This playwriting course with Hilary Bell takes place at Writing NSW in Sydney.

Whether you’re just starting out or looking for a refresher, in this practical course multi award-winning playwright Hilary Bell will take you through the fundamentals of playwriting.

Is this course right for you? Read our FAQ >

Beginning with writing games and exercises through which we build characters, conflict, narrative and structure, participants will finish the weekend with the outline of a new play. Participants will gain an intimate knowledge of their characters as well as the world of their play, and life beyond the play’s beginning and end.

While we can’t write a whole play over two days, participants will write a central scene – allowing them to see and hear how their characters behave, and generating energy for the scenes that precede and follow it, so that they can continue writing it in their own time.

Through discussion and workshopping of the participants’ writing, Hilary will discuss the elements of drama as they pertain to each individual project. Learning and understanding will come about through this practical application in the context of the participants’ own work.

Learning Outcomes

1. Learn how to overcome the fear of the blank page
2. Gain an understanding of the elements of drama
3. Balance right-brain creativity with left-brain craft and analysis.

Participant Requirements

Pen and paper.

Participants in face to face courses must comply with any precautionary measures related to COVID-19 that Writing NSW puts in place.

If you are feeling unwell and experiencing any COVID-related symptoms on the day of the course, you must stay at home and contact us to let us know. As a participant in this course, you will be required to follow all COVID safety measures in place by Writing NSW to ensure the health and wellbeing of our community.

If you have questions about this course and/or COVID-safe guidelines, please contact us.

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