503Studio: Introduction to Playwriting

Book Now

Five Monday sessions from Monday 15 November – 13 December, 7 – 9.30pm. The sessions will take place over Zoom. Maximum class sizes are 14. A portion of spaces have been reserved for Share the Drama bursary places.

Rex Obano will lead this course as an introduction to the core aspects and approaches to playwriting. Chiefly, you will explore ways of finding inspiration for plays as well as looking at dramatic action, dialogue, subtext and theme in order to help create and develop characters. The basics of playwriting and storytelling will be discovered through practical exercises and sharing in a friendly and supportive environment.

Please note we cannot commit to an ongoing dramaturgical relationship with any pieces that may develop on this course, or commit to a production. However we will offer an open and honest discussion with all participants about possible next steps for their work, recommendations of other development opportunities that might be of benefit, and guidance to where their work may best be suited in terms of future engagement.

Thanks to DCMS Cultural Recovery Fund and our Share The Drama scheme, we want to make sure those of you who are struggling in the current climate can still take part in our Autumn Writers Programme. While we prioritise anyone who is long term unemployed and/or claiming benefits, we’re also offering subsidies if you’re in financial difficulty as a result of the Covid-19 crisis.

To express interest in a bursary place through our Share The Drama scheme, please sign up here. If you would prefer to speak directly to a member of our team about your circumstance or to ask for more information about this scheme, please contact us.

If you have any access requirements, you can let us know here. You can view what we currently are able to offer on our Accessibility page. If you would rather discuss any access requirements and how we can accommodate them prior to booking, please get in touch with us.

Running time of workshop: 2.5 hours – delivered online. Maximum class sizes are 14. A portion of spaces have been reserved for Share the Drama places.

To sign up for advanced booking for future iterations of the 503Studio: Writers Programme, please join the waiting list here.

Rex Obano has written for the stage, television, radio and film.

His theatre includes Slaves (Theatre503) and The Door Never Closes (Almeida Theatre).

His radio plays includes Burned To Nothing, Someone’s Making A Killing In Nigeria, Lover’s Rock, As Innocent As You Can Get, Oil On Water, Faith, Hope and Glory and The Moors of England.

He was the recipient of the 2018 Roland Rees Bursary. His play City College with be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in the autumn.