Affiliate Program

How to Write for the Theater

Christina Hamlett

Course ID: LC007

Current Openings: Yes

Since the time of the Ancient Greeks, the live theater experience has satisfied an audience's need for entertainment that is

  • immediate,
  • intimate and
  • accessible to all ages and levels of society.

Whether performed

  • in an outdoor courtyard,
  • on a vintage stage,
  • in a school auditorium or
  • above the din of an urban coffeehouse,
a play is an ever-evolving and timeless art form that derives its energy from both sides of the footlights.

Unlike a novel or a film that is financed and produced only once, a theater script undergoes a new transformation with each change of cast and each change of venue.

Even the passage of time itself impacts how a theatrical story will resonate with successive generations, giving new definition and perspective to old ideas or providing a yardstick of how far we've come from social mores that were once held as truth.

In this class, students will discover

  • what makes a theatrical script successful...and
  • how to write one!

Can you craft roles that actors will want to play?
Which should you pursue first: production or publication?
What are the red flags that turn prospective directors off?

Through one-on-one instruction, you'll not only learn how to put your plot on stage but how to find an audience for it, too.

Each module consists of

  • a lecture
  • a writing assignment
  • interviews
  • websites and
  • anecdotes.

    The final assignment will be the writing and submission of an original 15-minute one-act play, which will be professionally critiqued for its adherence to all of the principles addressed in class.

    In addition:
    Learners who successfully complete the class will receive

    • marketing tips
    • contest information and
    • a 50% discount off of a full script consultation (a $450 value) on any scripts written within one year of enrollment in this course.

    Click here to pay via PayPal! (No account required!)

    Course Type:

    Private mentoring.

    Objective:

    To learn the tricks of scripting a successful play!

    Learner Prerequisites

    No prior writing experience required. Just bring your imagination and your enthusiasm for learning how to break into the field of screenwriting.

    Start Date May 1, 2005
    Duration 6 weeks.
    Limit N/A
    Class Materials None
    Cost $185
    Tutorial Option Additional mentoring and critiquing is available from the instructor. The fee is $45 per hour. Please contact deanwlc@writinglearningcentre.com to register.

    Course Outline

    Not available.

    Instructor Bio

    Former actress/director Christina Hamlett is

    • an award winning author
    • a script coverage consultant

    whose credits include

    • 21 books,
    • 115 plays and musicals,
    • 4 optioned features,
    • screenwriting/playwriting columns and interviews that appear throughout the world.

    See www.absolutewrite.com/site/christina.htm for additional background.