EESP Youth Programs - College Quest Theatre 197 Writing for the Stage

THTR 197: Creative Writing for the Stage

Whether you are interested in becoming a screenwriter, novelist, blogger or world-class playwright, understanding how to write for the stage is a fundamental skill that writers in any field will find extremely useful. Participants will:

Explore the primary forms and conventions of theatre writing by examining story structure.
Learn about conflict and character choice to create characters performers and audiences can relate to.
Gain tangible skills – college-level writing, reviewing and critiquing – to present a reading of their work to an audience assigned specifically to give feedback.
Work as a collaborative team guided by a Western playwright to produce a staged reading at the end of the week with professional actors both from Western and the Bellingham community.

This interactive writing course offers current and real life exposure to the process of a playwright’s work within the industry. It is a five-day writing intensive in which students are given the skills and tools to create a fully-formed product ready for production and submissions.

This week is designed to give participants the experience of being commissioned by a small theater company to create custom work.

Course Objectives:

Demonstrate clear understanding of the five part structure in creating scene – exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution.
Create tangible and dynamic characters.
Give feedback to fellow writers in a constructive and safe environment.
Understand how to receive constructive criticism and workshop writing.
Gain insight into how professional playwrights make a living.
Develop an understanding of playwriting skills that can be applied to scholarly or creative writing.
Work in teams as a company of writers.
Produce a professional reading of premier 10-minute plays.

Instructor: Kamarie Chapman, an exuberant faculty for the Theatre Arts Department with Western Washington University’s College of Fine and Performing Arts, teaches Theatre History, Advanced Playwriting, and toured with a student outreach group, MOTley Crew, 2012 season. Chapman has vast background acting, teaching and directing theatre and outreach to diverse populations. An award winning playwright, she is a member of the Northwest Playwrights Alliance, The Dramatists Guild, The Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE), and Artists Trust. Chapman holds B.A. from Western Washington University and M.F.A. from the University of New Mexico.

Class is held Monday through Friday; various hours.

Enrollment is limited to a maximum of 20 students.