Is there anything more mysterious than a play? How does an idea in someone's head become words on a page and then transform into life embodied on a stage that moves its audience to cry and to laugh and to rage and to think?

In this weekend workshop, we will explore just that. Everyone is welcome—whether you are a novice or experienced, whether you have an idea you've been dying to explore or you don't know where to start. We will cover the basics of formatting, setting the stage, narrative structure, characterization, and dialogue by drawing on examples from the canon such as: Lorraine Hansberry, Thorton Wilder, Arthur Miller, and Tony Kushner.

Participants will have ample time to develop, write, and workshop a scene from anywhere in their play. They are also welcome to bring a project already in development to work on and share. Everyone will have an opportunity to receive feedback from the workshop leader and from the other participants. By the end of the weekend, each participant will have a fleshed-out concept for a play and several pages of a draft to continue writing if they so desire and a strong sense of how to develop ideas into a script in the future. Last year's participants are more than welcome to join—the syllabus will be revamped with new examples and exercises.