Introduction to Playwriting

In partnership with the DC Public Libraries (DCPL), Mosaic will host a series of FREE workshops teaching the basics of playwriting taught by playwright Gethsemane Herron-Coward and actor/writer James J. Johnson. Over three sessions, writers will build upon the neighborhood oral history project already begun by the DCPL, and focus on how to create plays using interviews and oral recordings. A DCPL representative will spend approximately 10 minutes of each workshop familiarizing participants with DCPL’s collection of oral recordings. By the end of the series, participants will have started (if not completed) a draft of their own play based on historical recordings. Week 1: Introduction to Playwriting- This workshop will be an overview covering the definition of a play, why plays are their own unique, viable, and important narrative medium, and various components such as plot structures, dialogue as the tool for dramatic action, play lengths, and the components of a play. One play will be assigned (TBD) to be read and discussed in week 3.