Playwriting Classes with Jack

Many of the books and courses you can find on playwriting draw on classic plays—from the Greeks to Shakespeare to Arthur Miller—as the basis of their dramaturgy. But the Aristotelian unities and the tenets of psychological Realism are ill-equipped to evaluate, let alone produce, many of the works being staged across the country and the globe in the last 30 or so years. If you want to learn to write like a contemporary playwright, you’re going to have to look beyond traditional, linear structure and conventional idioms. In this class for beginners and experienced writers alike, we will study five distinct plays that exemplify aspects of contemporary dramatic writing, and develop our own unique modes of expression through a series of exercises. The class will culminate in two workshop sessions, where students will have a selection of material (dependent on time/class size, at least 10 minutes of material) read out loud and receive feedback. Two professional actors will join us for the workshops to lend their skills to important roles in your work, and the workshop sessions will be recorded and shared with you for your personal use.

Week 1 - Overview of traditional dramaturgy & psychological realism.

Week 2 - Contemporary naturalism.

Week 3 - Contemporary departures from realism (borrowing & blending techniques from magical realism, expressionism, absurdism, and more)

Week 4 - Language plays (such as the work of Mac Wellman and Will Eno)

Week 5 - Contemporary works that recontextualize classical works.

Week 6 - Social & political commentary plays

Week 7-8 - Workshops of student materials (with two professional actors reading your work!)

Course details:

• Meets Tuesday evenings, 7-9:30pm Eastern Time (US), October 10 - November 28 (the week of October 31, class will be held on Wednesday, November 1, or another alternate date that we will decide on as a class). Classes meet virtually via Zoom. 
• Max enrollment is 10, minimum enrollment is 4. If class hits max enrollment, I will offer the option to audit the class—you can join & participate in sessions but will not receive feedback or workshop.
• Tuition for this course will be $500. Students are responsible for securing their own copies of the plays we study. 
• For more information, email jack@jackjacknovak.com