The UIS Performing Arts Center Hosts Writing for the Stage: A Three-Session Course on Writing Short Plays"

The UIS Performing Arts Center will offer "Writing for the Stage: A Three-Session Course on Writing Short Plays" through the Our Stage / Our Voices program. 

The workshop course is free for members of the public to attend, but space is limited and registrations will be processed in the order they are received.

"This workshop course will focus on getting to know the basics of playwriting," said Tim Crawford, who developed the course and will lead the sessions. 

"The sessions will cover what you need to know to get started, how to develop an idea into a play, and how to avoid pitfalls as you complete your own short play.  The course will also explore how to get your work performed and how to get around some of the barriers that keep us from getting our unique voices up on stage." 

By the end of the three-session course, which includes workshop exercises and accompanying at-home writing, each participant will have written their own ten-minute play.Interested writers and would-be writers of all experience levels are welcome.  Participants should have finished their sophomore year of high school or that equivalent; from that age range up through 100 years old and beyond are welcomed and encouraged to participate.

"We want to especially encourage participation from historically underrepresented communities, including but not limited to BIPOC, LGBTQIA, and persons with disabilities as we work to develop a vibrant and diverse group of local playwrights," said Artistic Programs Director Carly Shank.

Workshop sessions will take place between late-July and mid-August.  Participants can attend sessions at the UIS Performing Arts Center or at the Hoogland Center for the Arts.  The complete schedule is included here.

Tim Crawford serves as the current Our Stage / Our Voices Artist-in-Residence.  Mr. Crawford is an African American playwright, actor, and director originally from Chicago who has resided in Springfield since 2009.  As a playwright, Tim's recent accomplishments include having his short play, The Consultant from Hell, his 10-minute play BLT Matters, his Nice One-Act You Got Here, Be a Shame if Anything Happened to It, and the first draft of his full-length play, The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves, performed as readings at the Valdez Theater Conference between 2018 and 2022. His Superhero Problems and Faith Lester is Married, Happily were performed as part of Anchorage Community Theater's Virtual Short Play Festival in 2020. A 10-minute excerpt from The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves had a staged reading as part of the Baltimore Playwrights Festival's "Free Fall Baltimore" event in October 2021.  Earlier this month, he attended the 2023 Valdez (AK) Theatre Conference for a reading of his new one-act play, No Champagne in the Champagne Room.

Our Stage / Our Voices is a program developed and sponsored by the UIS Performing Arts Center in which members of historically underrepresented communities address the issues of inequality in the regional performing arts with a goal of achieving diversity and inclusion.  Our Stage / Our Voices works to amplify voices and stories throughout the community and create spaces for opportunity, understanding and originality.More information, including a thorough description of the workshop course and a link to register, can be found at uispac.com/our-stage-our-voices.