An Intensive Weekend workshop on How to Write a Ten Minute Play with one of the world’s leading 10-minute playwrights, and the Artistic Director of Short+Sweet Theatre Alex Broun.
Alex has had over 60 different ten minute plays produced across the globe in over 500 productions.
The aims of the workshop are to:
- INSPIRE – inspire you to write a good ten minute play
- INFORM – inform you with the tools required to write the play
Many plays written in the 2009 course went on to be performed at Short+Sweet Brisbane as well as other Short+Sweet festivals around Australia and the world.
Dates:
- Friday August 20th (6pm-9pm)
- Saturday August 21st (10am – 5pm)
- Sunday August 22nd (10am – 6pm)
Course Venue: Metro Arts, Brisbane
COURSE OUTLINE:
SESSION 1: WHAT MAKES A GOOD TEN MINUTE PLAY ?
DATE AND TIME: Friday August 20th, 6pm – 9pm
The opening session will explore the craft of writing for the theatre and tackle the fundamental question of just what is a ten minute play? What should you write your play about ? What are the elements required for a good ten minute play ? The session also explores what makes your play a PLAY, and why it needs to be produced on STAGE. What makes a play different from film and television. This session will begin to inspire the writers to find adventurous and new ways to tell their story and bring it to life on stage – the craft of a playwright.
SESSION 2: PITCH YOUR PLAY
DATE AND TIME: Saturday August 21st, 10am – 11.30am
Participants pitch their possible ideas and these are discussed to explore which ideas will develop into good ten minute plays. After receiving feedback participants begin to refine their ideas to decide which play idea they will develop to first draft stage.
SESSION 3: STORY AND STRUCTURE
DATE AND TIME: Saturday August 21st, 11.45am-1pm
This session looks at Story Structure and will explore how to dramatise your story in the most theatrically satisfying way. It will also consider what makes a good Beginning, Middle and End. We will also introduce you to different styles or genres of theatre and consider what is the best style for your play.
SESSION 4: YOU’RE THE ACTOR
DATE AND TIME: Saturday August 21st, 2pm-3.45pm
In this session participants experience the process of rehearsing and performing a short moved reading. As well as increasing the understanding of the development of a play from “page to stage” the session also gives participants background on the process they will go through on Sunday when they rehearse a moved reading of their own play.
SESSION 5: CHARACTER, DIALOGUE AND SURPRISE
DATE AND TIME: Saturday August 21st, 4pm-5pm
This final session before participants go away to write their play explores how to create memorable characters. What is the role of character in the theatre ? Also allowing your characters to speak truthfully – the slight variations that make one character on stage different and bind your characters with an audience. The session will also explore rhythm, dialogue and use of language in the theatre. It will also explore the important nature of surprise in theatre through character revelation and/or incident and staying one step ahead of your audience.
SESSION 6: WORKSHOPPING YOUR SCRIPT
DATE AND TIME: Sunday August 22nd, 10am – 3pm
In this day-long session participants will workshop their scripts, which they have written during the course, with Short + Sweet actors. They will physicalise the script with the actors and explore how their text works on stage, allowing them to test their play and seeing how it will work when performed.
SESSION 6: ON STAGE
DATE AND TIME: Sunday August 22nd, 4pm-6pm
In the climax of the course participants scripts will be given moved public readings by the Short+Sweet actors to an invited audience. This is a chance for the writers to see how their work comes to life on stage – and more importantly – how the audience responds to it. They will then be able to do any further revisions on their play before entering it for consideration to the Short + Sweet Brisbane and other festivals around the world.
About the Course Tutor:
ALEX BROUN: Recently referred to by American Stage Online as the “Shakespeare of short plays”, Alex is one of the world’s leading experts in 10 minute plays and the current Artistic Director of Short+Sweet Theatre, Alex has had no less than sixty 10 minute plays produced across the globe in over 500 productions including Short+Sweet 2002 – 2010 and Shorter+Sweeter 2006, 2008 and 2010 – The Best of Short+Sweet. Internationally Alex has had short plays produced in the USA, UK, Canada, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa and Taiwan . His longer plays have been performed at the Sydney Festival and he has twice received script development funding from the AFC.
SUCCESS !!!
Plays to come out of the Short + Sweet Playwriting course include: “Perfect Stillness” by Jane Miller (Winner People’s Choice Melbourne Short + Sweet 2006), “Push Yourself” By Kate Toon (S+S Sydney 2009), “Our last time together” by Fiona Clarke (Melbourne S+S 2005 and Sydney S+S 2006), “The Fitting Room” by Alison Chambers (S+S Sydney 2006), “Condiments” by Alan Miller (S+S Sydney 2006), “Rinse” by Lisa Eismen (S+S Sydney 2006), “Un-Australian” by Darinka Kralj (S+S Melbourne 2007 – nominated for Best Comedy Writing and S+S Melbourne 2008), “The Pick Up” by Sean McIntyre (S+S Melbourne 2005 and S+S Sydney 2006), “Death by 1000 cuts” by Mika Tsoi (S+S Melbourne 2007 – nominated for Best Drama Writing), “The Neils” by Miles Blackford (S+S Melbourne 2007 and S+S Sydney 2008), “Sleeping Leeches” by Liza Dezfouli (S+S Melbourne 2007), “Truth FM” by Mark Andrew (S+S Melbourne 2005), “Don’t Give Up Your Day Job” by Sharni Page (S+S Melbourne 2005) and many others.
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REMEMBER Entries for Short + Sweet Brisbane 2010 are NOW OPEN.
