Book a Playwriting Workshop
Looking for a playwriting workshop for your school, theatre or writers' group? Whether you're looking for in-person, a “live” online workshop (via Zoom or similar) or a prerecorded “on-demand” option, YouthPLAYS has you covered. Co-founder and Managing Partner Jonathan Dorf (available worldwide in-person as well as online) and Artistic Associate Nicole B. Adkins (available online and with some in-person availability) are accomplished teachers of playwriting.
Jump to On-Demand Workshops You Can Buy Right Now
Live (In-Person/Online) Workshops
What Does a Workshop Entail?
Live (in-person and online) workshops are individualized and thus are extremely flexible in their scope and topics. In other words, tell us what you want, and we'll create it. That could mean anything from a single hour online to go over the basics of playwriting or an extended residency of a week or more in which we work intensively with your young writers to create new plays. Not sure what would be best? We're happy to advise you, and to work with you to design a program that achieves your goals.
How Much Does It Cost?
While the prerecorded workshop options below have a fixed cost, for live workshops, it depends first on whether it will be conducted online or in person, and then on the amount of time the workshop will cover. Be aware that in the case of visits/residencies, you will also be responsible for expenses: travel to the destination (e.g., air), hotel, a stipend to cover meals (or you can provide the meals) and local transportation. A great way to defray expenses is to get local sponsors (e.g., a hotel might offer a discount, or sometimes banks and other organizations have money set aside for education) or to team up with another school or local group.
How Do We Get Started?
For one of the on-demand offerings below, click on its link. For live (in-person or online) options, email us and tell us a little about what you're looking for. We'll take it from there.
Prerecorded Workshops
Looking for pre-recorded, on-demand offerings for yourself, a classroom or a conference? Check out these six workshops from Jonathan Dorf below.
 | Ten Minutes to Glory: Writing the Ten-Minute Play Ever since the Actors Theatre of Louisville launched the National Ten-Minute Play Contest, the ten-minute play has become one of the theatre's most popular forms. The haiku of the playwriting world, it's great for festivals and competition, popular with audiences, a great calling card for a new playwright—and it's the easiest play to finish! Ready to write one? This workshop will have you well on the way to creating your new mini-opus. (43 minutes) |
 | With cell phones and cheap HD cameras, everyone has the technology to be a filmmaker—and there are more festivals and online outlets to distribute films than ever before. But it all begins with a great script. Come learn the basics of format, character, structure and visual storytelling that you need to get started, and then get to work on your own short screenplay! (53 minutes) |
 | Check, Please. Almost, Maine. My own 4 A.M. or Declaration. All very different, but all "vignette" plays, a form—and one that's become increasingly popular—that uses a series of scenes (and sometimes monologues) to tell the story. In this workshop, you'll get a crash course on what it takes to write a vignette play of your own—from hatching an idea to generating your "Scene Storm" to figuring out how to put all of the pieces together. (50 minutes) |
 | In the words of the immortal Nike ad, "Just do it." Writing may not exactly be sports, but the best way to strengthen your writing muscles is to use them. A lot. In this workshop, we'll keep moving, brainstorming ideas and characters and creating scenes and monologues of all kinds. By the time you leave, you'll have broken one heck of a writerly sweat, and you'll have a pad or gadget filled with writing ideas that you can build upon. (47 minutes) |
 | The Playwriting Workout, Part II Whether your writing muscles are screaming for more after The Playwriting Workout or you're new to our writing gym, get ready for the Playwriting Workout, Part II. We'll start by generating fresh play ideas and then write on with a mix of exercises designed to help you push your writing skills even further and develop ideas that you can carry forward on your own. (54 minutes) |
 | First, Do No Harm: The Teacher's Guide to Supporting Student Playwrights You don't have to be a playwright to help your students write better plays. In this workshop, you'll learn how to recognize common playwriting problems, how to ask the right questions and, just as important, learn what to avoid as you support your students. (58 minutes) |