I have been a guest lecturer at Goldsmiths College, Boston University and Central School of Speech and Drama since 2005.
Lectures, seminars and Q&As of between 1 and 4 hours are available at undergraduate and postgraduate levels on any of my plays, and on the following topics:
A Career in Playwriting?
Examining the realities of making a career as a freelance creative professional and the hurdles involved. Looks in some detail at the processes of commissioning (in theatre), getting produced, fundraising, marketing your work alone, financial realities and ways of using literary skills creatively between formal commissions.
Also includes fact sheet with Literary Department contact details, rough ‘house styles’ of the main London producing houses, and further reading and resources.
Dramatising Real-Life Material
Examining the process of ‘investigative drama’ (i.e. interviewing and researching real subjects/people) using my play Protection as an example, and/or moving on to look at a number of community projects I have delivered which dramatise the stories of urban youngsters. Uses real-life interview transcripts and dramatic texts alongside one another, and addresses issues of fictionalizing with integrity.
This talk was recently extended into a full module: Research and Performance, delivered as part of the Goldmsiths College MA Writing for Performance programme.
Ways Into Structure
Talk and practical seminar looking at four different ways to re-arrange the same set of chronological events, with a view to creating a plot outline for four plays in very different styles. Suits older groups/adults.
Playwrighting In The Community
Seminar examining ways in which dramatists can work with different community groups.
Draws on my own experiences of writing plays for and about (amongst others):
Bangladeshi teenage girls in the East End
Year 11 Science students in Finsbury Park
Children looked after by Hampshire Social Services
Includes DVD showings of BABES, a short film made with teenage mums, and BEYOND CARE documentary.
This workshop has been delivered at Central School of Speech and Drama and since 2007 has been extended into a full module, Writing for Specific Audiences, for the Goldsmiths College MA Writing for Performance.
New lectures and seminars can be devised on request. |
For information on course costs, please click here.