PlayGround offers a series of monthly two-hour playwriting Intensives for emerging professionals, led by PlayGround artistic staff and guest lecturers drawn from the Bay Area's most distinguished playwrights and other theatre professionals. Writers may sign up for individual or multiple classes as each is intended as a stand-alone program. Classes take place on selected Monday nights, 7-9PM, at A.C.T. Studios, 30 Grant Avenue in San Francisco , except as noted. Registration: $35 ($40 at the door); 5-class subscriptions at $145 (a 17% savings!).
To register for individual classes or subscribe to the remaining five classes, click here.
Conflict, Dialogue, Stakes, Oh My! PlayGround’s 2008-09 season will focus on craft elements of writing for theater. Join some of the Bay Area’s best writers and directors in PlayGround’s Master Classes to discover your potential as a Playwright. We’ll be unlocking a number of elements this season to inspire your approach to writing: After all, the juicy stuff is what we discover through Character, Conflict, Dialogue, Plot, Action, Stakes and The Question.
October 6 – The Question
November 3 – Character (NOTE:
Corrected Date)
December 1– Dialogue
January 5 – Conflict/Stakes
February 2 – Action!
March 2 – Plot
Suggested Reading: Best of PlayGround series (1997-2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)
What is the What?
When the question arrives, it’s time to write a play! Kick off PlayGround’s
exciting new season by learning how to tackle The What of a play. Join a
panel of PlayGround’s own Staff, Writers, and Artistic Director to
find out how the unique 10-minute form moves from question to page to stage.
The question is a unique property of a play; this panel will focus on the
approach to getting that spark and answer the mysteries of The What: how
does it hold the tension of the 10 minute form? How do you approach your
project? The page? The what? We’ll be looking at the most successful
examples from PlayGround’s Best of Series to see how playwrights tackle
The What and give you a start to spark your writing season!
November 3 (NOTE: Corrected Date)
Dude, tie your shoes!
Do you hear voices? Do you have visions about particular characters? Perhaps,
it’s the guy you see eating the BigMac on the bus everyday with untied
shoes laces and wonder what he’s thinking or if he knows about his
unyielding laces. Through your everyday discoveries you are processing your
next character for your play. Join PlayGround to learn about how to make
your characters come alive and how their desires will unfold in your play.
In this workshop we’ll unveil a number of techniques to help you define
your characters.
Distinctly Dialogue.
Did you ever think that dialogue is like an invisible string of spaghetti
traveling through the most intriguing areas of the human body? Travel with
us from the mind, to the breath, into the ear and back to the mind and out
of another mouth! Wild trip, huh? Dialogue is a fascinating translation
of ideas that distinctly define a character, a moment, a desire. Learn how
to tap into the most distinct dialogue you can imbue within your characters.
Blinded and only the future to see!
Oh, Greek Tragedy! If conflict and stakes could get any higher than Sophocles
might it be a Mamet play? How can you enrich the elements in your play by
seeking more conflict? The play form asks playwrights to focus on drama:
the crisis, the excitement, the thrill, the disturbance. If you have been
blinded by your play, can’t see the future of its progress, come join
us for a seminar on how to torque your conflict, freshen your stakes, and
turn your pages into a crying exploration of how much you can push characters,
drama, twists and turns!
Avalanche and the stagnant play.
Are you cramped by too much back-story? Stuck in the “I don’t
know what to do next” game? Action in your play is just like throwing
a snowball down a mountain and watching it gather speed into a monster wrecking
ball of force, taking out anything in its path! Or it’s just like
skiing for the first time: let the action happen in the present! Seize the
moment of your story; even when it is in the longest of lift lines. Action
is about the forward motion of the elements in your play. PlayGround will
help you in this seminar take control of your story and get it rocking in
its most exciting rhythm.
Set your course!
Have you ever set your sights on traveling from point A and realized you’re
actually at point G? As a writer, you are the driver, designated to show
an audience your story. Before you do, how clear is your travel map? And
if you don’t use maps but follow the stars, then how do you make “the
how” happen? Whether you are a planner, a navigator, or a creature
of inspiration, understanding your plot is a key insight to the backbone
of your piece. Now that you have a number of drafts and plays to choose
from this season, join us for a critique session on the “how”
of your play.