THTR 208 Dramatic Storytelling
This one-semester course examines key storytelling elements, how they are employed in a variety of play structures, and how these principles can be used to provide and receive constructive feedback. This course is designed for writers as a bridge between Introduction to Playwriting and Intermediate Playwriting but will be useful to writers at any point in their study. Attention will be focused on identifying and understanding the function of key principles in dramatic stories, including Dramatic Question, Character and Situation, and the Dramatic Event; written exercises will allow students to explore these elements in their own work. Emphasis will be placed on how to build a character journey that can sustain a full-length play, and students will analyze the structures of a wide variety of theatrical stories in order to understand how contemporary dramatists employ these building blocks to create a singular experience and expression of their worlds.