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Course Title
Playwriting for Performers: The Solo Show (online)
Working with an established playwright with experience in performing solo shows this course will give you the tools to create your own monologue play.
By the end of the course you will have a full understanding of how to develop an effective and engaging solo show. You will have developed your voice as a writer and gained critical insight into keeping an audience engaged as a solo performer. You will also have worked the opening of your show through redrafting and analysis and in the final session will perform the first ten minutes and receive feedback.
Through the study of two successful solo shows you will learn to critique your own writing and develop the skills to best serve yourself as a writer. You will also have some understanding of the process of producing your play for a festival or scratch night. If you go on to complete your play in your own time once the course has been completed, for an additional fee, you can submit your completed play to the tutor for written feedback.
Course Content
- writing for you as a performer
- dramatising autobiographical writing
- plot structure for monologue
- developing multiple characters in monologue
- engaging an audience
- the study of two successful solo shows
- fund-raising and festival submissions
Course Fees - £275
Course Dates
Tuesday 7 June - Thursday 30 June
4 weeks, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7pm - 9pm |Bookings closed
Booking Information
Our courses are available on a first come, first served basis in order of payment.
To secure a place, please take the following steps:
- Read through our Terms and Conditions before booking
- Click on ‘Book your place’ above. Please make sure you are booking for the correct course and option (i.e. Mon/Wed or Tue/Thu if more than one option is available)
- Click ‘Select’ and follow the steps through to the completion of booking
- If your preferred dates are sold out, you can click ‘Join Waiting List’ and we will let you know if a place becomes available
- Actors and theatre makers who want to develop a solo show
- Anyone that is interested in gaining a practical understanding of creating a solo show
| Days | Various. The course consists of 8 sessions in total and is delivered either twice a week for 4 weeks or once a week for 8 weeks. |
| Times | All times listed are either GMT or GMT +1 (depending on the time of year). If you’re joining from overseas, please use a timezone convertor before booking to establish what the local time will be for you. |
| Age | The minimum age is 18 on the first day of the course. There is no upper age limit. |
| Max. class size | 10 students |
| Course Delivery | All of the Online Short Courses take place using Zoom. You will need to have access to a quiet room with no other people present, and space to move around to take part in this course. |
| International students | You are welcome to join this course from anywhere in the world. |
| Language requirements | Applicants must be confident speaking and reading English to a conversational level (IELTS score of 7.0 or equivalent). You may be expected to read texts/scripts that have advanced vocabulary. |
| Attendance | Due to the structure and the collaborative nature of the courses, full attendance is requested. |
| Refunds | We are able to offer a full refund up until 7 days before the course begins. After this, the course will become fully non-refundable. |
| Cancellations | Central reserves the right to cancel this course if we do not meet the minimum number of participants. In this instance, a full refund will be made to you. We are unable to refund any other costs you may have incurred. |
We don’t want finances to stop you taking part in our online short courses. If the fees are a barrier for you attending, please consider applying for one of our bursary places.
To be eligible, you must live in England and meet one of the following criteria:
- I am from a low income household (below £25,000)
- I am care experienced (care leaver/in the care of your local authority)
- I have a registered disability
- I have caring responsibilities (young carer/carer)
To apply, please email short.courses@cssd.ac.uk with supporting documentation for the above as well as the dates of the course you would like to take.
Please note that bursary places are limited, so we are not able to guarantee bursaries to everyone who is eligible.
What our students say
“Jess is a wonderful teacher. The content was engaging and the environment creates was so supportive. This course has been invaluable.”
Joanna, October 2021
“The course has really helped me build my confidence in how to approach writing my first full length solo show. Each week has touched on a different key element and has helped me realise how to tackle an idea that I have been struggling with for years.”
Hannah, May 2021
“I thoroughly enjoyed this course - packed full of tools and useful advice and guidance. Jess, our tutor was incredibly supportive and knew exactly how to help us unlock the doors to getting the writing and ideas flowing. I also really enjoyed the reading material set for us and the lively discussions and feedback amongst our group. I would definitely recommend this course to anyone interested in writing a one person show or who is already in the process of doing so!”
Diane, May 2021
Recent Tutor
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