WRIT21800 - Introduction to Playwriting

Course Description

This course is designed for beginning playwrights as well as writers of other media who want to explore the genre. The course will emphasize what makes a scene work, how to develop characters through dialogue and action, and how to think in theatrical terms. Over the course of eight weeks, assignments will focus on points of attack, conflict, resolution, text, and subtext while also addressing character, plot, structure, language, and theme. At the conclusion of the quarter, students will have a full understanding of how to write scenes that are dramatic, engaging, and entertaining. 

This course is taught by Douglas Post, an instructor at the University of Chicago Graham School of Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies. Post is a founding of the Victory Gardens Playwrights Ensemble. His plays and musicals have been produced in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Canada, England, Wales, Germany, Austria, Russia, China, and South Africa. Post has received the L. Arnold Weissberger Playwriting Award, the Midwestern Playwrights Festival Award, the Cunningham Commission Award, the Blue Ink Playwriting Award, and three Playwriting Fellowship Awards from the Illinois Arts Council, and has been nominated for three Jeff Awards and an Emmy Award. 

Course Outline

Notes

Online registration deadline: Sep 24, 5 PM CT

Remote courses require you to login to Canvas to access the Zoom Classroom. You will receive an invitation to join Canvas about a week before your course begins. Please visit the Liberal Arts Student Resources page to find step by step instructions for Canvas and Zoom: Online Learning Resources