April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, May 6, 13, 20

Wednesdays from 6:30pm – 9:30pm 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.

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 Iraisa: In this class, writers should be ready to take the work seriously, but not themselves seriously. Be open to closing your eyes and thinking of a character, or coming up with a story from magazine cut-outs and random google searches. Be ready to write a lot. Be ready to make a mess. Be ready to show up for other students. Be ready for feedback and realize your play was not at all what you thought it was going to be. Be ready to surrender preconceived ideas you had about your characters. 

Before the first class, you’ll answer a series of questions provided by Iraisa Ann so she can get to know you and your point of view. You will spend the first couple of classes completing exercises and reading assignments that will help guide you toward your first draft. In the remaining 6 weeks, class time will be focused on sharing pages and hearing work out loud. By the end of class, you’ll have an understanding of your characters’ wants, needs, and desires that you then can begin shaping in a rewriting process. 

Iraisa Ann’s plays are tragi-comedies. She believes that sad things are funny and funny things are sad. She’s not a linear thinker, and therefore her plays often play with time and spiritual worlds. As an educator, she believes her job is to give a student notes that align with their personal style and goals as a writer. Most of her plays are bilingual (in English and Spanish) and often deal with the Latine experience in the US. A lot of plays take place in New Jersey because she grew up there and is proud of it (unironically).

Learn more about Iraisa 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.

June 16, 23, July 7, 14, 21, 28, August 11, 18

Tuesdays 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.

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 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.

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.

June 23, 30, July 7, 14, 21, 28, August 4, 11

Tuesdays 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 either in person or via Zoom.

More about class with Matthew: Matthew believes in putting the playwright in charge of their own process, with each writer asking questions regarding what they were working on specifically or are needing support with, as opposed to giving prescriptive notes. In the beginning, students will bring in 8-10 pages to share each week, and depending on the needs and wants of the group, this may evolve into students alternating weeks to bring in larger sections of work. As a class, we’ll read the work, give space for the playwright to ask questions, then share our experience with the pages and (if useful to the playwright) offer neutral questions/opinions. Though the class is primarily focused on bringing in pages, you might be encouraged to write for sake of discovery – such as writing exploratory scenes that would never be in the final play, trying exercises on your scene to see what it unearths.

Matthew most often writes in a theatricality where the rules of naturalism don’t necessarily function in the way we are used to. He does a lot of research for his work, so some of his historically-driven plays use realism, but the world of the play is still often very theatricalized.

Learn more about Matthew here.

Read more about First Draft here.

June 24, July 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, August 5, 12

Wednesdays from 6:00pm – 9:00pm ET

IN-PERSON at ART/NY Studios Midtown, located at 520 8th Avenue

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.

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 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.

June 24, July 1, 8, 15, 22, 29

Wednesdays from 7:00pm – 10:00pm ET

via Zoom

NEW STUDENT RATE: $320

RETURNING STUDENT RATE: $300

Whatever the project, the job of any creator is first rooted in the text. Being able to delve into and interpret a text regardless of genre is key to creating your work – and for a theater-maker of any discipline, it gives a solid foundation that is then brought alive in the design and rehearsal processes. Led by director John Gould Rubin, you’ll approach each text from a director’s perspective, taking a holistic look at the work to understand the needs of all artists involved.

This class might be for you if you:

• Are an artist of any discipline looking to better understand how to approach text in order to enhance your own craft.
• Wish to refine your technique as a theater artist by focusing on the pre-work with the text that is required to create your vision.
• Want to hone your skills in theatrical collaboration.

In this class you will:

• Work on a different genre of text each week, such as Shakespeare, Moliere, Ibsen, Chekov, Beckett, Hnath.
• Prior to class, you will be given a play to read from that week's genre.
• In class, you will take one scene from that play and break it down together – looking both at how to break it down from the perspective of a director in terms of the scope of the work and also how to break it down for actors.
• Within the session, John will direct class members in the table work of this scene to elucidate how to break down the language.
• Discuss each week how to approach that specific genre of play so this work can be applied to any project.

By the end of this class you will:

• Understand how to effectively analyze and break down any text – both for the project as a whole and for the actors in the rehearsal room.
• Be able to focus on language in your table work – as a director communicating with actors, as an actor approaching the text, as a designer creating collaboratively, and as a producer looking to showcase the work.
• Know how to approach multiple genres of work, making you a more facile artist.
• Possess the tools to approach any pre-production process with confidence.

Learn more about John here.

July 1 (via Zoom), 8, 15, 22, 29, August 5, 12, 19

Wednesdays from 5:30pm – 8:30pm ET

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

*The first class (July 1) will be virtual on Zoom as ARTNY Studios will be closed for the July 4th holiday

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.

Developing a strong portfolio of short plays is one of the fastest ways to become a produced or published playwright. In this 8-week class, you’ll learn how to distill a compelling story into the shortest possible dramatic form, think outside of the box of structure, and have some fun.

This class might be for you if you:

• Are a playwright of any level who wants to explore the unique storytelling principles of the short form.
• Want to present your work-in-progress to a supportive community of writers.

In this class you will:

• Bring a short play to each class and receive feedback from your fellow writers and Adam, working as if you are a part of one of the many coveted writers groups in NYC (think Ars Nova Playgroup, EST’s Youngblood, Primary Stages Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group, The Public’s EWG).
• Use that feedback to tackle rewrites, and bring back a second draft in the class to follow.
• Read and discuss assigned one acts (ranging from works by Kia Corthron to Chris Durang) to learn strategies for building a short play.

By the end of this class you will:

• Be well on your way to compiling a portfolio of several submission-ready short plays.
• Have comprehensive research on different avenues of submitting these short plays.
• Take away the skills to craft surprising pieces of theater, regardless of length, that reflect something deeper about the world at large.

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.

Learn more about Adam here.

July 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, August 5, 12, 19

Wednesdays from 6:30pm – 9:30pm 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 either in person or via Zoom.

More about class with Iraisa: In this class, writers should be ready to take the work seriously, but not themselves seriously. Be open to closing your eyes and thinking of a character, or coming up with a story from magazine cut-outs and random google searches. Be ready to write a lot. Be ready to make a mess. Be ready to show up for other students. Be ready for feedback and realize your play was not at all what you thought it was going to be. Be ready to surrender preconceived ideas you had about your characters. 

Before the first class, you’ll answer a series of questions provided by Iraisa Ann so she can get to know you and your point of view. You will spend the first couple of classes completing exercises and reading assignments that will help guide you toward your first draft. In the remaining 6 weeks, class time will be focused on sharing pages and hearing work out loud. By the end of class, you’ll have an understanding of your characters’ wants, needs, and desires that you then can begin shaping in a rewriting process. 

Iraisa Ann’s plays are tragi-comedies. She believes that sad things are funny and funny things are sad. She’s not a linear thinker, and therefore her plays often play with time and spiritual worlds. As an educator, she believes her job is to give a student notes that align with their personal style and goals as a writer. Most of her plays are bilingual (in English and Spanish) and often deal with the Latine experience in the US. A lot of plays take place in New Jersey because she grew up there and is proud of it (unironically). 

Learn more about Iraisa here.

Read more about First Draft here.

July 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, August 5, 19, 26

Wednesdays from 7:30pm – 10:30pm ET

via Zoom

NEW STUDENT RATE: $520

RETURNING STUDENT RATE: $480

As soon as you finish your last line of dialogue, the need for rewrites begins. This 8-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.

More on taking class with Stefanie: This class is geared toward empowering writers to guide their own play development process. Writers will begin by articulating their goals for their new draft. Then, writers will present sections of their plays (20-30 pages) every other week. Writers receive feedback and responses to the work from the group, filtered through a series of prompts given by Stefanie. These prompts are designed to respect the process of new play development, so each writer develops the tools and confidence to solve the problems of their play, and empowers them to steer conversations that are productive and helpful. Occasionally writers will be asked to complete writing exercises to help support, scene by scene, imagery and themes that emerge in their work.

Learn more about Stefanie here.

Learn more about Rewriting Your Draft here.