Playwriting in Schools

John Newman is a theater professor living in Sandy City, Utah.

Credits



Acknowledgments



Foreword



Introduction: Navigating the Theatre Curriculum with Playwriting



Part I: The Practical Navigator – Charts, Tools, and Dynamics



Chapter 1: Phases of Playwriting



1. Preparation



2. Generation



3. Experimentation



4. Determination



5. Clarification



6. Exhibition



7. Examination



8. Production



9. Evaluation



Mapping devised theatre



Chapter 2: Generating and Workshopping Scripts



Preparing students



Grounding students in dramatic theory



Reading and analyzing plays as a class



Partnering with creative writing teachers



Introducing students to professional playwrights



Generating material



Visual image prompting



Rapid-fire prompting



Card prompting



Interviewing



Winnowing and drafting



Experimenting with possibilities



Classroom readings of initial drafts



Descriptive feedback



Variation drafts



World-building



Determining the center



Mural-making



Character tableau



Role-on-the-wall



Clarifying text



Question selection



Draft-tracking



Chapter 3: Presenting and Premiering Plays



Exhibiting scripts



Theoretical designs



Staged readings



Examining text



Written responses



Post-reading discussions



Day-after responses



In-the-moment responses



Producing new plays



Premiere productions



Actor interviews



Subsequent productions



Evaluating product and process



Chapter 4: Employing the Tarot Card Mode



The Tarot card model and exercise by Suzan Zeder



Why Tarot?



Leading the exercise



Creating the cards



Laying out the cards



Reading the cards



What the Tarot does



What the Tarot does not do



How to use the Tarot to develop plays in schools



Part II: Ports of Call – Learning Environments for Student Playwriting



Chapter 5: School Productions of Student-Written Plays



Collaborating with creative writing classes



Mentoring student directors and producers



Involving student playwrights in rehearsal



Sounding off: Teacher-advisors at East High School



Chapter 6: Developing Plays through Playwriting Contests



Developing plays through Thespian Playworks



Pre-workshop development



Collaborative casting



Role of the adult dramaturg



Role of the adult director



Theoretical designs



Publication of student-written plays



Developing plays through Young Playwrights for Change



Written feedback



Mentoring by adult playwrights



Staged readings and performances



Sounding off: Middle school playwrights



Chapter 7: Team-Playwriting with Students



Playwriting teams at Le Jardin Academy



Preparing student playwrights



Leading playwriting teams



Sounding off: Students on a playwriting team



Team-playwriting at Middleton High School



Chapter 8: Playwriting-Centered Drama Programs



Friends Academy: A community of equals



An inclusive production season



A vertical playwriting curriculum



Sounding off: Graduates of a playwriting-centered curriculum



Cleveland School of the Arts: A constellation of voices



A collaborating literature teacher



Playwriting-centered drama cohorts



Second draft strategies



A repertory of non-traditional productions



A festival of new works



Part III: Apprentice to a Playwright – Modeling Playwriting in School Residencies



Chapter 9: Preparations for a School Residency 149



Preparing for the voyage



Finding the playwright



Finding the school



Forging the agreement



Financing the venture



Manning the ship



The teacher-director



The teacher-director’s other hats



The playwright



Student actors



Student dramaturgs



Student designers



Expert student participants



Building bridges: Sharing power in play development



Chapter 10: Playwright Residencies at Highland High School



The ARK 5 Project



Development residency at Highland High School



Premiere production at Highland High School



Second production at Middleton High School



Mounting second productions



Developing novel adaptations



Developing a musical



Facilitating playwright residencies in schools



Mounting plays by the teacher-director and students



Addressing technical challenges



Employing guest directors



Reading additional plays by the guest playwright



Letting the playwright process the presentation



Acting with students to experience the text



Sounding off: Student actors in new plays



Chapter 11: Playwright Residencies at Other Secondary Schools



Playwrights In Our Schools residencies at DaVinci Academy



The residency for Escape from the Labyrinth by playwright Ric Averill



Itinerary of a school residency



The residency for Max Bush’s What Remains



Components of Playwrights In Our Schools residencies



Student preparation



Pre-residency development



Workshop exploration



Theoretical designs



Classroom visits



Mentorship of student playwrights



Informal interactions



Staged readings



Post-reading discussions



Chapter 12: Playwright Residencies and Visits at Primary Schools



Developing When She Had Wings with Lucy School students by playwright Suzan Zeder



Engaging with children in research



Discussing the script with children



Exploring design possibilities



Finding an alternate title



Involving children in rehearsal and production



Child learning in the script development of When She Had Wings



Project-based, arts integrated learning



Social skills development



Seeking clarity and dealing with ambiguity



Validating children’s perspectives



Design collaboration with children for When She Had Wings



Confronting limitations creatively



Balancing child perspectives with adult expertise



Emulating the “Wings Project” 



Playwright classroom visits for Lily Plants a Garden with the Bonderman Symposium



Epilogue: Embarking on Your Voyage of Discovery



Appendix:



Books on teaching playwriting



Books on play development



Books on devising theatre



Online resources



References



Biographies



Index