The Bachelor of Arts in Playwriting is jointly offered by the Fiction Writing and Theatre departments. This interdisciplinary major combines the quality of writing practice found in the Fiction Writing Department with the hands-on, collaborative approach to theatre practiced in the Theatre Department. Students are immersed in the business of writing for theatre with an emphasis on developing an individual voice that must be integrated into the group effort required of theatre production. Students take classes in writing practice, theatre performance, and dramatic theory as the core of the major. Opportunities for staged readings and workshop productions provide a public forum for student writing.

Upon successful completion of this program, students should:

• demonstrate ability in dramatic writing technique, including skills in character development, conflict, theatricality, structure, and dialogue;
• demonstrate a sense of personal vision and artistic voice supported by completed work that displays advanced dramatic writing skills;
• make evident a fundamental understanding of the roles of all artistic and technical collaborators in a performance;
• articulate knowledge of theatre history and dramatic theory;
• show fluency in reading and critiquing dramatic literature and effective communication skills orally and in writing;
• comprehend the local and national landscape of contemporary theatre and performance for development, funding, workshops, etc., enabling entry into the professional theatre community and initiating of artistic associations;
• be acquainted with international theatre aesthetics; and
• complete a portfolio of work in various playwriting forms i.e. Monologue, Ten-Minute, one-act, devised, and, at least, one full-length play.

Upon graduation, students will have developed a body of work that has been tested in the laboratory of live theatre. This work can be submitted confidently for admission to graduate school or for seeking productions in professional theatre.

Students must maintain standards of performance. A grade of “C” or better is required in all major coursework.

Program Requirements  

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