Playwright Workshop's Syllabus
049: 269: PLAYWRIGHTS WORKSHOP
FALL, 2009
WORKSHOP: Mondays, 6:00-9:30 P.M.
172 TB
INSTRUCTORS: Sydne Mahone (TB128) & Carl Hancock Rux (RIV8-203)
Office Hours: Mon. 5:00 - 6:00, Tues 2:00 - 4:00, or by appointment
Sydne 384-3286; Carl 384-1283
Alan MacVey (TB 107)
DEO, Theatre Arts, and Director, Division of Performing Arts
Office Hours: by appointment
353-2430
alan-macvey@uiowa.edu
ASSISTANT: Justin Dewey
COURSE OBJECTIVES
The Workshop is central to the mission of the MFA Programs in Playwriting and Dramaturgy. It is founded on the recognition that the Department of Theatre Arts has been historically, and in many respects distinctively, concerned with the role of verbal and literary texts in the theatre, and with a commitment to the irreplaceable role of writers and writing in the making of new work for the stage. The course seeks to create conditions in which plays and performance texts can begin to be developed in a manner that honors the creative visions and processes from which they emerge.
Through rehearsed readings and intensive post-reading feedback, we explore texts-in-process in terms of how they work dramaturgically and theatrically, and in terms of how they might be further developed in those areas. Both readings and feedback sessions aim to expose what engages us as listeners/spectators, how and why it engages us, and what it means to and for us as well as for possible future audiences for the work.
In our feedback sessions, the questions we address include but are not limited to the following: What are the main or central dramatic idea(s) and action(s) of the text? How are they and might they be structured? What is the role of character and character development? Language? Image, metaphor, symbol? What form do (or might) these elements take? How might all of these elements of the function on stage?
In addressing such questions, we inevitably find ourselves on speculative terrain, but our primary goal is always be to help stimulate the writer's process, and to help him/her move forward with that process by beginning to glean the precise form and substance of the work he or she is creating.
PROCEDURES - READINGS
The normal procedure for Workshop is a script reading followed by a confidential discussion of the script by MFA Playwrights and Dramaturgs and Workshop instructors. The format for Monday evening's presentation should be organized in terms of what will best serve the writer, the script, and the project at the time. Unless otherwise requested, all readings are open to the Department and to guests invited by the playwright and his/her collaborators.
Playwrights' Responsibilities
Each MFA Playwright will have at least one Workshop in which to present a new play in process. In the Workshop (as in the New Play Festival), playwrights serve as "Team Leaders" for their Workshop readings. This means that the playwright holds final responsibility for the presentation of his or her work, and is responsible for the following:
*Securing actors for the reading, communicating clearly with them about time commitments, and honoring those commitments.
Whenever possible, you are encouraged to use department actors rather than Workshop members as readers. Playwrights are discouraged from serving as readers of their own work unless there is a persuasive rationale for doing so.
Actors who want to serve as readers for a Monday-night Workshop must be excused from conflicting rehearsals on the condition that the actor and his/her director have been given one week's notice (i.e., the Monday before). Approval of requests made after this date are at the discretion of the director of the production involved.
*Communicating with the Workshop Assistant in a timely manner about any special needs for setting up the reading.
We will develop a standard set-up for TB 172 designed to accommodate readers, members of the class, and some additional audience members.
The Workshop Assistant for 2009-10 is Justin Dewey. Justin can assist you with any special needs, if they are made by noon on the Friday before your reading.
*Copying and distributing scripts to actors, and making scripts available to Workshop members following the reading (or in advance, as per individual request);
The Department provides limited support for script copying for the Playwrights Workshop. Details TBA.
PROCEDURES - POST-READING FEEDBACK
Workshop feedback sessions use the following five-part format:
1. Before the reading, and again at the start of the feedback session, the playwright is invited to pose questions he or she would like the feedback to address, as well as to provide background on the play's origins and development;
2. Workshop members are invited to identify what, for them, the most striking or engaging aspects of the work are, and to articulate these in a descriptive manner;
3. Workshop members pose any dramaturgical questions or observations they have about the play, especially about any element of the work that seems problematic or whose future development might better serve the play's purpose and vision;
4. The playwright is invited to pose questions or to provide comments that might deepen or illuminate the play and the class discussion.
5. Class members may then add further brief commentary.
Additional Groundrules:
*In Parts 2 and 3 of the discussion, class members should confine themselves to a handful of the most important points. It is not necessary or helpful for a responder to cover all of his or her notes in this context.
*The playwright is asked to listen without comment as feedback is given, except to pose questions of clarification. He/she should reserve larger comments for Part 4 above.
*Feedback sessions are closed to members of the Workshop. Exceptions are at the discretion of the writer in consultation with the instructors.
The format is meant to serve as a basic protocol for discussion and in no way to restrict or limit it. Furthermore, the format is designed for drafts of full-length plays and may be revised as appropriate.
Playwrights are expected to pursue follow-up discussion with their assigned dramaturg and/or the MFA dramaturgs as a group (see below), as well as with Workshop faculty.
ROLE OF MFA DRAMATURGS
MFA dramaturgs attend all readings, participate in feedback sessions, keep detailed notes on readings and feedback sessions, facilitate post-Workshop discussions, and complete dramaturgical writing designed to facilitate and document the process of a play's early development.
Each reading will be assigned a dramaturg whose responsibilities are as follows:
*to take detailed notes on the reading;
*to keep a record of the post-reading feedback for later discussion with the writer;
*to hold at least one follow-up consultation with the playwright, and/or
*to organize a follow up meeting between the MFA dramaturgs and the playwright, as desired;
*to maintain a detailed log of all discussions - which can be referred to if the playwright and dramaturg collaborate on the later development and/or production of the script
Dramaturgs should keep their notes from readings, feedback sessions, and follow-up meetings in a single notebook.
Dramaturgs are also required to complete the following:
*three script reports on (a) two Workshop scripts and (b) one non-Workshop script to be assigned. A form for these reports will be provided. These reports will be discussed in a session outside Workshop or in the Dramaturgy Seminar.
*a short (2-3 pp.) "Report to the Selection Committee" making a case for programming of the Iowa New Play Festival 2009. The report, details TBA, is due December 14, 2009. It will be kept confidential and shredded after it is read by the Committee.
FESTIVAL & GALLERY SERIES
The Department production program has been designed to enable Workshop plays to be further developed and/or produced in the annual New Play Festival and/or the Department's Gallery Series.
The New Play Festival has two levels of presentation: productions and staged readings. Normally, all playwrights are represented by either a production or a staged reading. The Gallery Series also has two levels of presentation: productions and workshops.
The difference between the levels is a matter of technical support, space allocation, rehearsal time, and marketing, all of which are described in the Department's Production Guidelines and New Play Festival Guidelines.
(On occasion, at the discretion of the faculty, a Festival script might be given a workshop in Festival. The creative team for such a Workshop is given the same level of support - and expected to follow the same production guidelines - as a Workshop in the Department's Gallery Series. Alternately, a playwright who is given a workshop slot in the Gallery series may elect to use his/her slot for a staged reading, if that is what would best serve the work.)
As you plan your writing for the year, it is useful to keep in mind the timing of the Department's development and production opportunities and how they might intersect with your writing process. Playwriting faculty are always available to provide advice on Festival submissions and Gallery proposals.
Festival takes place during the last week of classes in the Spring Semester. Festival scripts are selected before the end of the Fall Semester by the Playwriting faculty with the advice of the Director of Theatre and the Department Chair.
Gallery productions & workshops for the following academic year are selected in the Spring by the Director of Theatre in consultation with the Season Planning Committee and the Program Heads. Selections are made on the basis of proposals submitted by a Team Leader on behalf of a prospective creative team. Projects involving new plays (or new work of any kind) may be made by either a playwright, director, or dramaturg, depending on the nature of the work and the planned collaboration. Each proposal must be approved by a Faculty Advisor.
IOWA NEW PLAY FESTIVAL 2009
For Festival 2010, script submissions are due December 11, 2009. Playwrights may submit two scripts. They should attach a cover letter explaining their goals for the development of each script and whether or not they have a strong preference for working on one script over the other. They may also state early preferences for a director, dramaturg, and theatre space, although these questions will be revisited once production scripts have been selected.
Directors and dramaturgs for Festival are assigned by Playwriting//Dramaturgy and Directing faculty, following student playwright, director, and dramaturg preferences as much as possible in practical, creative, and pedagogical terms. Each Festival production is assigned Production and Script Advisors from the faculty.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Grading for this course is S/U.
Administrative Home: The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Graduate College are the administrative homes of this course and govern matters such as the add/drop deadlines, the second-grade-only option, and other related issues. Different colleges may have different policies. Questions may be addressed to 120 Schaeffer Hall or see the Academic Handbook. www.clas.uiowa.edu/students/academic_handbook/index.shtml
Academic Fraud: Plagiarism and any other activities when students present work that is not their own are academic fraud. Academic fraud is reported to the departmental DEO and to the Associate Dean for Academic Programs and Services who enforces the appropriate consequences. www.clas.uiowa.edu/students/academic_handbook/ix.shtm
Making a Suggestion or a Complaint: Students with a suggestion or complaint should first visit the instructors, then the departmental DEO. Complaints must be made within six months of the incident. www.clas.uiowa.edu/students/academic_handbook/ix.shtml#5
Accommodations for Disabilities: A student seeking academic accommodations should register with Student Disability Services and meet privately with the course instructor to make particular arrangements. For more information, visit this site: www.uiowa.edu/~sds/
Sexual Harassment: Sexual harassment subverts the mission of the University and threatens the well-being of students, faculty, and staff. Visit www.sexualharassment.uiowa.edufor definitions, assistance, and the full University policy.
Severe Weather: In severe weather, the class members should seek shelter in the innermost part of the building, if possible at the lowest level, staying clear of windows and free-standing expanses. The class will continue if possible when the event is over.