Dramatic Writing for Stage and Screen

This is an intermediate creative writing course for students interested in writing for theater, film and television. We will read published and unpublished plays, screenplays and tv shows from up and coming writers currently off and on Broadway and in film/television as well as selected plays and screenplays/shows from the cannon based on student interest. Playwrights (and screenwriters), like cartwrights and shipwrights, are all skilled builders of vehicles meant to move people from one place to another. We will explore dramatic structure from the perspective of the audience. Whether writing linear narratives, collage, or non-linear plays and films, there is a rhythm to dramatic writing that can be studied. We will make a conscious study of form to free us to write what we are driven to write. Through reading, analysis, and writing, we will investigate the dramatic elements of character, conflict, language and theme. The course will include practical writing exercises to motivate and progress the writing from first draft through revision to rehearsal draft. Students will be encouraged to develop productive writer habits and self-discipline. Class time will be divided between hearing students’ work and discussing work we’ve read. We will develop our listening skills when hearing our own and colleagues’ work. We will explore the role of critique in new script development and refine a process that works for us. Students will be expected to bring new pages in to each class building to a complete first draft of a full-length play or screenplay (of any length) by the end of the course. Evaluation will be based on the student’s dedication to developing a writing practice as well as the submitted script. We will conclude with a reading series to give each student the opportunity to hear his or her work in front of an invited audience. Evaluation is based on the quality of student’s written work and participation in class discussion.

Always visit the Registrar's Office for the official course catalog and schedules.