News
Playwrights and directors workshop at Town Players
By Press Release
Sep 23, 2008 - 11:57 PM

Have you ever thought of writing or directing a play but didn’t know how to unleash your creativity? The Town Players of New Canaan recently announced an 8-week playwright’s, director’s and actor’s workshop to begin at the Powerhouse Performing Arts Center October 14. The workshop is the first of its kind offered by the Town Players and will be taught by award-winning New York playwright Barry Kaplan and New Canaan actress and director Lynne Bolton.

“If you have ever wanted to learn to write plays, or direct or act in them, this is a great opportunity to get started,” said Robert Doran, President of the Town Players.

The workshop is based on a ten-minute play model. A company will be created with four writers, four directors and ten actors. The playwrights will write for the actors in the company. The directors will direct those actors in the playwrights finished plays. At the end of the workshop, eight new plays will be presented to the public for the first time.

“This is a unique opportunity for anybody who has ever wanted to try their hand at writing or directing to learn from an award-winning playwright, for directors to direct new work never before produced and for actors to have a play written with them in mind. It is an exciting dynamic that is rarely explored in a workshop, “ Doran said.

“The playwrights will explore conflict, humor, character development and action. The actors will learn how to find and interpret motivation, character and action. And the directors will learn how to bring together the separate but interdependent elements of writing and acting to tell the story of the play,’ said Lynne Bolton. “This collaboration is the essence of making great theater.”

The writers will produce two ten-minute plays over the course of eight weeks. Each director will direct two plays and actors will perform in several plays each. The workshop will be divided into two four-week sessions with a showing of the work after each session and a final presentation before an audience.

Barry Kaplan is a New York playwright and the author of ten plays and musicals. He won the Drama League New Director’s Prize for his musical Like Love. He won the Whitfield Cooke Best play award in 2000 for his play Bananas and Water and served as the American representative to the 25th National Playwriting Conference of Australia with his play Landscape of Desire.
Lynne Bolton is an actor and director who has appeared on the New York Stage in numerous plays and has directed Agnes of God and Enchanted April for the Town Players of New Canaan. She and Barry worked together at the Actor’s Center in New York where Lynne was a member of the Actor’s Center Company. Lynne has also served on the advisory committee of the National Endowment for the Arts.

The cost of the workshop is $250 for 8 sessions . The workshop will run Tuesday nights beginning October 14. It is open to the public and will be filled on a first come basis. For more information or to register contact the Town Players of New Canaan at info@tpnc.org or call Lynne Bolton at 203-461-1813.

© Copyright by NorwalkPlus.com