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Private Instruction in Writing Plays

With a tutor’s guidance, the student will explore the fundamental elements of playwriting, including character, scene, dialogue, and transition. Over the course of the program, the student and his or her tutor may review classic and contemporary dramas, both to evaluate the writer’s techniques and to inspire the student’s own creativity. From Shakespeare to Our Town to cutting-edge, contemporary theatre, student and tutor will study the masters of the craft. The tutor will offer ongoing feedback and encouragement as the student writes his or her own stage play.

By the end of our playwriting program, the student will:

  1. Be familiar with the proper use of dramatic conventions like characters, setting, and stage direction.
  2. Understand how these conventions help structure a play and advance its plot.
  3. Develop the ability to write engaging dialogue that advances a play’s central plot or problem.

A typical playwriting course involves one 60-90 minute session per week, with writing and reading assignments for the student to complete independently and discuss at the following session. In addition to short exercises targeting different elements of the craft, the student will begin to draft (and extensively revise) his or her own dramatic work.

Because our writing instructors have professional playwriting experience themselves, they’re able to guide the student through the complete process, from first draft to production. The tutor can also offer advice, when appropriate, about getting a script published or produced.

Our Playwriting Instructors:
Our team of playwriting instructors includes the tutors below. Click on the instructor’s short profile to access his or her full profile:

Jeffrey S., M.F.A.
Jeffrey S., M.F.A.
Education

Tisch School of the Arts (NYU), MFA in Dramatic Writing
Tisch School of the Arts (NYU), BFA in Film and TV Production


Summary of Experience

An acclaimed playwright and screenwriter, Jeffrey is currently a Lecturer in Dramatic Writing at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, as well as an Instructor in Creative Writing at NYU's School of Continuing and Professional Studies. He has also taught courses in playwriting and screenwriting at the Brooklyn Friends School and Amherst College. Jeffrey's numerous plays and screenplays include Tesla's Letters, the comedy Medicine, Man, and the short film Lady in a Box.
Katrina G.-S., M.A.
Katrina G.-S., M.A.
Education

Boston University, MA, Earhart Fellow in Journalism & Sociology
Boston College, BA in Theater Arts


Summary of Experience

Katrina’s travel essays have been published by NPR, National Geographic, The Christian Science Monitor, and CNN-go, among others. Her children’s book, Ma, The Search for Silence, is forthcoming from Little, Brown, and Company in 2013. She taught writing at the prestigious Kikokushijo Academy in Tokyo, where she was also a TV Journalist and Producer for NHK- World, and for Atraves in Nicaragua.
Sam Z., M.F.A.
Sam Z., M.F.A.
Education

Tisch School of the Arts (NYU), MFA in Film
Yale University, BA in Studio Art


Summary of Experience

Sam is a professor of screenwriting at Spalding University. He has taught directing, film language, film history, screenwriting, and playwriting courses at Bennington College and the New York Film Academy, among other programs. He has won numerous awards as a writer and director, including for his feature film, You Belong to Me. A committed educator, Sam has also directed and produced several short films for the non-profit Prep for Prep.
Amy A., M.A.T.
Amy A., M.A.T.
Education

Boston University, M.A.T. in English Education
Boston University, M.A. in Creative Writing/Playwriting
State University of New York at Albany, B.A. in English, Summa Cum Laude


Summary of Experience

Amy has taught in both traditional and alternative classroom environments and tailors her approach to fit each student's learning style. A playwright who has had her work produced at the Boston Playwrights Theater, Amy tutors students in academic writing, admission essays, and playwriting.

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