London Writers Week: Creating drama based on real-life events

This masterclass is run in partnership with the MA Dramatic Writing at Drama Centre London, Central Saint Martins, as part of London Writers Week - an annual celebration of new writing talent in the UK

This masterclass will teach you how to create verbatim drama for television, radio, theatre or film. You’ll learn how to come up with new ideas, as well as the best ways to use real-life testimonies in your work.

Led by Jennifer Tuckett, course leader of MA Dramatic Writing at Drama Centre London, Central Saint Martins, the course includes a practical workshop where you’ll create your own piece of drama and receive feedback on your ideas. The course also includes advice on everything from producing to fundraising and writing for community casts, from a variety of guest artists who have led the way in the UK.

Course content

• Overview of verbatim drama
• Coming up with ideas for pieces of verbatim drama, and developing them to final production
• How to write scripts based on real-life events
• Using testimonies and interviews in your writing
• Tips on the craft of good writing
• Creating verbatim drama for theatre, television, radio and film
• Advice on fundraising
• How to write for radio
• Writing for community casts
• Practical workshop: create your own piece of drama, and receive feedback on your ideas
• Q&A and group discussion

This course is for you if…

• You’re a writer who wants to learn how to write verbatim drama for theatre, television, radio or film
• You’re passionate about writing and want to start creating a new piece of verbatim drama
• You work in the film, radio, theatre or media industry, and want to learn how verbatim drama is written and produced

Tutor profile

Jennifer Tuckett has led the way in the UK in terms of creating new models for industry-partnered education. She currently leads the new MA Dramatic Writing at Drama Centre London, Central Saint Martins, alongside ‘Masters’ including Ola Animashawun, Lucy Kerbel, Philip Shelley and John Yorke. Jennifer has worked on verbatim projects including Zero Hour, with Tea Alagic, as well as verbatim response pieces created with Steve Winter, executive director of the Kevin Spacey Foundation. Recently, she has worked with the Tamasha Theatre Company on the site-specific participatory project Taxi Tales, which makes use of some verbatim techniques. During her career, Jennifer has worked with organisations including BBC Radio Drama North and BBC Writers Room, and is currently a finalist for the Women of the Future Arts and Culture Award.

Full course and returns information on the Masterclasses website