Summer Playwriting

Catalog description

The lectures given in this program explore the nature and principles of dramatic action, the relationship between character and circumstance, and how dramatic structure arises from these foundations. In the workshop sessions, students present their work, which is then reviewed, critiqued, and rewritten. In screenwriting, this process results in an outline and the partial scripting of a full-length screenplay; in playwriting, it culminates in a 10-minute play. Students work together as a repertory company to rehearse, critique, and rewrite their plays, and on the last day of classes, they perform their plays. In addition to the performance of the 10-minute plays, student monologues are directed and acted by professional actors and directors who work with the department on a regular basis. Readings of classic plays and screenplays and screenings of movies and tapes of important theatrical productions complement the course work. Students will also have guest lecturers in TV writing and several film story analysis sessions. Taken in conjunction with DWPG-UT 15 for a combined total of 6 units.