MASTERPLAYWORKS©®
announces on-line, live,
interactive,
Character,
Story,
Plot, and
Adaptation
Writer’s
Workshops.
Conducted by Governor
General Award
winning author
and
Member of the
Order of Canada,
Kent Stetson, C.
M.
Winter/Spring, 2010.
See also:
YouTube: 4 new MPW videos
“I don’t know what you’re
thinking, or what it’s like inside you
and you don’t know what it’s like
inside me.
In fiction, I think we can leap
over that wall . . .
I feel human and un-alone,
intellectually, emotionally, spiritually,
that I’m in a deep, significant
conversation with another consciousness . . .
in a way I don’t with any other
art.”
David Foster Wallace.
THE CHARACTER GENERATED STORY AND PLOT
IN DRAMA AND PROSE FICTION
How to write well? Begin by
learning your craft. Whether you’re a seasoned writer exploring a new genre, a dramatist
or prose fiction writer just starting out, The Character Generated Story workshop takes you quickly, with
depth and precision, to the heart of your characters and the story you need them
to tell.
We spend sixteen hours (eight sessions, each two hours in length, five
writers per course max)
live, on-line together investigating the craft of character development
and story construction. Each
session begins with a twenty minute exploration of the basics— the craft— of dramatic writing.
Ninety minutes of writing and listening exercises follow. You’ll emerge with a
carefully worked, thoroughly assessed 750 word story outline, a one page synopsis
suitable for marketing/fund raising, and a three page ‘producer’s’ outline.
We’ll
get you well underway toward a complete plot summary, and schema of
your first draft.
JOIN FROM ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD:
ALL YOU NEED IS A HIGH-SPEED INTERNET
CONNECTION.
Requests from participants
in
introductory workshops for an extended course of advanced study have
been gratifying. Hence this thorough, online investigations of the
mechanics of dramatic fiction, be the final form the page, large or
small screen, or the stage.
The inaugural on-line
courses have
a great success (Writers Assisted and
Endorsements, below) the
participants keen and engaged, the exchanges
vital and expansive. For those of you who could not participate because
of timing or late application, and those of you who have expressed
interest since, we’re doing it again!
Places for participants at
all
levels of their personal or professional practice are available.
LEARN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN STORY AND
PLOT.
E. M. Forster, in his collected
essays on drama and prose fiction, Aspects of the Novel, says it best:
“The king died, the queen died is the story; the king died, the queen
diedof grief is the plot.”
Kent Stetson believes, like
Forster, that the essentials of character, story and plot are common to
both prose fiction and drama. In both drama and prose fiction, action
speaks louder than words. The arrangement of events— what the
characters do, not only what they say— shapes the story. Action drives
the forward motion of the load-bearing plot.
Forster tells us the essence
of all
art boils down to two simple words: Only Connect.
“No tears in the writer,”
Whit and
Halley Burnet tell us in The Fiction Writers Hand Book, “no tears in
the reader. No joy in the writer, no joy in the reader.”
Writing can be perilous,
some say
must be perilous. It must not, however, be undertaken lightly. Audacity
and courage must be balanced with knowledge of essential elements of
craft and the discipline to establish a stable, sustainable practice.
EVERY PROJECT ADVANCED.
EVERY QUESTION ANSWERED.
EVERY VOICE HEARD.
The online vocal and written
exchanges are communal and intense . . . no more than six participants
per group, each group meeting for two hours weekly, for eight weeks.
Polished work and follow -up comments are exchanged between
participants by e-mail, and live, on-line.
In-depth exploration of
character
through perspective exercises help expand the individual writer’s
understanding of her or his emerging story and plot. The exercises are
based on live, group interaction. Assessment is careful, considered,
respectful and rigorous: we determine what the writer actually wrote as
opposed to what we think we heard.
The sessions are real time,
computer to computer via. VOIP (voice over internet protocol.) I use
Skype, which is free, easy to download — and simple to use. The sound
quality is extraordinary. It really feels like we are all in the same
room together. And you don’t have to leave the house! (Note: We
can work between my computer and your telephone if you prefer).
PLOT IN DRAMA AND PROSE FICTION
The design of the live, on-line
workshop series arises from popular, successful courses offered by Mr.
Stetson at L’Atelier La Roque Alric in Provence, France, the National
Theatre School of Canada, McGill and Concordia Universities, the Quebec
Writers Federation, the Bermuda Musical and Dramatic Society, writer’s
organizations across Canada, private workshops, and one-on-one
dramaturgical sessions countywide and abroad.
Developed in tandem with his
personal practice and his publication/production history with both
prose fiction and drama, Stetson's craft-oriented courses help writers
strengthen the dynamics and architecture of their work.
The great strengths of the
all the
courses are the timed, hand written character perspective exercises,
which are assessed live on-line by the group in positive, supportive,
challenging exploration. Theory and practice, craft and imagination
play off each other in lively, informed discussion moderated with
insight and good humour by Kent.
Montreal translator and first-time
dramatist Lesley McCubbin. . .
It's obvious that Kent has VAST
amounts of knowledge and insight to draw upon. Plus, his skill at being
able to constantly pinpoint the vital elements in the work, draw out
the things that made it work (or not), reference it to deeper ideas,
open it up to a bigger picture.
This amazed me . . .
Actor, columnist, broadcast journalist
and essayist Bill Carr says . . .
Taking the course was a leap
of
faith, not in Kent, but in myself. It jump started my creative spirit
and then offered me specific elements of craft with which to create and
give expression to that spirit.
Novelist Irene Larkin writes . . .
Kent has a wonderful 'hands off'
attitude
toward your writing (there is only one person writing your material and
that person is you), while his affirmation and encouragement bring out
the very best you have to give. . .
APPLICATION AND ELIGIBILITY
The on-line workshop is offered to
writers of drama and prose fiction at all levels of their practice
who are embarking on new works,
or
are currently engaged with the development of works in
progress.
Call 514 270 1948 (cell: 514
794 1948) for complete course description,
application procedure &
costs.
Or e-mail:
kent.stetson@sympatico.ca
Visit
www.MasterPlayWorks.com
. . . for additional
information on Stetson’s background, his CV, teaching methods and more
endorsements.
See:
YouTube: 4 new MPW videos
For persons who might prefer
to work one-on-one on-line or in person,
arrangements will be made.
Corporate seminars designed
to improve internal communication
and
short-term or extended NGO workshops available.
Please distribute this
e-mail to anyone whom you think might benefit.
Drop me a note to remove
yours from my e-address list.
Thanks for your time, write
well and prosper!
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