Directing & Playwriting

Help your directors and playwrights develop their craft with hands-on workshops.

The Director’s Workshop

The Director’s Workshop is a comprehensive approach to honing your skills as a church or community theatre director. Each unit (listed below) can stand on its own and be presented in 60-90 minutes, or several units can be combined into a lengthier intensive.

Acting for Directors

We’ll cover some of the basic techniques used by skilled actors, and discuss ways to use them in coaching your team.

Script Analysis for Dummies

Taking apart a script is vital if you’re going to effectively tell a story onstage. Script analysis is one of the most neglected parts of amateur directing—but the payoff from using these techniques can be enormous.

“Where Do I Put My Actors?” (Blocking Fundamentals)

One of the director’s first jobs, in cooperation with the actors, is to determine the movement in a play. Here are techniques you can use to create blocking full of dramatic impact.

Coaching Your Actors for Stronger Performances

Have you ever noticed a problem with an actor’s work, but not known how to solve it? This class will present an overview of common acting mistakes, and give you tools to fix them.

Putting It All Together/ Final Rehearsals

Explore the role of the director during the most difficult part of the rehearsal process–the time when you “let go” and turn your baby over to the actors. The way you empower performers during this phase can make or break a production.

Directing Practicum

Students will have the opportunity to stage short scenes for their classmates.

Sets, Costumes, Props, and You

We’ll cover the fundamentals of technical theatre, including basic set design, costume design, and props management. (This is a brief overview from the director’s perspective, not a comprehensive survey of technical theatre.)

Lights, Sound, and Stage Managers

Here’s a quick look at the way electrical toys, like lights and sound boards, can enhance the next production you direct. We’ll also look at the role of the stage manager, and how he/ she can be your best friend. (This is a brief overview from the director’s perspective, not a comprehensive survey of technical theatre.)

Drama Ministry: Let’s Get It Started

What are the practical considerations involved in beginning a church drama ministry? You’ll hear from a professional director who has started drama ministries from scratch in two large churches. George will also briefly discuss the philosophical considerations behind an effective drama ministry.

Drama Ministry: Choosing Great Scripts

How do you separate the Good from the Bad and the Ugly? We’ll discuss the components of a winning script.

Writing Great Drama Scripts

Discover the tools you need to write effectively for the stage! These workshops give writers hands-on practice with crafting a compelling plot, intriguing characters, realistic dialogue, and relevant themes. Each unit (listed below) can stand on its own and be presented in 60-90 minutes, or several units can be combined into a lengthier intensive.

Conflict

Conflict is the essence of storytelling–the problem that characters will have to solve during your script. We’ll look at ways to effectively build conflict, then examine some sample scripts to see how other writers do it.

Characters

Creating people to populate the world of your play is easier said than done. Participants will learn to craft three-dimensional characters.

Dialogue

It sounds simple–all you have to do is write lines that sound like real people talking. But anyone who’s tried it knows that realistic dialogue is a challenge. Practice your skills in this workshop.

Theme

You probably write because you have something you think is worth saying. However, trying too hard to shoehorn your theme (or “message”) into a story just makes it preachy. We’ll discuss ways to integrate a theme without bashing your audience over the head with it.

Writing Practice

Spend some time polishing a script-in-progress, and get it ready for a script-in-hand performance. (This series of workshops can culminate in a public or semi-public staged reading of students’ ten-minute plays.)