Tuesdays from 6:00pm – 9:00pm ET

In-Person at ART/NY Studios Midtown, located at 520 8th Avenue. 

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, this class will be run just like a real-life writing room, interacting with your instructor and classmates live either in person or via Zoom. 

More about class with Gina: Gina believes that the classroom is a place to get to know yourself, your process, and your creative language as a writer. Class sessions will include a combination of writing exercises and sharing sessions, where you read each other’s pages out loud and respond to that work. Writers will bring in sections of their play (12-18 pages) every third week as a way to delve into larger sections of storytelling. Gina will encourage you to think outside of chronological order when writing, embracing the energy of what is most exciting to you instead of creating a set course for yourself. As a way to set up strong habits as a writer outside the classroom, Gina will give writing assignments every week to help develop a creative routine between sessions. This class is an opportunity for writers to continue expanding both your creative practice and practical practice in the exploration of your work.

Learn more about Gina here.

Read 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 18, 25, October 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, November 6, 13, 20

Thursdays from 6:30pm – 9:30pm ET

In-Person at ART/NY Studios Midtown, located at 520 8th Avenue

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.

For playwrights who are in process with a first draft or ready to embark on a rewrite, this 10-week class with playwright, director, and dramaturg Mêlisa Annis will encourage you to focus not on an end product, but on what your play needs to deepen in this moment. Run like a professional playwriting group, this class will give you the community and support you need to move your play forward.

This class might be for you if you:

• Are a playwright who has a complete or almost complete draft of a new play, or a writer who may be embarking on a rewrite.
• If you are coming in with a new idea that you want to start writing, we would encourage you to take The First Draft.

In this class you will:

• Share pages every other week (apart from the first week where all writers will share the beginnings of their plays). This will allow the group more time to be in conversation with their plays and in turn have a more rigorous workshopping session. 
• Engage in in-depth discussions around the work, with comments and conversation shepherded by Mêlisa.
• Participate and attend class even when you are not sharing pages. Conversation about and around the text can be both illuminating and clarifying for the playwright; it can also be terrifying, and Mêlisa prides herself on creating a warm environment where playwrights can stretch their creative muscles while feeling supported and energized.

By the end of this class you will:

• Have made significant forward motion on your play, with a clear understanding of how to keep your work moving forward.

More on taking class with Mêlisa: Mêlisa believes that playwriting is very rewarding and can also be deeply personal – we all need to be good community members and support each other. This class will be a safe space to share, while also challenging each playwright to explore their subconscious, their subtext, and hopefully ultimately help them reach their goals. She will often send you essays on playwriting and theater, and suggest plays to read, all of which are optional but chosen to help you in your process. Mêlisa is always encouraging and supportive to any playwright who is brave enough to put words on a page, and hopes that anyone who joins this class is willing to support their colleagues in the room.

Learn more about Mêlisa 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

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

Wednesdays 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: $520

RETURNING STUDENT RATE: $480

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.

“Hot scenes” are the building blocks of good plays: scenes where characters are pushed beyond their comfort zones and compelled to make revealing choices. This class will focus on dreaming up, drafting, and developing these exciting scenes. 

Adam will offer intuitive approaches and strategic tools to help you fulfill your intentions for your script. Rewriting scenes—to make them as “hot” as possible, propelling the audience to the next scene in your play—will be a major component of this course.

Writers of any level are welcome as long as you have some playwriting experience. This class is not for first-time playwrights – if you are new to the craft or looking to better understand the art of playwriting, please check out our Fundamentals of Playwriting classes!

This class might be for you if you:

• Have started a new play, and are seeking feedback about advancing it.
• Have an idea for a new play, but are not sure where to start.
• Want to be challenged in a classroom environment that’s run like a professional playwriting workshop.

In this class you will:

• Present pages that are read aloud in class, receiving feedback from your fellow writers and the instructor.
• Learn techniques to help you organize and heighten your scenes, so that they’ll have the strongest possible impact on an audience.

By the end of this class you will:

• Know how to make the tools of dramatic writing your own, so that your scenes have both a structure and your unique voice.
• Complete a group of scenes that you can develop into a full-length play.

Learn more about Adam here.