Oxford Playwriting
A PLAYWRITING COURSE FOR ALL LEVELS
THE INTERMEDIATE COURSE 2021 - 2022
INTERMEDIATE COURSE dates, 2021/22
The dates, all on Fridays, 10am - 5.30pm, are as follows:
Friday October 15th
Friday November 12th
Friday December 10th
Friday January 21st
Friday February 25th
Friday March 18th
Friday April 29th
Friday May 27th
Friday June 10th
Performance Workshop
Saturday 4 June
COST
10 x all-day sessions taking place one Friday per month from 10.30am to 5.30pm.
(65 hours in total)
Course Fee; £2000
Each course is self-contained. It is not necessary to do all three years.
ABOUT THE COURSE
Entry requirements for the Intermediate Course are either successful completion of the
Foundation Course or having had your work already professionally staged or published.
The INTERMEDIATE COURSE consists of 10 day-long sessions that take place from 10am-5.30pm for one Friday per month plus a final Performance Workshop in June.
HOW IT WORKS
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There are 6 WRITERS on the Intermediate Course. This reduced number is to allow sufficient time for each writer to talk through their current play during the afternoon of each day-long session.
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All writers are encouraged to share their work with the whole group before each monthly session.
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Each writer begins the Intermediate Course by sharing past work with the group and outlining their ideas for a new play to be written during the year.
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All writers on the Intermediate Course read PLAYWRITING (2019) by Stephen Jeffreys and INTO THE WOODS (2014) by John Yorke. Through these texts, John takes the group (with substantial additional notes) through the following areas:
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Structure
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Character
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Dialogue and Subtext
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Time and Place
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Experimental Structure
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Types of Story
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Content
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Adaptation
Each of these topics occupies a morning workshop.
The afternoon session is dedicated to feedback and a group discussion of each writer's play in progress.
The group itself becomes a creative unit that motivates each writer to think more boldly and expressively than before.
There is a clear brief in the Intermediate Course for writers to be progressing fruitfully on their own during the period between the monthly sessions.
The group reads and discusses 2 plays every month – these plays are chosen to illuminate the month’s theme, i.e, Structure, Character, etc.
INTERMEDIATE READING LIST 2020 -2021
Note: the Intermediate reading list changes annually.
THE PRICE by Arthur Miller
OIL by Ella Hickson
COCK by Mike Bartlett
GOOD PEOPLE by David Lindsay-Abaire
BETRAYAL by Harold Pinter
THE YORK REALIST by Peter Gill
THE FLICK by Annie Baker
random by debbie tucker green
SMALL ISLAND by Helen Edmundson ad from Andrea Levy
"It has been an utter privilege to work with such an insightful and supportive tutor as John, and to share the experience with a group of people whose work I have come to look forward to reading each week. I cannot recommend the course highly enough."
Alexandra Bailey, participant 2019/20
"John creates a wonderful atmosphere that is both supportive and challenging providing clear user friendly tasks that build up to the performance of fully developed plays."
Anthea Dobry, participant 2019/21
Bursaries
available!
Bursaries
available!
Visiting workshop leaders and guest speakers
Upcoming:
2021 TIM CROUCH (Don’t Ask The Driver, An Oak Tree, England, The Author)
Previous:
June 2018 CHRIS CAMPBELL then Literary Manager at The Royal Court
June 2019 MIKE BARTLETT (Dr Foster, Press, King Charles 3rd, Albion, Earthquakes in London)
March 2020 KENNETH LONERGAN (Manchester by the Sea, You Can Count On Me, Starry Messenger, This is Our Youth)
FREE Taster Days
John Retallack offers FREE taster days that will take you through key elements of his Oxford Playwriting Course. The taster day will engage you in writing a dramatic scene and invite you to hear it read aloud by professional actors.