Thursdays, Nov 9 & 16, 6-9pm CST, via Zoom
Instructor: Mikaela Simon
Nonmember: $140; Member: $120; Student/Vet/Mil $75

*EARN CPE’S

SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE. 

Excellent theatre has a way of getting a great story up on its feet. But how do you tell a story on the page so that it comes to life on the stage? 

Join New Jersey-based playwright Mikaela Simon in this two-session course which will cover the fundamentals of writing a play. 

Workshop participants will learn how playwriting differs from other genres, what “show don’t tell” means when writing for the stage, and how to use it to create dynamic storytelling on stage. This course will cover structure, format, dialogue, monologues, characters, dramatic action, and theatricality. Participants will explore these elements and use them to create their own short plays and/or scenes.  

This course is open to writers of all genres and skill level, 18+. 

Students will leave this course with:

• Knowledge of how to structure and format a play
• An understanding of playwriting elements and how to use them
• The ability to apply the concepts to long-form works, such as one acts, full-lengths, etc.
• The first draft of a 10-minute play or the first few scenes of a larger work

Read Mikaela’s Writer’s Desk Q&A!

Mikaela Simon (she/her) is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Jersey City, NJ. She graduated in 2019 from Drew University with a BA in Theatre Arts. While in college, Mikaela’s work was performed a number of times in the Plays in Process series, and she was also a recipient of the Robert Fisher Oxnam Award for Playwriting in 2018, resulting in a staged reading produced by the Ensemble Studio Theatre. Since graduating, she has taken on the role of teaching artist for the theatre program at Yavneh Academy in Paramus, NJ. Mikaela is also a multimedia visual artist, and is very involved in the Jersey City arts community with her small business (@doodlealldayy). Writing has always held a special place for her, and she looks forward to getting the chance to share the beautiful craft of playwriting with people who have a story to tell.