through the ups and downs of being in process. This workshop will help you make story decisions with more confidence, stay the course, and tolerate the inherent discomfort of creating something new.

In this cozy eight-week workshop, capped at 8 participants, we’ll read your new pages out loud every week and share thoughtful, tailored feedback on your work in progress. You’ll be sharing about ten pages per session. I’ll also share readings to stoke inspiration.

You can also make use of one optional 30-minute 1-on-1 meeting with me during our time together.

WHO THIS CLASS IS FOR
This is an inclusive, down-to-earth writing workshop. It’s run to professional standards and plugged into what’s exciting and current in the theatre landscape.

It’s open to playwrights of all levels, from beginners to seasoned writers. If you want to be here, claim your seat: you belong. The humbling yet oddly freeing truth is: everyone’s a beginner again when starting a new play. And everyone has the right to have a lover’s quarrel with the world (as Robert Frost describes writing).

The workshop experience thrives on and depends on community spirit and everyone’s willingness to learn by doing. You’ll need to bring generosity and curiosity towards each other’s work alongside a serious commitment to making progress on your play.

Please feel free to email me with any questions about your background and whether this would be a good fit for you!

WHAT TO WORK ON
You’re welcome to work on a play in any stage! If you’ve already written a feral Draft Zero, this would be a great place to rework your pages with a more fine-toothed comb.

You don’t have to write chronologically through the draft if that’s not your style.

I do suggest committing to one play for the duration of the workshop if at all possible. (Sometimes that’s not meant to be, and that’s okay too.)

WHAT TO EXPECT
-Clear, honest feedback to keep you organized and galvanized.
-The practical magic of recurring deadlines to keep you prioritizing your project.
-Weekly writing prompts to get your gears turning in unexpected ways.
-Guidance from a supportive, playful facilitator with more than a decade of teaching experience. I’ve worked with everyone from beginning writers to MFA students to seasoned professionals. (Scroll all the way down for more about me.)
-An included 1-on-1 meeting, in case you hit a wall or need a sounding board.
-A lively crew for commiseration and elation, making the writing process less lonely and more fun.
-Encouragement towards finding the shape that is uniquely right for your play, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach to structure and form.
-Personalized recommendations for plays to read that are in conversation with your work.
-PDFs of some plays for everyone to read (if you want, and at your leisure) that might expand your thinking on what a play can be.

WHAT YOU’LL COME AWAY WITH
You’ll set your own specific goals in the first week, and we’ll check in with them at the end. If ten pages feels like too much, we’ll adjust your weekly page goal and keep you moving forward at a pace that feels good to you.

As a baseline: If you’re showing up consistently and doing the work, you’ll make out like a bandit. My intention is for you to make significant progress on your piece or complete a full new draft.

You’ll experience the deep satisfaction of achieving something you really wanted to achieve, and of rejuvenating and honoring your creativity.

CLASS STRUCTURE
-Every week, we will read up to ten new pages out loud from each participant and provide supportive, constructive feedback using Liz Lerman’s Critical Response Process. (I’ll explain this simple format on our first day together.)
-There will be a ten-minute break about halfway through.
-One (totally optional!) 30-minute 1-on-1 meeting is included during our weeks together.

HOW TO PREPARE
Write ten pages to bring in at our first session!

These pages are just a starting point. They can be messy and vulnerable and embarrassing and “bad.” Try to suspend your judgment as much as possible. Embrace the transgressive pleasure of making a mess. You might keep these pages, or toss them, or rewrite them, who knows… it doesn’t really matter. It’s counterintuitive, but most motivation comes after you start, not before.

You sincerely don’t need to know everything about your play to start; you just need to be curious about something. You could start by describing a setting. You could start by getting some characters talking and following them wherever they want to go.

Once you sign up, I’ll let you know where to share your pages.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS
-The class is intentionally small and capped at 8 participants so everyone gets lots of individualized attention.
-Sessions are held over Zoom and make use of Google Classroom.
-There will be no recordings of class sessions. Be there or be square!
-To maintain the in-person feel, we will generally keep cameras on, but you’re welcome to turn off “self view,” and we’ll build in micro breaks for our eyes and bodies to ward off Zoom fatigue.
-Before we start, everyone will need to agree to and sign a community code of conduct. This is in the interest of keeping the space welcoming, generative, and emotionally healthy for all. Violating the code of conduct can lead to losing your spot in the workshop.
-Reach out if you want to join but cost is a barrier, and/or if you need a payment plan.

IF YOU CRAVE MORE SUPPORT AND FEEDBACK…
You can pair this class with booking one-on-one draft feedback and/or consulting sessions according to your specific project and writer development needs. You can also pair it with Draft Zero for more bubbly community energy and writing prompts. Workshop and Draft Zero are contrasting approaches to playwriting that complement each other.

CANCELLATION POLICY
If you cancel your registration up to a week before the first session, you’ll receive a full refund. If you cancel one week to 36 hours before our first session, you’ll receive a 50% refund. There are no refunds or partial refunds starting 36 hours prior to class time. These policies are in place because I’m a self-employed, independent artist, not a mega-corporation. Thanks for your understanding.

In the event of under-enrollment, I may decide to cancel the course. In that situation, you would receive a full refund.

ABOUT ME
I’m a working playwright with past productions in NYC, Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Germany. The press have called my plays “screamingly funny” (NYTimes), “staggeringly original” (SF Chronicle), “exuberant” (The New Yorker), and “highbrow + brilliant” (NY Magazine).

I studied under Paula Vogel at the Yale School of Drama, where I received my MFA in 2014. Her teaching has informed my own. I’ve taught at MIT, NYU Tisch, Yale, Connecticut College, Wesleyan, Brown, PlayPenn, University of the Arts, Salve Regina, and Macalester College. I consider my teaching, mentoring, and coaching an essential and joyful part of my creative practice.

As a writer, I'm driven by a relentless and rebellious curiosity about what the medium of live theater can do. I write countercultural plays for smart, curious audiences, and trust in the powers of radical truth-telling, community gathering, and collective effervescence to overhaul our most delusional and damaging cultural scripts.

If you have any additional questions, email me!