Writing Character for Theatre
A series of 3 tutor-led workshops investigating Character in theatre writing, and writing plays through the lens of Character. The workshops can be attended as a series or individually, and will involve discussion amongst the group as will as practical writing exercises.
Please note these are not "script treatment" workshops. They are introductory classes to playwrighting. If attending, please bring something to write with for notetaking purposes.
Workshop 1: A Character Walks Into A Room: Creating Character
How do you create a three-dimensional character? How do you suggest psychological depth or make a character feel real, recogniseable and identifiable? What even is a character in a post-modern world? This workshop explores the fundamentals of coming up with Characters.
Workshop 2: What Does A Character Do? Dramatic Action and Story/Plot
What are the journeys that your character will go on? How do we make them engaging for audiences? How do characters relate to other characters and what impacts do they have on each other? This workshop uses Character to look at the building blocks of a play's action.
Workshop 3: What Does A Character Say? Language and Dialogue.
What about the character's voice? What about your voice? How do you use language to identify a character, or identify an entire play? How do you manipulate sound and silence? This workshop uses Character to look at how we write engaging dialogue, and develop our own voice.
About Cordelia Lynn
Cordelia Lynn is a playwright, librettist and dramaturg whose work has been produced in the UK and abroad. She received the Berwin Lee Award 2020, the Harold Pinter Commission 2017 and was shortlisted for the George Devine Award 2023. Her opera with Sivan Eldar, Like Flesh, won the Fedora Opera Prize 2021. Houses Slide, her music theatre piece with Laura Bowler, was nominated for an Ivor Award 2022. Cordelia is a MacDowell Fellow.
