Guest Lectures

 ​I have been a guest lecturer at numerous colleges, universities, and festival, bringing exciting, interactive educational experiences. I can do the same for your students and festival attendees.  Tennessee Williams writes “Make Voyages!  Attempt them!  There’s nothing else!” and I couldn’t agree more.  I’m devoted to that voyage:  opening minds, developing art and craft, and inspiring discussion, questions, performance, imagination, and experimentation. 

Below are some of the many lectures and intensives I teach.

10 STEPS FOR CRAFTING DRAMATIC MONOLOGUES 
​aka What not to say on a first date

When was the last time you had a first date?  Have you ever had one of those awful dinners where your date goes on and on in a monologue about something you’re totally disconnected from?  You twirl your pasta wile your date drones and then, tumbling from her/his lips you hear “Lotto…a 1947 DeSoto….cow’s milk.”  What did you just miss?  You sit forward, an attentive audience, as she/he delights you with a monologue of how Lotto could have changed her/his entire life except that grandma gave away all 5.5 million dollars!  That’s it; you’re hooked propelling the action of your evening, via monologue, forward.   This class will take writers on a journey of discovery as we look at 10 steps for crafting a dramatic monologue and do fun writing exercises to demystify the process. 

DEVISED THEATRE 
aka Sudden surprises, blind alleys, improvisation – oh my!

Please note:  this can be a 3 hour overview, a 2 day intensive, or a 4-7 day journey.

As writers, we embrace our personal experiences, visions, voices, explorations, and experimentation to create works that live on the stage and/or the page.  In Devised Theatre, also known as “collaborative creation”, we add the element of improvisation, creating original performances by gathering a group of artists who bring their unique experiences to collaborate on the creation of a new product.  This class will take writers on a journey of discovery, as we look at the collaborative creation necessary for modern Devised Theatre bringing in elements of commedia dell’arte, street theatre, and improvisation.  You should wear comfortable clothing and be prepared participate with ideas, art, movement, laughter, voices, and more.
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THE 36 DRAMATIC SITUATIONS aka How the heck did Dorothy get to Oz?

We all know the story:  rebellious girl runs away to protect her barking Terrier, gets caught in tornado, tossed over the rainbow, where good and wicked work for and against her as she tries to find her way home.  While certainly at least 36 munchkins, and 3 oddball friends help Dorothy, in the story telling we find the 36 Dramatic Situations all over the place like flying monkeys as plot points which set Dorothy on her journey.  Whether you're wading through a first draft or trying to fine-tune your story in subsequent drafts, the 36 Dramatic Situations can percolate plot to enhance your writing in almost any genre.   In this class we will discover the 36 Dramatic Situations, apply them to Dorothy’s journey, consider how we, as writers, can utilize the 36 Dramatic Situations to tell our stories, and work with the situations in fun, generative writing exercises.

MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL…
What do you show about my characters and plot?

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, who’s the fairest of them all?  So asks the Wicked Queen in Grimms’ (and let’s not forget Disney’s) Snow White.  And even if the mirror did not answer back, the use of that object – that mirror which reflects what we put before it – shows the reader something about the character of the Wicked Queen, her insecurities, and her world.  Whatever genre you write in, objects can be used to tell your story and to voice the interior and exterior lives of your characters.  In this fun, interactive class we will consider how we, as writers, use objects to tell our stories and to voice the interior and exterior lives of our characters.  We will discuss, read some examples, and explore the voice of the objects that enhance our writing.
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Left: 36 Dramatic Situations, Omaha Center: Anti-heroes, Cambridge Right: Devised Theatre, New Orleans