Embodied Playwriting

Hillary Haft Bucs is a Professor of Theatre at Western New England University, where she teaches Playwriting, Acting, and Improvisational Comedy. With Valerie Clayman Pye, she co-edited Objectives, Obstacles, and Tactics in Practice: Perspectives on Activating the Actor (Routledge 2020). Charissa Menefee is a playwright and poet, the Artistic Director of The EcoTheatre Lab, and a Professor of English and Theatre at Iowa State University, where she co-directs the MFA Program in Creative Writing & Environment.

Part 1: Creating Characters 1. The Meet and Greet: Creating Opportunities for Surprise and Discovery 2. Improvising Between the Lines: Enhancing the Script by Embodying Subtext 3. Using Improv to Create Original Plays: Respectfully Writing Diverse Characters 4. Character’s Search for Authenticity: Improvisation for the Revision Process Part 2: Body and Mind 5. The Picture Project: Originating Story through Movement 6. Physical Expressions in Devised Playwriting 7. Active Group Playwriting: Psychodramatic Techniques Adapted for Playmaking Part 3: Playing Games 8. Building the World of the Play Through Collaborative Performance 9. It’s All About Play: Locating the Game in Embodied Playwriting 10. Folkgames as Creative Stimulus for Devising: The Case of Chaskele Part 4: Changemaking 11. ‘Laughter that shatters’: Improv Techniques for Social Justice Comedy Playwriting 12. Writing for Change: Guiding Activist Playwrights in Classrooms and Communities 13. Community-Based Play Creation 14. Writing Climate Justice: Personal Storytelling and Source Material Devising as Embodied Methodology Part 5: Curated Exercises 15. Embodied Playwriting Exercises for Classroom, Workshop, and Studio: Skill-Building and Content Generation 16. Embodied Playwriting Exercises for Classroom, Workshop, and Studio: The Revision Process