2015 Willamette Writers Conference

This workshop will provide the how’s and why’s of giving a story a stage treatment – i.e., turning it into a play – and getting it performed in front of live, paying audiences. We will explore: The differences between the novel/short story, screenplay, and stage play in terms of format, expectations, skills required (and developed) and the strengths and weaknesses of each from a story-telling perspective, with examples from the Instructor’s own work. Stage play genres and how they compare to the fiction and screenplay worlds; How to structure a play for the modern stage: one, two, or three acts? How to get your story onto a stage; Why to write your story as a play – even if you don’t want to write a play; Exercises in transforming narrative into stage dialog