There are no new workshops taking place at this time.
To see what was on offer in 2019, please read on...
Playwriting for Beginners
with Julie Tepperman
Recommended for people new to playwriting, including emerging and established actors wanting to branch out, and/or writers of other genres.
Perhaps you’re new to playwriting and have an exciting idea but don't know how to begin? Perhaps you have some experience writing but are bored with yourself?
This workshop is perfect if you're looking for ways to get started and/or spice up your writing. Julie will facilitate a series of writing exercises that will help spark your imagination and give you strategies for generating new material — both dialogue & monologue.
Together we’ll explore:
- character development
- relationships
- creating conflict and raising the stakes
- ways to keep building tension and driving the action forward, in an effort to keep your text playable
At times using improvisation, we’ll put some of the pieces we generate up on our feet, illustrating how physicalizing text early in the process can inform your writing.
Participants will work individually, in partners, and in groups as a way of practicing healthy dramaturgy, and learning how to give useful feedback.
There will also be opportunities to discuss “the business of playwriting”, such as:
- new play development
- the workshop process
- finding the right dramaturge for you
- residencies and playwrights' units
- pitching your plays to theatre companies, festivals, and publishers
IMPORTANT: This is NOT the place to get your new play dramaturged!
You’ll be able to apply much of what we do to whatever you’re working on right now, but come to the workshop with a clean slate, ready to delve deep into new exercises and experiment with form, style, and voice.
“Julie is a fantastic, creative, and skillful teacher. She is able to quickly create an atmosphere of acceptance with her non-judgemental approach to everyone’s work. She invites you to test yourself, knowing that it will be successful in terms of a positive learning outcome. She’s very encouraging and her positivity is infectious. Plus, she’s funny. We laughed a lot.”
“I left brimming and bubbling with ideas and inspiration! The workshop was well organized, informative, engaging, entertaining, and inspiring. I love your energy, warmth, and excitement about the work and process.”
Self-Producing 101
with Julie Tepperman
Recommended for both emerging and established theatre artists new to producing.
Geared to the self-starting artist-producer, this workshop will explore the basics of self-producing at a grassroots level – being a producer IS a creative endeavour!
Topics explored will include:
- producing at a festival vs. producing independently
- creating and managing a budget and cashflow
- the various Equity agreements
- contracting
- producing at a theatre vs. a site-specific or found location
- immersive theatre
- fundraising
- grant writing
- creative marketing strategies
- publicity and building relationships with the media
- hands-on audience and community engagement
- inviting “VIPs” to see your work
- pitching and thinking about the future life of your show
- laying the groundwork for starting a company
...and more!
Further topics will be determined based on a pre-workshop survey sent out to each participant. Handouts will be provided, and following the workshop each participant will be sent additional resources based on the topics covered.
Read Julie Tepperman & Aaron Willis’ chapter "Necessary Producers" in the anthology In Defence of Theatre, published by the University of Toronto Press
“This workshop really helped me feel that everything is manageable, and allowed me to focus in on specific areas of self-producing that I came in knowing virtually nothing about and found incredibly daunting until now. Thank you for igniting a bit of fire into my process again, and for making me feel much more capable of producing my own work!”
Julie Tepperman
About Julie
Julie Tepperman is a Dora nominated and published playwright, Dora award-winning actor, and avid arts educator. She is the co-Artistic Leader of Convergence Theatre, with Aaron Willis.
“So, You Want to Tour Your Solo Show?”
with Christel Bartelse & Melody A. Johnson
Once you’ve created your solo show, what’s next? Learn from two solo show creators and touring artists, Christel Bartelse and Melody A. Johnson, where you’ll hear invaluable insights and receive hands-on information about next steps in solo touring and producing your own work. They’ll focus on moving your art to the next phase, getting it off the page and up on its feet in rehearsal…then marketing, and touring to Fringes worldwide, and other Festivals across the globe. And, how to keep up your stamina!
Christel Bartelse
About Christel
Christel Bartelse is an award-winning Actor, Comedian and Performer living in Toronto. Christel has created 6 full length solo shows: Chaotica, ONEymoon, Significant Me, All KIDding Aside, The Surprise and most recently ENCORE, earning 3 Canadian Comedy award nominations for "Best One Person Show".
A Fringe Veteran, Christel has participated in numerous festivals including the Toronto, Ottawa, London, Montreal, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Victoria, Vancouver, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, and Orlando Fringe Festivals, as well as The Next Stage Theatre Festival and numerous theatres around Ontario. She is a two-time Edinburgh Fringe Participant, earning rave reviews, and has toured Canada and the US with her work. www.christelbartelse.com
Melody A. Johnson
About Melody
Melody A. Johnson is an actor and creator for almost three decades. Melody originated many roles in the Canadian theatre canon and enjoyed work from the prestigious Stratford Festival to the iconic Toronto Second City mainstage. For 7 years Melody has enjoyed touring her solo show Miss Caledonia on both Canadian & UK tours. Melody's latest show, Person of Interest, chronicles her own tale of battling bad neighbours and sheds light on police background checks in Canada. Embracing the popular resurgence of storytelling that has swept north American radio airwaves, podcasts and live events, ‘Person’ began touring in 2018 and has enjoyed shows in B.C. at TheatreOne, Catapult Fest, Edmonton Fringe, The Rose Theatre in Brampton, and recently played to sold out shows at Festival Players in Prince Edward County. Melody was named Ontario Touring Artist of the Year in 2014. www.melodyjohnnson.ca
Improvisation and the Power of Play
with Linda Kash
Through a series of fun and challenging improv games, this workshop will help remind actors of the importance of active listening, taking care of one’s scene partner, and leaving the self-critic behind. All levels of experience are welcome.
About Linda
Linda Kash
Linda Kash began her career at the Second City Theatre in Toronto, where she performed, directed and conducted workshops. She has appeared in and directed a number of plays, films and television shows throughout Canada, the US, Europe, Russia and New Zealand. Most recently she appeared in Jump Darling opposite Cloris Leachman and in a one woman show as Dr. Ruth Westheimer at The Harold Green Jewish Theatre last spring. More recent directorial projects include Colin Mochrie in “HYPROV” for Just For Laughs and the Edinburgh Festival, “Beneath Springhill,” a one man show with Beau Dixon and “Wreck Wee Em” starring Em Glasspool.
Linda co-founded a Performing Arts School called PAPA with her late husband Paul O’Sullivan. She teaches improv to anyone willing. She is best known as “The Philadelphia Cream Cheese Angel” (a successful campaign which ran for 16 years) but her proudest work to date by far is her fabulous blended family which includes 3 kids, 2 dogs, a blind cat and a fish. lindakash.ca