WRITING FOR THE THEATER: How to Write Short-Form or One-Act Plays
Mondays at 7:00 PM (March 22 & 29, April 5 & 12, 2021)
In this four-part program, participants will learn the basics of play writing with the emphasis on the short-form or one-act play. Each week in between classes, participants will work on their own short play, applying what we’ve learned and refining their scripts. By the end of the program, everyone will have a finished script as well as the tools to critique their own scripts in the future! It is recommended that students commit to all four sessions to achieve their goal of a finished script. Each session is 65 – 85 minutes depending on the number of students. A student workbook will be provided.
Lesson One – All the Basics
- Why the One-Act Play?
- Basic Types of
- Leading Element of Your Play
- Creating the World of the Play
- Plot and Character
- How to Write the Good Stuff
Lesson Two – Character and Plot
- Deeper Dive on Characters and Plot
- Characters Start Talking
- Thematic Elements
- Create first Draft
Lesson Three – Engage and Perform
- Review first Draft
- Clarify Leading Elements
- Being “audience-centric”
- Continue to refine and share plays with each other
Lesson Four – Engage and Perform
- Share-aloud: Invited actors will "perform" your play
- Review each play for opportunities to improve
- Takeaways from the program
- Course Evaluation
INSTRUCTOR: Lisa Parker
LISA PARKER is is a writer, playwright, director and actor, well known in our local theater community. Six of her short plays have been produced either onstage or online, with more to come. As an actor, Lisa most recently appeared as Sara Jane Moore in KETG's sold-out production of Assassins by Stephen Sondheim. With The Suffield Players, she recently played Masha in Durang’s Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike as well as Charlotte in the comic farce Moon Over Buffalo. Favorite roles include Faye in Neil Simon's Chapter Two, for which she was awarded Best Actress in a Featured Role by the MCC, Being of Sound Mind (Elizabeth) an original play by local playwright Konrad Rogowski for which she won the ActCONN Best Actress award, and Danny Eaton's original play The Winds of Fashioning Time (Ethel Rosenberg) for which she won the CTA Best Actress award. Lisa believes her stage experience has enabled her to write for the stage with greater impact and clarity. Outside of the theater, Lisa is the author of the book Managing the Moment: A Leader’s Guide to Building Executive Presence One Interaction at a Time published in 2013. She is the founder of Heads Up Coaching and Consulting, and is a professional executive coach and seminar leader.