DRAMA 441A: Beginning Playwriting
Class schedule: W/F 3:30pm - 4:50pm (PST)
Hutchinson Hall Room 303
Fall Quarter 2022 Course Syllabus
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Instructor: Nikki Yeboah
Email: nyeboa@uw.edu
In-Person Classes: HH 303
Zoom Classes: https://washington.zoom.us/j/93426257856
Zoom Office Hours: Fri. 10-10:30 am (PST) and by appointment https://washington.zoom.us/j/7983063758
Course Description
Beginning Playwriting is a course where we explore writing for the theater by reading, watching, developing, writing, and discussing plays. We will unpack the art and craft of dramatic writing with a particular focus on process, including action, character, and dialogue. We will deepen our understanding of these components by completing and workshopping writing assignments, providing and receiving productive and empathetic feedback, reading the work of contemporary playwrights, and seeing productions. The course requirements, instructor, and peers will provide the support, structure, accountability, and community that all writers need to create their best work. The course's final project consists of two components: (1) a script treatment, which is a document that maps out the entire story idea of the play before you begin writing, and (2) a fully developed scene from the play.
Course Objectives
- Story Development & Process: We will unpack the art and craft of dramatic writing with a particular focus on process and dramatic strategies, including action, character, and dialogue.
- Writing Habits: We will develop a professional approach to the writing process by developing good writing habits while discovering our creative voice.
- Drafting: We will learn the importance of and approaches to writing and rewriting multiple drafts at various stages in the scriptwriting process before arriving at “the one.”
- Feedback: We will develop the skills and vocabulary to talk about plays, and recognize structure, story, and content problems.
- Stage Play Structure: We will learn about, analyze, and create plays modeled after the traditional Well-Made Play 3-Act Structure.
- Knowledge of the Field: Demonstrate a familiarity with the works of contemporary playwrights.
Performances
I urge you to see as much theater as possible this semester. See anything and everything on campus and off. We will attend one performance together as a class.