How to Write a Play - APN Playwriting Circles

I don't know about you, but one of the things that I find most challenging about playwriting is the solitude - the being alone in it.  You have to do that part when you are actually writing, but I have found in the past that there are a few things that help me write better (or even at all).  The first is a deadline.  I write to deadlines and they help me considerably.  There's an important one coming up in a week and that has me motivated to get to work on a couple of my scripts.  That's the APC (Alberta Playwriting Competition) which has a March 1st, 2013 deadline.

The second is what produced The Easy Road - a 24 hour Playwriting Competition.  I have written two plays this way.  Ideas that noodled around in my head for months suddenly took shape and made their way onto the page.  I am glad that there are plans to repeat last year's Play in a Day so that I might get another play out of that.

The third is a Playwriting Circle.  APN hosts these on a yearly basis with one starting in Edmonton on February 25th.  I got a great deal of work done on Little Monsters last year and if I had the time this year I would be back for more (the challenges of directing one show at the same time as producing another make this impossible). What is great about the Circles is that there are built in deadlines to motivate you, and you get to meet with a group of playwrights, who just like you, are struggling to complete their work. And the topper is that you get a fabulous facilitator (Conni Massing in Edmonton) to help you.  Finally, at the end of the circle, you pick a section of your play and 'real' actors come in and there is a public reading where you can share the work you have done.  There is nothing more thrilling than hearing your words read well!


EDMONTON Playwrights’ Circle
February 25 to April 22, 2013 (Reading: May 6)Workshop West, Third Space
Staff Contact: Tracy CarrollCost: $300.00
CALGARY Playwrights’ Circle
March 6, 2013 to April 24, 2013Currie Barracks, Evergreen Rehearsal Studio
Wednesdays, 7-930pm
Staff Contact: Michelle KnealeCost: $300.00


For more information or to register in an upcoming playwriting circle, contact Michelle (Calgary) or Tracy (Edmonton) or call (403) 269-8564 or toll-free 1-800-268-8564.

There are other things that I use to motivate me to write, but these are my top three! 

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