Playwriting with Marcia Johnson
Learn the secrets of writing great characters and unforgettable dialogue with master playwright, Marcia Johnson.
(February 21 - March 21 2022)
The course focus will be on dialogue- based and character-driven scripts. No direct address or solo shows.
Class size: maximum of 10
Class time: Three hours x 3 classes
First week (February 21, 2022):
Participants learn about key structure elements such as character development, setting, conflict and desire. Plus, we will discuss writing practice and the importance of developing a distinct style (even if it breaks the rules). Writers will do in-class writing exercises and share with the group for guided feedback. At the end of the class, each writer presents a story idea to the group and are given the exercise of writing a one-page outline.
Second week (February 28, 2022):
Writers present their one-page outline of their script and receive guided feedback. There will be another writing practice discussion and an in-class writing exercise. The homework assignment will be to write 5 - 10 pages of dialogue based on the one-page outline.
Third week (March 7, 2022):
Writing time. No class.
Fourth week (March 14, 2022):
Hand in assignment. No class.
Fifth week (March 21, 2022):
Class reconvenes. Excerpts from scenes are read aloud followed by guided feedback End of class: writers are given dramaturgy on the piece and suggestions on how it can be developed into a full-length play.
Marcia Johnson has been a theatre artist in Toronto for over thirty years. Her latest play, Serving Elizabeth had a wildly successful run at The Stratford Festival in 2021, following it’s February 2020 premiere at Western Canada Theatre. The play had other productions in 2021 at the Thousand Island Playhouse and Belfry Theatre. Serving Elizabeth is also slated for its American premiere at Peterborough Players (New Hampshire) in July 2022.
Other plays include Binti’s Journey, an adaptation of the teen fiction novel The Heaven Shop by Deborah Ellis (Theatre Direct Canada/Manitoba Theatre for Young People/Black Theatre Workshop); Courting Johanna (Blyth Festival) based on Alice Munro’s “Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage,” and Late, an original piece produced by Obsidian Theatre Company.
The short opera My Mother’s Ring for which she wrote the libretto with composer Stephen A. Taylor was nominated for a 2009 Dora Mavor Moore Award in Toronto. Their second collaboration, Paradises Lost, based on the Ursula K. Le Guin novella had excerpted concert performances at Reed College (Third Angle Ensemble) in Portland, Oregon and at The Gershwin Hotel in New York. Paradise Lost had its premiere at University of Illinois. Lastly, it had a concert performance at Musical Works in Concert during the SummerWorks Festival. CBC Radio Drama writing credits include Wifely Duty and The Revival Meeting (Sounds Like Canada); Say Ginger Ale (The Round Up) and Perfect on Paper (Sunday Showcase and Monday Night Playhouse).
Three of Marcia Johnson’s writing philosophies are:
1) I can’t teach you to write, but I can get you to write.
2) There is no such thing as writer’s block. There’s only the fear of writing something bad.
3) Write what you know. Research what you don’t. Don’t let anyone tell you what you don’t know.