Playwriting with John Burgess
8-12 August 2018
CAMP, Aulus les Bains, France
CAMP is a residential arts facility perched high in French Pyrenees, where masterclasses are led by celebrated artists, writers and thinkers. In August 2018, John Burgess will lead a five day workshop intended to give playwrights of all abilities the tools they need to move forward.
John Burgess has worked as a director and producer of new plays for over forty years. He helped found the National Theatre Studio with Peter Gill in 1984 and he was Head of New Writing at the National theatre 1989 -1994. Writers whose work he has premiered include Nicholas Wright, Sarah Daniels, Jonathan Harvey, Judith Johnson, David Spencer, Stephen Wakelam and Meredith Oakes. His productions have been seen at the National Theatre, the Royal Court, the Donmar, the Bush, Stratford East, Riverside Studios and BBC Television as well as abroad in Switzerland, Scandinavia and the US.
Since 2011 John has been running a highly successful writers’ group whose graduates have had their work performed at the National Theatre, in the West End, at the Soho Theatre, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Arcola, BBC Radio 4, the Traverse Theatre Edinburgh, the Finborough and Hampstead Theatre and published by Faber and Nick Hern Books.
About the programme: These five days are about the practice not the theory of playwriting. Days will be divided into 2 intense two-hour group sessions with assigned reading and set exercises in between. Topics covered will include basic dialogue, rhythm, lists, action, silence, stichomythia, exits and entrances, music, vulnerability and direct address.
Participants will be guided towards finding individual solutions to specific problems of writing for the stage, enabling beginners to find firm ground beneath their feet and giving the more experienced an opportunity to refine and extend their skills.
What you get: The sesion includes accommodation in private. peaceful rooms with mountain view, plus food and drinks. There will also be optional outdoor activities including mountain ascents, nature walks and visits to local beauty spots.
How to apply: There is no extended application procedure, but places are extremely limited – reserve a place at https://www.campfr.com/
Fee: The programme costs £1,119 to attend.
Grants, bursaries and other funding is available – see the CAMP website for more details.
Source: Direct contact