Playwriting

From a desire to nurture the telling of our stories on the stage, this class introduces the craft of writing for the theatre. Students will explore the basics of plot and character development, scene structure, theme and dialogue, and will touch on production considerations and the role of the dramaturg. With an emphasis on finding a unique voice, students will work on exercises designed to inspire ideas and creative risk-taking and will be supported to write scenes and work on an original one-act play over the course of the week.

TUTOR: SAM BROOKS

Sam is an award-winning playwright and journalist, who while still in his twenties, wrote over twenty plays. He has been longlisted for the Adam Awards 11 times, and four of his plays have been highly commended. He has made a significant contribution to representing queer male voices on New Zealand stages. He was awarded the Bruce Mason Playwrighting Award in 2016. Most recently, his plays Lads on the Island and The Perfect Image were performed at Circa Theatre and as part of Auckland Pride respectively.