GetSmART! Learning Series: The Art of Playwriting

This three-part series of workshops is ideal for writers looking to transition into playwriting or to use playwriting to strengthen their other fiction-writing techniques. One registration covers all three workshops.

This series is designed to guide aspiring playwrights through the process of crafting compelling 10-minute plays. Through these workshops, participants will gain the skills necessary to create immersive and engaging plays.

The link for the series will be emailed to you. Please register by Nov. 29 to attend this series Registration is required.

Playwriting 101

2-3:30 p.m. Dec. 1, 2024

Online Only

In this workshop, we'll cover an overview of how to write a play, focusing on a 10-min play. We'll discuss creating strong obstacles, conflict and how to figure out if you're writing a play for the stage or a screenplay. Why this play now? What storytelling elements can you draw from other mediums to make this play really pop? By the end of this workshop, participants will have begun their very own 10-min play.

Playwriting: How to Write Strong Characters

2-3:30 p.m. Dec. 8, 2024

Online Only

In this workshop, we'll discuss what makes a strong character? How do write dialogue that is unique to character? How can conflict come from character relationships? We'll work through common tropes, how to avoid them, and how to use them in unique and exciting ways. Participants in this workshop should have at least one 10-min play written before this session as we'll be building from that.

Playwriting: World Building

2-3:30 p.m. Dec. 15, 2024

Online Only

Believe it or not, every playwright is a world-builder. We create the spaces and realities in which our characters exist. Whether it's another planet or just a coffee shop down the street, understanding how location plays a part in the story will not only strengthen your writing but also help build stronger circumstances and character development. In this workshop, we'll explore space as character and how different locations can radically illuminate a story.

This is a series of workshops on playwriting. Please register for all three workshops and try to attend the entire series so that you benefit the most from this opportunity.

About Our Facilitator:

Rachel Lynett (she/they) is a queer Afro-Latine playwright, producer, and teaching artist. Their plays have been featured at San Diego Rep, Magic Theatre, Mirrorbox Theatre, Laboratory Theatre of Florida, Barrington Stage Company, Theatre Lab, Theatre Prometheus, Florida Studio Theatre, Laughing Pig Theatre Company, Capital Repertory Theatre, Teatro Espejo, the Kennedy Center Page to Stage festival, TheatreSquared, Equity Library Theatre, Chicago, Talk Back Theatre, American Stage Theatre Company, Indiana University at Bloomington, Edgewood College, and Orlando Shakespeare Theatre. Rachel Lynett is also the 2021 recipient of the Yale Drama Prize for their play, Apologies to Lorraine Hansberry (You Too August Wilson). Lynett was 2021 recipient of the National Latinx Playwriting Award and the runner-up for the 2022 Miranda Family Voces Latinx Playwriting Competition for their play, Black Mexican. Their play, Missing Socks and a Line of Coke was also a 2024 Blue Ink Award finalist and 2024 O’Neill Playwright conference semi-finalist. Lynett received commissions from Barrington Stage Company, Florida Studio Theatre, and Yale Rep. Recently, Lynett was a staff writer for The Winchesters and is working on an upcoming feature. Learn more at https://rachellynett.com.

Summary of Series:

• What: The Art of Playwriting
• When: 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. the first three Sundays in December.
• Where: Online Only
• Cost: Free
• For Whom: This workshop is ideal for writers looking to transition into playwriting or looking to strengthen their fiction-writing techniques in dialog, scene and character building.

This workshop is sponsored by the Arkansas Arts Council. For more information or questions, please email [email protected].

Host or Publisher Arkansas Arts Council