Intro to playwriting

Taught by Elise Dewsberry, Artistic Director of New Musicals Inc., and Jeffrey Gold, The Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights Member

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Participants created 10-minute plays, explored storytelling, character building, and the thrill of the stage together. 

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New Musicals Inc. hosts many programs which support new musicals in development. They develop several dozen musicals each year for producers and writers all around the country through table readings, workshops, concerts, and occasional productions. Their academic wing, the Academy for Musical Theatre, offers courses, both online and live in Los Angeles, for professional musical theatre writers. They are a non-profit 501(c)3 organization (FEIN 01-0745909), so donations to us are tax-deductible. They are funded through an intricate balance of donations, fees for services, special events, conferences, concerts, classes, grants, fundraisers and royalties from musicals they have developed.

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Artistic Director of New Musicals Inc., Elise has been involved in the development of new works for over forty years: as an actor/singer, as a director, as a dramaturge, and as a writer. While living in Toronto, Elise served as the Assistant Artistic Director of the Muskoka Festival; the Co-Ordinator of the festival’s annual Musical Theatre Writer’s Colony, the Associate Dramaturge of the Canadian Stage Company; the Resident Dramaturge of the Smile Theatre Company; and was the co-founder of Toronto’s Script Lab. Elise spent many years touring Canada with Nine Months – a one-woman musical which she commissioned from writers Carl Ritchie and Stephen Woodjetts. Elise and Carl also co-wrote Any Body Home?, which was produced by the Cordova Bay Theatre in Victoria, British Columbia, and published by Dramatic Publishing. Elise joined ANMT as Associate Artistic Director in 2003; joined Founding Artistic Director John Sparks as Co-Artistic Director in 2010; and became Artistic Director of New Musicals Inc. in 2013. Elise is also the author and evaluator of the Book Lab and the Outlining Lab, offered online throughwww.writingmusicaltheatre.com , and publishes a monthly blog on the craft of musical theatre available at https://nmi.org/elises-video-blog/. Elise is ecstatically married to cellist Stephen Green, and they are the overly-proud parents of social activist Rebecca Green.

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The Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights (ALAP) is a service and support organization dedicated to protecting the rights and addressing the professional needs of the Los Angeles playwriting community. Founded in 1993, ALAP has a large and diverse membership of area playwrights ranging from students and beginning writers to established professionals. ALAP is all-volunteer, and is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.

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​Jeffrey is an award-winning playwright, screenwriter, and film composer. Educated at Westminster College, Cambridge University, and the University of Utah, he later studied playwriting with dramaturg Mike Dorrell and playwright Julie Jensen, culminating in masterclasses from Robert McKee (Story), Aaron Sorkin (A Few Good Men), David Mamet (Glengarry Glen Ross), Stephen Schwartz (Wicked), Robin Swicord (Memoirs of a Geisha), Meg LeFauve (Pixar's Inside Out), Lee Aronsohn (The Big Bang Theory), Jack Epps, Jr. (Top Gun), Keith Gordon (Mother Night), Barry Schkolnick (Law & Order), and Jon Jory (Actors Theatre of Louisville), among others. His plays include IN THE PURSUIT OF SVETLA, HORST AND GRABEN IN THE CONTEXT OF THE UNFINISHED MAN, FITCH TODD, PERCOLATION THEORY, DEDEKIND, HORST AND GRABEN AT THE CHATEAU GODOT, EXECUTION AT PARADAIS ISLAND, CANDYCANE HURRICANE, DISPLACEMENT: A FISH IN WATER STORY, FAIR SHAKE, FUTURE PERFECT ("The Russian Play"), A COLD NIGHT FOR A DIVA, PURCHASE, THE CLERK, CHAMPAGNE FOR CHEKHOV, and AIA/SOLID 8, and his screenplays include THE LEAVING MAN, STEEN'S FOLLY, SNOWFLAKE OBSIDIAN, and QUANTUM DREAMS. He teaches at USC and Caltech, and privately mentors students in story, dramatic writing, and film music. More information is available at www.jeffreygold.com.