ONLINE WORKSHOP:

PLAYWRITING BOOTCAMP

Playwriting Bootcamp
Weekend 1: Curing The Block - Stretching Your Creative Muscles
Weekend 2: Building Blocks - Writing Your First Draft

Whether you’re battling writer’s block, intimidated by the blank page, or are just too overwhelmed to make time for yourself to write, this bootcamp is designed to give you the jolt of inspiration you need to get your ideas on the page. Over the course of two weekends, playwright, director, and dramaturg Mêlisa Annis will lead you through a generative writing process to complete a messy first draft of a play. 

This workshop might be for you if you:

  • Are a playwright with a seed of an idea that you'd like to explore in a fun, focused, and intensive environment.

  • Need a jumpstart to get creative ideas out of your head and onto the page.

In this workshop:

  • The first weekend is about inspiration. Use writing exercises and in-class discussion to bypass your critical mind, generate material without judgement, and kick off your first draft. 

  • Take the time between the two weekends to process, dream, research, and focus on an idea, character, or world. 

  • Fueled by your first weekend, use the second weekend to write and share, focus your ideas, and expand your writing into a messy first draft.

By the end of class you will have: 

  • A solid start on—or even complete!—messy first draft of your next play.

  • Notes, feedback, and next steps to continue your play outside of the bootcamp setting. 

  • New writing exercises if you ever find yourself stuck and need some inspiration.

FACULTY
Mêlisa Annis

SCHEDULE
Two-weekend workshop
March 21-23 and 28-30

LOCATION
Online!

PRICING
Returning Students: $420
New Students: $440
Learn about our 
Payment Plans.

FOR MORE INFO
Learn more about 
How It Works.
For more information, please call 212.840.9705 x215 or email 
espa@primarystages.org.

REGISTRATION AND SCHEDULE

Instructor: Mêlisa Annis (Writer, Director, and Dramaturg; Faculty, NYU Tisch Dramatic Writing Program)
Two-weekend workshop
March 21-23 and 28-30

Fridays from 6:30pm – 9:00pm
Saturdays from 11:00am – 6:00pm
Sundays from 12:00pm – 6:00pm

  • Mêlisa believes that playwriting is very rewarding and can also be deeply personal – we all need to be good community members and support each other. This class will be a safe space to share, while also challenging each playwright to explore their subconscious, their subtext, and hopefully ultimately help them reach their goals. Mêlisa is always encouraging and supportive to any playwright who is brave enough to put words on a page, and hopes that anyone who joins this class is willing to support their colleagues in the room.

  • Zoom Meeting is easy to start, join, and use to collaborate online in a personable way via desktop or mobile without complicated set-ups. The Zoom Meeting Host (your ESPA instructor or administrator) sends out a meeting link and at the time of your class, you just click the link to launch the virtual classroom via your web browser. In the Zoom Meeting, each participant can share their webcam so that you're not only hearing your instructor and classmates but seeing them too, making it feel similar to being in one of the studios at ESPA. Other exciting collaborative Zoom features include Breakout Rooms in which students can meet in smaller groups, “Raise Your Hand” feature to better facilitate balanced conversation, Screen Sharing, and Chat. If you can't log in via a computer, there are also options to phone into the meeting so you can still participate in the class even if you find yourself without computer or internet access. And Zoom has an Apple and Android app, making it possible to take part in class from any device.