The Intro course got off to a flying start on Thursday. We have a new collection of budding writers, all set to write their first piece for the stage.
I love the Intro course because we start from a point of nothingness and we find what we’re going to write about. We discover our themes and characters through exercises designed to drill down into the imagination, and we release ideas by interrupting the editing voice.
The idea is to let the ideas come thick and fast - we edit them later. We develop a technique of splurging on the page because that helps us find ideas that we didn’t expect to find.
It’s really exciting. Find out more information about our online playwriting courses here.
Progressing
The Progressing course is designed for people who have completed the Intro or Advanced courses and want a regular meeting to read the progress of their script. We do exercises that delve down into the emotional reality of the characters, and find new material by continuing the device of quick, unedited, but specific study approaches.
Progressing is for people who have started a script and want to continue to develop it. In the past, we’ve had experienced playwrights sharing their work with people newer to the craft. And - together - we’ve helped to develop the words on the page so that - when read at Development Week - they make a clear, cohesive, and active script.
It’s very informal and friendly, and everyone is encouraged to be open and honest; and diplomatic.
There was a good selection of work from the Progressing course at Development Week 13, and it was exciting to see the confidence of the writer come to fruition through some really excellent readings. And all of the work from Progressing this year is getting ready for next year’s Greater Manchester Fringe Festival.
Applications for the 2020 Greater Manchester Fringe are open at the beginning of December.
Advanced
Advanced is a more formal playwriting course than Progressing, and it‘s designed to help people who have a starting point develop their script into the first draft of a 60-minute play.
It’s the natural progression from the Intro course, but some people do jump directly to Advanced if they can demonstrate the fundamentals of playwriting taught in the Intro course.
We cover a range of writing techniques, with a specific focus on structure, character arc, and tight dialogue. If you listen to Series 1 of The WriteForTheStage Podcast, you’ll get a good precis of the content of the Advanced course - but, of course, Advanced is interactive and fashioned directly towards the needs of the participants.
Both courses start this week (w/c 14th Oct)
Both courses are taught online and start this week. If you’re looking for an online learning experience that will help you develop an existing script, then Progressing or Advanced could give you a weekly deadline and some intense focus on your work.
Progressing runs on Tuesday nights, 6-8pm.
Advanced runs on Wednesday nights, 8.15-10.15pm
To find out more information about both courses, click here.
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