Drama

This course invites students into the world of playwriting through the lens of queer storytelling and live performance. We’ll explore the art and craft of writing plays that center LGBTQ+ voices, experiences, and lineages - stories often pushed to the margins but born for the stage. Through readings, writing exercises, and workshop discussion, students will engage with the foundational elements of dramatic storytelling: character, dialogue, conflict, structure, and theatricality, with particular attention to how these elements can challenge, subvert, or queer traditional forms.

We’ll study contemporary and historical plays by queer playwrights alongside student work to examine how writers bring radical, intimate, and expansive narratives to life. The course culminates in the creation of a one-act play, a ten minute play or substantial scene, offering each student the chance to develop an original piece rooted in their own vision and voice. No
prior playwriting experience is required - only a willingness to experiment, question, and reimagine what theater can be.