Playpenn Education Welcomes Daniel And Patrick Lazour, Jake Mariani, Anne Morgan, Chisa Hutchinson, John Yearley, Amy Witting, And Michele Lowe As Fall 2018 Faculty

By: Aug. 20, 2018
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Playpenn Education Welcomes Daniel And Patrick Lazour, Jake Mariani, Anne Morgan, Chisa Hutchinson, John Yearley, Amy Witting, And Michele Lowe As Fall 2018 Faculty

PlayPenn, the nationally-recognized new play development organization based in Philadelphia, is proud to announce their Fall 2018 Education offerings, which include both courses in Philadelphia and around-the-globe via a unique online platform. The organization is pleased to welcome new PlayPenn Education Director Julia Bumke, who has curated an amazing assortment of classes with world-class theater artists who will share their talent and craft with writers of all skill levels.

The PlayPenn Fall 2018 session includes the following courses:

Adaptation with Jake Mariani: What makes a modern theatrical adaptation electrifying? This class pairs lively discussions of adaptations in the Western cannon with hands-on workshopping time for students' own adaptations. Each week, students will be encouraged to write a new fragmented excerpt based off of a different play read in class. By the end of class, students will have generated several different pieces that have potential to be expanded into full-length plays. (October 3, 10, 17, and 24, 7-9PM, Young Playwrights Independence Foundation Learning Lab, 1219 Vine Street, 3rd Floor, Philadelphia, $150)

Pitches, Bitches! with Chisa Hutchinson: You wrote a play. Cool. Let's talk about synopses, cover letters, follow-ups, and cultivation. This four-hour intensive will give you the tools to package your play for the industry like a pro. (October 8 and 15, 6:30 - 8:30PM E.S.T., online, $85)

Cocktails and Real Talk with Literary Manager Anne Morgan: Commissions and conferences, workshops and woes. What does it mean to get your play developed, and where should you start? Literary Manager extraordinaire Anne G. Morgan reads countless new projects each year, and is a passionate advocate for new work. Anne will sit down with Director of Education Julia Bumke to talk about contemporary American new play development; how to collaborate with literary staff; and the process of working on your play in commission, workshop, and reading contexts. They'll then open the floor for your questions about all areas of institutional new play development. (October 11, 5:30-7:30PM, Fergie's Pub, 1214 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, $40)

Seven-Week Intensive with John Yearley: Join PlayPenn favorite and Foundry lead artist John Yearley for this seven-week intensive. Perfect for starting a new script or developing a work-in-progress in a supportive and hands-on atmosphere! All genres and lengths of plays are welcome, as are writers at all experience levels. Sessions will begin with writing prompts and end with artist-driven feedback on student-written scenes. At the final meeting of the workshop, you will hear a 10-page excerpt of your script read by professional actors. This workshop is limited to 12 students, and spots fill quickly. (October 16, 23, 30, November 6, 13, 27, and December 4, 5:30-8:30PM, location in Philadelphia TBA, $425)

The Art of Rewriting with Michele Lowe: Playwright and writing coach Michele Lowe leads students through rewriting their drafts in this weekend-long intensive. Michele is intimately familiar with the challenges of self-editing: as part of the class, she'll talk you through early drafts of her own produced works, demonstrating the process that all playwrights go through in creating a strong finished product. You will share your drafts with Michele prior to the start of class, and will hit the ground running to talk through the questions, pitfalls, and challenges of honing your work. After a Saturday morning session, time will be set aside for students to privately revise their work, bringing in fresh pages on Sunday for further conversation. This is a great class for beginners and experienced writers alike who want to take their full scripts to the next level, and is particularly helpful before submitting drafts to conferences or competitions. (October 27 from 12-4PM, October 28 from 10AM-2PM, location in Philadelphia TBA, $200)

The Making of a Musical with Daniel and Patrick Lazour: The average musical takes at least five years to make, with dreams dreamed, dashed, then dreamed again. Daniel and Patrick Lazour know this process firsthand: their musical WE LIVE IN CAIRO, first workshopped at the O'Neill Theater Center in 2015, receives its world premiere at A.R.T. in Spring 2019. Their class will go behind the scenes of this process, offering advice and talking through case studies about how to foster your project with an eye toward production. Daniel and Patrick lend a friendly and practical approach to interfacing with producers, agents and artistic staff. They'll discuss the revision process, the building of a creative team, the workshops, the retreats, and the filtering of all-too-many notes. A great glimpse into the musical theater industry for writers and theater-lovers alike! (November 5, 8, 12, and 15, 6PM-8PM E.S.T. online, $170)

Unleash the Writer Within with Amy Witting: This workshop provides you with a series of exercises geared toward pushing past your fear and embracing your unique voice. Identifying our blocks and resting on the page, each student will walk away with tools to help push them forward on their unique journey as a writer. Led by a self-taught playwright and TV/film writer, this workshop is open to all writers. This course will help jumpstart your writing as you begin your own play, TV pilot, or screenplay. (November 10-11, 1-5PM, Young Playwrights Foundation Learning Lab, 1219 Vine Street, 3rd Floor, Philadelphia, $150)

For more information, or to register, visit PlayPenn.org.



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