ENG 315

Playwriting
as of 8/5/21 CRN 75361, Fall 2021
September 8-December 22, 2021
Tuesdays, 6:10-9:00 pm, Rm
Prof. Judd Lear Silverman
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course explores elements used in writing plays (dialogue, character, action, setting, and event),
concentrating on the short play format. Students will do a series of playwriting exercises in different
styles, culminating in a portfolio of student work. Students will also read plays by some classic and
contemporary writers and view a professionally produced play (either live or provided via Zoom
screening).

COURSE PROCEDURES:
Each week, students bring in short pieces (from suggested exercises or parts of their own larger works-in-
progress), and workshop members read the scripts aloud for each other (professional acting skills not
required), which is followed by a moderated discussion (hopefully at least 5+ short segments per evening).
Additional topics will include rewriting, play marketing, copyright issues, casting and producing plays,
readings, etc. There is also a planned “field trip” for students to see a production (virtual or live tickets
provided).

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
By the end of the course, students will have learned to:
1. Recognize and understand dramatic structure and ingredients (Character, Action, Setting, and
Event) and create believable dialogue. Writing components: Students will develop their skills
using basic dramatic writing ingredients, including Dialogue, Character, Action, Setting, and
Event. Students’ familiarity and comfort with these ingredients will be assessed through their
responses to weekly prompts, which will include playwriting assignments as well as analysis and
application of these terms to two published works by major world dramatists.

2. Create action through the use of live physical space. Theatrical vocabulary: Since theater is a live
performance art form, students will explore how the physical elements of a three-dimensional
space combine with an audience’s imagination to create a collective theatrical experience.
Viewing of live produced work will also be used to expand students’ understanding of how
scripts transition into performance. Students will be assessed through in-class improvisation and
exercises, as well as through evaluation of how the written pieces in their final portfolios would
physically work on a stage or in a performance venue.

3. Critique student scripts effectively in a collaborative setting. Creative Ensemble and Critique:
Using a workshop model, students will read each other’s work out loud in class, after which they
will openly discuss both the ideas and the execution of those elements that worked (or didn’t
work) for them in hearing the material. Students will be assessed by how well they respond to
weekly readings, how they used constructive criticism, and how they give their peers useful and
respectful critique, in the process forming a support system that fosters creativity and invention.

4. Choose what stories are most suitable for theatrical adaptation, utilizing research details and
presentation choices that will lend truth to the script. Assessment and Observation Tools:
Students will use a variety of source materials in the creation of their work for the class,
developing an understanding of what a given style and situation says about human behavior and
the human condition. Students will be assessed through their writing and participation on a
weekly basis, with the written material contributing to the students’ overall portfolio of work for
the class, to be evaluated at the end of the term through portfolio review.
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5. Evaluate their own work, having developed benchmarks for effective theatrical writing. Self-
critique and analysis: Students will learn to understand their own abilities as playwrights, based
upon hearing their work out loud and finding if it meets their own desires for the piece, as well
as through a self-evaluation process wherein they can examine their work, their growth and
development, and the changes that occur during the course of the semester. Students will be
assessed through the evaluation of their portfolios and self-reflective portfolio reports that
analyze their work, its achievement of the determined goals, and their own comfort level.

6. Use language as a live, auditory experience that tells a story and listen to their own scripts to
determine what works and what needs clarification. Playwriting as a live and auditory
experience: To enhance their understanding and practice of playwriting, playwrights will have
to listen without following in their scripts to see if their words accomplish the desired effects
and actions, while at the end of the term, professional actors will read the students’ work in an
open-to-the-public presentation and students will have a chance to hear actual audience
reactions to their creations. Students will be assessed based on the effectiveness of using
language in their portfolio pieces as a live auditory element in their work.

TEXTS:
A PLAYWRIGHT’S BRAIN (textbook) (distribution t.b.a.)
PIPELINE by Dominique Morisseau
THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHTIME by Simon Stephens (from Mark Haddon’s novel)

OTHER EQUIPMENT:
For In-Person Classes: Bring enough script copies for the number of characters in your play PLUS ONE
For Virtual: Email copies of your scripts sent to instructor PRIOR TO CLASS MEETING TIME!!!

CLASS REQUIREMENTS:
This is a portfolio-based course. Students and the Teacher will review individual portfolios at the middle
and end of term to determine the quality of the semester’s work. While portfolios are subjective, one
should keep in mind this breakdown of relative proportions to the portfolio:
Attendance 15%
Active Class Participation 15%
Short Exercises/script analyses 10%
“Completed” short scripts 45%
Portfolio Reviews (midterm & final) 05%
Public Final Presentation 05%
Final Self-Assessment Paper 05%

PROCEDURE FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES WHO WISH TO OBTAIN REASONABLE

ACCOMMODATIONS FOR A COURSE:
The University's commitment to equal educational opportunities for students with disabilities includes
providing reasonable accommodations for the needs of students with disabilities. To request a
reasonable accommodation for a qualified disability, a student with a disability must self-identify and
register with the Office of Disability Services for his or her campus. No one, including faculty, is
authorized to evaluate the need for or grant a request for an accommodation except the Office of
Disability Services. Moreover, no one, including faculty, is authorized to contact the Office of Disability
Services on behalf of a student. For further information, please see Resources for Students with
Disabilities at www.pace.edu/counseling/resources-and-support-services-for-students-with-disabilities.
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OTHER REQUIREMENTS:
Attendance is mandatory--we are a writing unit and a sounding board for each other, as well as the
readers/casting pool for in-class work. THIS WILL BE TRUE, EVEN IF VIA ZOOM SESSIONS. Students will
be writing, reading out loud, and sharing work together throughout the course of the semester. All writing
and comments will remain safely PRIVATE within “the room” until such time that we choose to make a
public presentation of any work-in-progress. (Potentially, we will aim for a public reading at our final class
with guest artists, EITHER LIVE OR VIA ZOOM.) All other work will be read in-class by fellow students (no
previous acting experience is required, as students will not be judged on acting performances or abilities).

Schedule subject to change:

Sept 14: In Class: Intro to Course (Syllabus, etc.)
Trunk Game
Why a Play?
C.A.S.E. introduction
Assignment: 18-line C.A.S.E. Plays
Assignment in A PLAYWRIGHTS BRAIN – INTRO & CHAPTERS 1-5 (pp. 1-45)
Sept. 21: In Class: Discuss PLAYWRIGHTS BRAIN reading
Rules of Critique and Ensemble
Read all C.A.S.E. Plays
Assignment: The True Story “Bad Play” exercise
Assignment in A PLAYWRIGHTS BRAIN – CHAPTERS 6-8 (pp. 46-61)
Sept. 28: In Class: Discuss PLAYWRIGHT’S BRAIN reading
Read five or more True Story “Bad Plays”
Video: THE CREATIVE BRAIN
Assignment: Hide the Line plays
Assignment in A PLAYWRIGHTS BRAIN – CHAPTERS 9-11 (pp. 62-81)
Oct. 5: In Class: Discuss PLAYWRIGHT’S BRAIN reading
Read remaining “Bad” plays
Read Hide the Line plays
Improv: Of Few Words improv
Assignment: 10-word play
Read PIPELINE and do C.A.S.E. analysis
Oct. 12: In Class: Discuss PIPELINE and do C.A.S.E. analysis (hand in paper)
Read 10-word plays and Hide the Line plays
Assignment: Song Plays
Assignment in A PLAYWRIGHTS BRAIN – CHAPTERS 12- 13 (pp. 82-103)
Oct. 19: In Class: Read Song Plays & remaining Hide the Line plays
Assignment: Imaginary Floorplan exercise
Oct. 26: In Class: Go Over Imaginary Floorplan exercise
Read Song Plays & Other Catchup Readings
Assignment: Found Family plays
Nov. 2: In Class: Discuss PLAYWRIGHT’S BRAIN reading
Finish Song Plays
Read FOUND FAMILY plays
Nov. 9: In Class: Class Trip to see Theater performance (Live or via Video)!
Assignment: write short piece about playwright’s work on seen play
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Nov. 16: In Class: Discuss: Play Seen
Read Found Family plays
Assignment: Mid-Term Portfolio Analysis Sheets
Assign: Read CURIOUS INCIDENT and write C.A.S.E. study
EAVESDROPPING EXERCISE
Nov. 23 NO CLASS- CONVERSION DAY-THURSDAY SCHEDULE
(Followed by Thanksgiving Break)
Nov. 30: In Class: Discuss: CURIOUS INCIDENT and C.A.S.E. (hand in analysis paper)
Read Eavesdropping Exercises
Read remaining Found Family plays
Assignment: Rewriting Exercises
Read EATING A PLAYWRIGHT’S BRAIN CHAPTERS 13-15 (pp.104-111)
Dec. 7: In Class: Read: Read & discuss rewrites
Assignment: Polish Plays
Dec. 14: In Class: Deadline and review for work to be presented on 12/1 (portfolio review)
MUST HAVE PDF COPIES READY FOR ME FOR DISTRIBUTION TO ACTORS
Assignment: Polish plays
Dec. 21: In Class: Presentation Date of Class Plays with Guest Actors LIVE or via ZOOM
Assignment: One-page evaluation of your work and portfolio due midnight Dec. 14th
Schedule is subject to change.

THE ASSIGNMENTS (to be fully explained in class)

Assignment 1 18-line C.A.S.E. plays Using the C.A.S.E. technique, create 18 lines of dialogue for
reading in class
Assignment 2 “TRUE STORY/Bad Play” Using “True News” Stories from Internet and tabloids, create a
“bad play”
Assignment 3 Hide the Line Using blind drawing, create a short play, including hidden line
(5 pages)
Assignment 4 10-word play Using only ten words (which can be repeated to a maximum of
only 10 times each), students create a short play, utilizing
C.A.S.E. (DOES NOT INCLUDE STAGE DIRECTIONS)
Assignment 5 Song Play Choose a song that gives a time/place, or a storyline, or an
emotional inspiration, use C.A.S.E.
Assignment 6 Imaginary Floorplan Given the stage parameters provided in Blackboard, come up
with an imaginary floorplan for one of your previous writing
assignments to see how it might use the space in 3D.
Assignment 6 PIPELINE Read and do a C.A.S.E. study of the play (to be handed in)
Assignment 7 Found Family Choose from Found Family pictures or from a catalogue of
photographer Weegee (Arthur Felig) and create a play based
from C.A.S.E.
Assignment 8 Comments on Play Seen Write about the playwright’s approach on work we saw
Assignment 9 CURIOUS INCIDENT Read and do C.A.S.E. analysis of the play
Assignment 10 Midterm Portfolio Fill out your portfolio form/critique to assess where you’ve
Evaluation been and where you’re headed
Assignment 11 Rewriting Exercises See BRAIN for details
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Assignment 12 Rewrites Rewrite the piece you’ve chosen to represent you in the final
presentation. Have it COMPLETED by the 14th, so that it is
ready to give actors for the Dec. 21st.
Assignment 13 Reading of Your Work You will hear a reading of your work by professional artists In-
Person or via ZOOM. (You will be able to invite people to hear
this as long as I get reservations in advance to send them the
Zoom Invite.)
Assignment 14 Self-Evaluation (includes Due two days after final presentation (Dec. 23, by midnight),
FINAL PORTFOLIO) an evaluation of your work in the class during the semester.
INCLUDES BOTH THE REVISED PORTFOLIO FORM AND A ONE-
PAGE DESCRIPTION OF YOUR SEMESTER’S JOURNEY AS A
PLAYWRIGHT.