Course Description
Summary
What makes Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag a singularly perfect work of art that we can’t stop watching? How exactly does Beyonce’s cinematic album Lemonade capture and sustain our emotional attention, outside of her inherent god-like energy? How can I write a play that “feels” like that?
In this introductory course, we will take a “study what you love” approach to playwriting. We will examine three contemporary plays that are in conversation with other works, as well as pop songs, poems, TV shows, and media of your choosing to construct a toolkit of both style and craft techniques for playwriting.
Each work we consume will be accompanied by a writing exercise, followed by in-class discussion. In the course of these readings, we will focus specifically on craft elements of motion, structure and style. The course will culminate in a long form piece of playwriting between 40 and 90 pages linked to source material of your preference.
