February 20, 27, March 6, 13, 20, 27, April 3, 10

Thursdays from 7:00pm – 10:00pm ET

via Zoom

*Please note that this is an 8-week class

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 either in person or 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.

Learn more about First Draft here.

March 6, 13, 20, 27, April 10, 17, 24, May 1, 8, 15

Thursdays from 6:00pm – 9:00pm ET

In-Person at ART/NY Studios at 520 8th Ave. 

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.

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 (around 15-18 pages) that they have questions about in alternating weeks as a way to delve into larger sections of storytelling. Participate and learn how to effectively give feedback and take ownership over your processes by crafting specific questions you have for the pages you bring in. 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.

Gina often writes in poetic realism, and their work includes themes of queerness, sexuality, and gender exploration. Writers of all levels and styles are encouraged and welcome.

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.

Thursday, March 20 

6:00pm – 7:30pm ET

via Zoom

The dramaturg's job is to read between the lines and enhance a script with specificity and accuracy. This 1-night workshop will teach you to watch and read a play from the perspective of a dramaturg and see what you've been missing. For our upcoming production of Chisa Hutchinson’s Amerikin, you will read the script and watch the production in advance of class and then delve into the work with Primary Stages Artistic Director Erin Daley. With your eyes opened, you'll be able to incorporate dramaturgical practice into your work as a writer, actor, 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 Chisa Hutchinson’s Amerikin prior to the class date. (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, what dramaturgical inquiry is, 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 the role of a dramaturg and dramaturgy in any play.
• 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 Chisa Hutchinson’s Amerikin

In small-town Maryland, Jeff Browning resolves to give his newborn son every possible advantage – by joining a local white supremacist group. When his attempt to join is thwarted by some surprising ancestry test results, the line between “us” and “them” gets incredibly blurry. Jeff scrambles to maintain appearances, but his sanitized story starts to unravel when a prominent Black journalist and his daughter start asking questions.

Both bitterly funny and deeply compassionate, Amerikin explores the lengths we go to protect our own, the lies we tell ourselves, and the cost of division on us all.

Learn more about Erin here.

Content Transparency

In an effort to care for our community, we’re sharing details about this production that may be sensitive for members of our audience. The following information may reveal plot points.

Contains racial slurs, smoking, post-partum depression, descriptions of suicide, and a visible gun.