Monthly Archives :

October 2022

Contemporary Theater Script Club with L M Feldman

400 400 Play Penn

Part book club and part writing workshop, this course invite its participants to take comfort in and inspiration from the rich world of contemporary plays; to embrace this time as a chance to replenish our own soil.

In this destabilizing global moment, it can be hard to find artistic motivation as a playwright: how to find the drive again to revise or to generate new work? Some are finding this a fabulous moment for artistic productivity, but others are finding creative output all but impossible right now. For those of us who are struggling to write, this can be a good time to turn our attention toward input, creative nourishment, towards a kind of sabbatical when we can pause and restock our artistic shelves. In this four-week class, PlayPenn instructor L M Feldman will guide students through craft-based discussions of four stylistically diverse (and hopefully not-yet-known-to-you) new plays, to be announced prior to the start date. Each week will focus on one script (to be read at home in advance of each class) and will be paired with an in-class writing prompt to help gently spark some creativity again. Part book club and part writing workshop, this course invite its participants to take comfort in and inspiration from the rich world of contemporary plays; to embrace this time as a chance to replenish our own soil.

Tuesdays, November 29th – December 20th, 5:30 – 7:00pm

Online (via Zoom)

L M Feldman is a queer, feminist playwright who writes theatrically adventurous, physically kinetic, ensemble-driven plays – usually about outsiders, often about searchers, always about the human connection. Her plays include THRIVE OR WHAT YOU WILL (New Georges & Page 73 Residencies); ANOTHER KIND OF SILENCE (FEWW Prize Honorable Mention, Magic Theatre New Play Festival, PlayPenn & Sewanee Writers’ Conferences, Playwrights Realm Fellowship); AMANUENSIS, OR THE MILTONS (Georgetown University, Ramah Theatre commission); THE EGG-LAYERS (Jane Chambers Honorable Mention, New Georges/Barnard College commission); GRACE, OR THE ART OF CLIMBING (Denver Center, Barrymore & ATCA/Steinberg New Play Award Nominations); and A PEOPLE (Orbiter 3, Jewish Plays Project); as well as several ensemble-devised works, including GUMSHOE (New Paradise Labs + the Free Library of Philadelphia + the Rosenbach Museum), WAR OF THE WORLDS: PHILADELPHIA (Swim Pony + Drexel University), AND IF YOU LOSE YOUR WAY, OR A FOOD ODYSSEY (The Invisible Dog), LADY M (Philadelphia Live Arts Festival), and others. She has been nominated for the Wendy Wasserstein Prize, Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, Barrie and Bernice Stavis Playwright Award, the New York Innovative Theatre Award, and the Doric Wilson Independent Playwright Award. She’s an InterAct Theatre Core Playwright. A graduate of the Yale School of Drama and the New England Center for Circus Arts, L is also a performer & dramaturg of contemporary circus. She has performed circus-theater at festivals around the world, and she’s a dramaturg for circus artists around the country. She loves theater that moves, and circus that tells stories. L has lived in seven cities and is now based in Philadelphia, where she teaches and where she’s writing two new plays: commissions from EST/Sloan and the Children’s Theatre of Charlotte.

$160

Tuition

Register Here

Click the link below to visit our Reservation Page, where you can view all classes and register for this course. For questions or to inquire about payment plans, please email classes@playpenn.org.

“Writing can be a lonely road. I’m thankful that Philadelphia offers the supportive, talented PlayPenn community.”

-Joe G., 2020 Participant

I walked away with an arsenal of guidelines for what makes a high-concept play, but also with half a notebook full of fantastic off-the-cuff breakthroughs and exercises.

-Danielle B., 2019 Participant

Developing a Solo Show with Che’Rae Adams

400 266 Play Penn

This hands-on class is designed to ready scripts for production by taking a close look at effective writing.

This 6-week remote class is for actors who want to develop a solo show script. This hands-on class is designed to ready scripts for production by taking a close look at effective writing. This class is centered around a workbook entitled “Writing is Hard…” which is based on lectures given by Che’Rae Adams at various universities across America. A series of exercises will be assigned on a weekly basis from the text which the instructor will review with the students. Original material will be generated by the students, and feedback on the work will be given by the instructor. Students are asked to generate at least 5-7 new pages a week to share with the instructor so that students can have a rough draft of a 45-60 minute show by the end of the 6 weeks.

Thursdays, October 27th – December 8th, 6:00-9:00pm EST

Online (via Zoom)

$360

Tuition

Register Here

Click the link below to visit our Reservation Page, where you can view all classes and register for this course. For questions or to inquire about payment plans, please email classes@playpenn.org.

“Writing can be a lonely road. I’m thankful that Philadelphia offers the supportive, talented PlayPenn community.”

-Joe G., 2020 Participant

I walked away with an arsenal of guidelines for what makes a high-concept play, but also with half a notebook full of fantastic off-the-cuff breakthroughs and exercises.

-Danielle B., 2019 Participant

Ethics and Fundamentals of Playwriting with Angeline Larimer

650 433 Play Penn

Learn foundational playwriting rules to go forward with confidence in reinventing them.

Ethics and Fundamentals of Playwriting provides an introduction or refresher for those serious about beginning or improving their scriptwriting skills, with added conversations built-in that help each playwright answer the questions, ‘Why am I doing this? What impact am I trying to make?’ Participants will learn playscript formatting, strengthen knowledge of structure of drama, participate in prompted writing exercises, complete a 10-minute play at the end of the 8 weeks course, and will learn and participate in the required rules of beneficial workshopping. Essentially, participants learn foundational playwriting rules so that they can go forward with confidence in reinventing them.

Wednesdays, October 26th – December 21st, 5:30-7:30pm EST

Online (via Zoom)

A strong creative writing background is preferred. Angeline will meet with each participant individually to create an individualized plan.

Angeline Larimer (she/her) is an MFA playwright, screenwriter, dramaturg, bioethicist for public health, & Medical Humanities and Applied Theatre playwriting professor for Indiana University-Indianapolis. She is a collaborator with Fonseca Theatre Company and American Lives Theatre. She is also a volunteer scriptwriting instructor for Indiana Veterans Affairs Outreach (Playwriting for Veterans) and Indiana Prison Writers Workshop. She is a member of the IU Conscience Project. Her recent specialty is collaborating on devised scripts addressing social justice and health inequity concerns. She was Lead Dramaturg for PlayPenn’s 2022 New Play Development Conference. dapibus leo.

$320

Tuition

Register Here

Click the link below to visit our Reservation Page, where you can view all classes and register for this course. For questions or to inquire about payment plans, please email classes@playpenn.org.

“Writing can be a lonely road. I’m thankful that Philadelphia offers the supportive, talented PlayPenn community.”

-Joe G., 2020 Participant

I walked away with an arsenal of guidelines for what makes a high-concept play, but also with half a notebook full of fantastic off-the-cuff breakthroughs and exercises.

-Danielle B., 2019 Participant

Director & Playwright Collaboration with Jackson Gay

150 150 Play Penn

Expand on all aspects of the director-playwright collaborative process

In this class, you will come together for joint exercises designed to expose you to all aspects of the director-playwright collaborative process, from the first coffee date, through all stages of therehearsal and production process, including design and casting. We will discuss practical ways you can, proactively and throughout the process, create a room where the playwright’s intentions and the director’s contributions work together to bring the production to life.

Tuesdays, October 25th – November 15th, 7:00-8:30pm EST

Online (via Zoom)

$120

Tuition

Register Here

Click the link below to visit our Reservation Page, where you can view all classes and register for this course. For questions or to inquire about payment plans, please email classes@playpenn.org.

“Writing can be a lonely road. I’m thankful that Philadelphia offers the supportive, talented PlayPenn community.”

-Joe G., 2020 Participant

I walked away with an arsenal of guidelines for what makes a high-concept play, but also with half a notebook full of fantastic off-the-cuff breakthroughs and exercises.

-Danielle B., 2019 Participant