Playwriting Classes with Jack

"Character development" is a term that gets thrown around a lot in critical discussions of plays, movies, novels, and other forms of literature. It actually has two common meanings--on one hand, the term can refer to the way a character's qualities are crafted and then how they are revealed to the audience; on the other hand, it can mean how a character grows, changes, or "develops" over the course of the play/movie/book/etc. In many cases, some form of character development is the fundamental engine of the play; at the very least, it is essential for any practitioner of dramatic art forms to understand how characters are shaped.

In this class we'll consider both types of character development in the context of dramatic writing. We'll examine the whole process of creating & defining a character, revealing that character to the audience, and sending that character down a path that will change them. Along the way we'll look at various examples, discuss the relationship between character and other aspects of a play, and consider whether a character needs to change for the play to be complete and effective.

This course is open to beginner and experienced playwrights. If this is your first time engaging with the craft of playwriting, a primer will be provided to get you started on the basics of formatting and other technicalities.

The course will meet in a virtual classroom via Zoom, and an online dropbox for course material will be shared via Google Drive.

Tuesdays, June 16 - July 21, 6-8pm Pacific Time