September 16, 23, 30, October 7, 14, 21, 28, November 4, 11, 18

Wednesdays from 6:00pm – 9:00pm ET

via Zoom

NEW STUDENT RATE: $580

RETURNING STUDENT RATE: $560

As soon as you finish your last line of dialogue, the need for rewrites begins. This 10-week class will help you tackle the revision process and develop a stronger version of your play. Open to new and returning students located anywhere in the world, this class will be run just like a real-life writing room, interacting with your instructor and classmates live via Zoom.

This class might be for you if you:

• Have a fully completed draft of a full-length play and you are ready to begin rewrites. (If you are unsure if your play fits the parameters of this class, please contact us!)
• Would like to make significant process rewriting a completed draft, whether it be a first or tenth draft of a play.
• Are looking for some new creative tools you can apply to your rewriting process.
• Want to be challenged in a classroom environment that is run like a professional playwriting workshop.
• Are a new or returning Primary Stages ESPA writer.

In this class you will:

• Start by articulating and addressing your goals for this new draft.
• Present pages that are read aloud in class, receiving feedback and response to your work from the group, filtered through a series of prompts given by your instructor.
• See below for details on how each section of this class will be run!

By the end of this class you will:

• Have a stronger draft of your play.
• Be adept at giving and receiving useful feedback to work that is in-process.
• Have the tools you need to transform any first draft into a more streamlined, compelling work that’s ready to be heard.

More about class with Gina: Rewriting can be the scariest part of a writing process – but it can also be the most freeing. In this class, you will dive into the process of rewriting, with Gina providing tools to make rewriting a little bit less intimidating and more manageable. Gina will lead playwrights through a series of prompts, helping them articulate and understand what they wish to strengthen in their new draft, and will also lead the group in exercises that are both creative and structure-based that will make the rewriting process feel more creative and playful rather than intimidating or daunting. Playwrights will share up to 15 pages of their scripts every other week to receive feedback and keep moving forward with their newest draft. Gina always centers the playwrights and their own specific needs in the writing process of their plays, and you will be able to learn how to articulate questions that are most useful for you as you move forward on your play. Playwrights are expected to follow their own creative energy and will be encouraged to work on their play in whatever order feels most energetic, whether that be in or out of chronological order. 

Learn more about Gina here.

September 16, 23, 30, October 7, 14, 21, November 4, 11

Wednesdays from 6:30pm – 9:30pm ET

via Zoom

NEW STUDENT RATE: $520

RETURNING STUDENT RATE: $480

If you’re just stepping into the world of playwriting, welcome! In this 8-week class, playwright, director, and lyricist Tasha Gordon-Solmon will help you build a toolbox of the fundamentals, so your first play (and each play you write after that!) can be built on a strong foundation.

This class might be for you if you are:

• A budding playwright who wants to get down to basics.
• A theater artist boldly crossing the line from one discipline to another and ready to start writing!
• A novelist or poet searching for a new form.

In this class you will:

• Build a toolbox of the fundamentals, including discussions of structure, character, and dialogue.
• Complete writing exercises to gain an understanding of the form and generate ideas for material.
• Start to write your own play by the end of the semester.

By the end of this class you will:

• Have a strong grasp on writing for the stage, armed with the confidence you need to declare yourself a playwright and get to work on your script.
• Be ready for The First Draft!

Learn more about Tasha here.

September 21, 28, October 5, 12*, 19, November 9, 16, 23, 30, December 7
*Please note that class on October 12 will be held virtually over Zoom, as ARTNY will be closed for Indigenous Peoples’ Day

Mondays from 6:00pm – 9:00pm ET

IN-PERSON at ART/NY South Oxford Space, located at 138 S. Oxford St. in Brooklyn

NEW STUDENT RATE: $580

RETURNING STUDENT RATE: $560

STUDIO FEE: $40

Due to the increasing cost of studio space, our in-person classes will now include a $40 studio space fee to help us offset these costs.

Whether you're writing your first play or your hundredth, it's not always easy to set the creative wheels in motion. This 10-week class will guide you through the development of your first draft. Open to new and returning students located anywhere in the world, this class will be run just like a real-life writing room, interacting with your instructor and classmates live in person.

More about class with Michael: This class is run in the spirit of a dramaturg running a workshop for playwrights. The class relies on students generating pages outside of class, time is not spent on writing exercises in class. You will read each other’s pages out loud and follow that with structured feedback led by Michael. Peer-to-peer conversation is central, along with hearing from Michael each week about your writing. Playwrights will be encouraged to write as many pages each week as they feel inspired to, and you’ll commit to actively reading and discussing around 12 minutes of writing per student per week (typically 10-15 pages). The feedback Michael leads aims to illuminate what the pages have already accomplished, and not predict what you should do next. Weekly participation will keep you on the path toward a complete first draft. Michael will help you articulate the style and structure that your particular play wants to be told in by meeting you on your own turf and reflecting back to you what he sees in your writing – where it may want to push ahead, where it may be losing steam or clarity, and where certain playwriting tools (such as character, reversals, language, song, and physical action) may push a scene to the next level.

Learn more about Michael here.

Learn more about First Draft here. 

This class will be fully digital for sharing and reading pages. All pages will be shared via a class Google Drive folder, and we will use devices in class to read each other’s pages. Please come to class with a device (laptop, tablet, etc) and a charger/power cord for your device. If you are unable to bring your own device, please contact ESPA Administration.

September 30, October 7, 14, 21, 28, November 4, 11, 18, December 2, 9

Wednesdays from 5:00pm – 8:00pm ET

via Zoom

NEW STUDENT RATE: $580

RETURNING STUDENT RATE: $560

Whether you're writing your first play or your hundredth, it's not always easy to set the creative wheels in motion. This 10-week class will guide you through the development of your first draft. Open to new and returning students located anywhere in the world, this class will be run just like a real-life writing room, interacting with your instructor and classmates live vis Zoom.

More about class with Caridad: This class is run as a writers’ workshop. Caridad believes in an equitable and respectful writing room, sensitive to each person’s respective process, but also one where a vigorous, rigorous, and intuitive approach is manifest in establishing a group atmosphere. The sessions will be structured around response to work turned in (on average 5 to 8 pages a week) with pieces read out loud in the virtual room live in class with peer and instructor response time after each sharing of work using the Liz Lerman approach. At the beginning of the semester, you will determine if everyone will share work at every session or every other session. There will be occasional in-class writing exercises, and homework will be limited to recommended reading, prompts, and/or viewings assigned. In other words, the focus will be on your generative process, and as such, homework will be minimal outside of that.

Caridad’s writing focuses on human and environmental rights from a Latinx feminist perspective for the most part, though her work also explores deeply the reconfiguration of classic and modern texts, gender fluidity, and porous borders aesthetically and formally. She has also adapted novels to the stage and sustains a parallel career as a theatrical translator, editor, and artivist. Caridad’s work is often labeled by others as “poetic realism” or “atomized realism.”

Learn more about Caridad here.

Learn more about First Draft here.

October 8, 15, 22, 29, November 5, 12, 19, December 3

Thursdays from 6:00pm – 9:00pm ET

via Zoom

NEW STUDENT RATE: $520

RETURNING STUDENT RATE: $480

Whether you're writing your first play or your hundredth, it's not always easy to set the creative wheels in motion. This 8-week class will guide you through the development of your first draft. Open to new and returning students located anywhere in the world, this class will be run just like a real-life writing room, interacting with your instructor and classmates live via Zoom.

More about class with Calamity: This course is designed for writers looking for a supportive, enthusiastic, and collaborative environment to put their playwriting fundamentals to the test. Being run as a true writer's workshop, this course asks that playwrights enter the space with an idea for their new play. Together with Calamity, you'll develop living documents for each of your works that will help you navigate your way through your individual creative processes along with developing road maps for your dramatic works. Playwrights will be expected to complete weekly writing exercises for character development in addition to generating new pages for your first draft. By the end of this course, you will have a better understanding of your individual process, the confidence to enter a workshop space within the industry itself, and most importantly – a complete first draft.

Learn more about Calamity here.

Read more about First Draft here.

Join Primary Stages Artistic Director Erin Daley to go behind the scenes for what it takes to bring a new play from the page to the stage.

For our upcoming production of Fantasma by Benjamin Benne, you will read the script in advance of class and then delve into the work with Erin with an eye toward dramaturgy and the new play development process. You’ll explore how an idea evolves into a cohesive production, fueled by inquiry and collaboration. Beyond getting a deeper understanding of this play, you'll be able to incorporate dramaturgical practice into your work as a writer, actor, producer, or director.

This workshop might be for you if you:

• Would like the ability to translate what you see on stage to your own work.
• Are a theater artist seeking to refine your analytical skills when talking about live theater.
• Are a theater lover who would like a new perspective on what you see.

In this workshop you will:

• Read the script and watch a performance of the Primary Stages production of Fantasma. (Tickets will be provided for students at no additional cost.)
• Meet with your class after viewing the production. Erin will facilitate a class discussion about the production, exploring the questions of why this play, in this place, at this time.
• Discuss what it means to be a dramaturg, how new play development works, and how you can incorporate dramaturgical practice into your work no matter your role in a production.

By the end of this workshop you will:

• Have a better understanding of new play development and dramaturgy.
• Be able to bring dramaturgy into your work as a writer, actor, or director.
• Be equipped to see any production with a more discerning eye.

About Benjamin Benne's Fantasma.

On Christmas Eve, three generations of women gather in Rosie’s newly renovated kitchen to make chuchitos – a traditional Guatemalan recipe passed down by heart, touch, and intuition. While her granddaughters attempt to document the dish step-by-step, they discover that what’s being preserved isn’t just food, and that recording and remembering are entirely different things. Spanning nearly two decades, Fantasma is a bittersweet exploration of what we keep, what we lose, and the impossibility of ever capturing it exactly right.

Learn more about Fantasma and instructor Erin Daley.