eugene stickland  

So You think you have a play in you?     

Over the years I have had the good fortune to work with some great writers as an instructor and mentor, both here in Calgary and throughout the world. Many of them have gone on to becoming very good writers, seeing their work produced at theatres throughout the land.

For the last few years I have taught playwriting at St. Mary’s University here in Calgary, so my workshops have been restricted to that community. Now I have been asked to lead a workshop for the community at large, as it were, and so I’m seeing if there is enough interest out there to undertake such an endeavour. I believe we currently have four or five people interested. The ideal number for such a workshop is 12, so I am writing this to see if there are some of you out there wanting to enter into a writing workshop with me this fall.

The way it works is we come together once a week for a few hours, probably on Monday evenings, and bring scenes we have been working on to be read aloud by fellow participants. To take part in this workshop you have to be willing not only to bring in material to be read, but to read the scripts your fellow writers bring in as well.

I give feedback. We all give feedback. And then you go away and bring us a revision for the next week, or new material if you are trying to finish a play during this process. There are guidelines and protocols for giving feedback so it is always constructive and helpful and never bruising to the ego.

I am even open to the idea of welcoming writers working in other genres to the workshop. I feel some cross-pollination can be instructive and beneficial, so if you’re working on a volume of poetry, for example, we would welcome you.

If there is enough interest, I will look for a place we can meet somewhere in the core area. We would meet for a few hours Monday evenings and I know at least a few of us will welcome a beer or a glass of wine at the end of the evening, so it’s not all work and privation.

Just to make sure you take this seriously and so I make a little money for my troubles, there will be a $250.00 fee for the workshop. We will start sometime towards the end of the month of September and go until December. If possible, on our final night, we will read excerpts of everyone’s work for an invited audience.

So, if you have a play in you that’s itching to get onto paper, here’s your big chance. If you’re interested please let me know. If you know of someone who might be, please feel free to forward this information to them.

My email is eugenius@telusplanet.net. Please put “Writing Workshop” in the subject line to help me avoid total confusion in my Inbox.

Thanks for reading!