Classic American Tales Offers Free Playwriting Workshop in Cape May

On Wednesday, June 12 from 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM, Classic American Theater (CAT) is offering a Playwriting Workshop for free at The Cape May Court House Public Library, 30 Mechanic Street in Cape May Court House, NJ.  The workshop, for ages 17 on up, is geared for those who have written plays, as well as those who have always wanted to try their hand at it.  

By exploring characters, relationships, and situations, a story is born, but through a play, the action is driven by dialogue.  Professional playwright, founder and artistic director of CAT, Gayle Stahlhuth guides participants in getting dialogue going through thinking of different times, locations, characters, events, and simple writing exercises to trigger the imagination. Participants may bring several copies of a 5-minute typed selection from one of their plays they would like to share with the group. If participants would like Stahlhuth to look at their five-minute pieces ahead of time, they may e-mail them to classicamericantales@aol.com.   

As a playwright, Stahlhuth has received commissions from The Smithsonian Institution, Theatreworks/USA and the Illinois, and Missouri Humanities Councils, and grants from The New Jersey Humanities Council and the Puffin Foundation. Her plays have been performed at such places as the NYC International Fringe Festival, The Samuel French One-Act Festival, Manhattan Theatre Club, Arvada Center in Denver, Pennsylvania Stage Company, the Phoenix Theater in Indianapolis, and East Lynne Theater Company in Cape May, where she was the producing artistic director from 1999 through 2022. She has taught playwriting to a variety of ages throughout the country at theaters, universities, libraries, public schools, and conferences. She was a popular workshop leader at the now-disbanded North Wildwood Beach Writers' Conference and created an annual two-day playwriting get-away at The Henry Sawyer Inn in Cape May, which is now a private home.  She has also worked as a “book doctor” for Off Broadway and regional productions. In 2019, she was a speaker at a symposium in NYC, sponsored by the nonprofit Dancers Over 40. Her topic here was how to create, perform, and market one-person shows. Aside from shows with a variety of cast sizes, she has written several one-person shows that were produced in NYC and toured the country. 

For information and reservations for the Playwrighting Workshop, call the library at 609-463-6350 or visit https://cmclibrary.org/about-the-library/locations/capemaycourthouse. Advance registration is greatly appreciated. 

From June 20 through October, CAT's "Classic Tales" return to The Dormer House in Cape May. Visit ClassicAmericanTales.org to learn more about CAT, e-mail ClassicAmericanTales@aol.com, or call 609-884-5898. CAT intends to tell America’s stories "one tale at a time."

Photo Credit: Katrina Ferguson

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