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Looking for creative training that fits your life (and your schedule)? Want to learn from artists who are actually out there? Ready to make something you’re proud of—with guidance?
- Live, Online Courses.
- Hands-On Arts Training.
- Industry-Led Instruction.
Where creative education meets professional practice.
UPCOMING COURSES
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LOOKING FOR TROUBLE: Understanding Conflict as a Storytelling Tool with Michael Ross Albert
Conflict is the driving force of dramatic writing. But in the early stages of a new play's development, writers have a tendency to focus on other storytelling elements, which can disrupt the text's dramatic momentum and unbalance its structure. In this course, writers will be encouraged to mine their plays for conflict in order to heighten the emotional stakes of their work and mould their writing into rich, dramatically satisfying arcs.
Emerging and/or mid-career playwrights will learn how to use conflict as a conduit for plot exposition, as a catalyst for character development, and as the engine for a play's dramatic action. Participants will be invited to share new works in process, and receive feedback with a focus on plot, structure, and high-stakes storytelling.
MICHAEL ROSS ALBERT +
Described by the Toronto Star as “one of Toronto’s most exciting playwrights,” Michael Ross Albert is a Dora Award-nominated writer whose work has been staged across Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere. His plays include The Bidding War (Crow's Theatre; finalist, Carol Bolt Award), The Village It Takes (finalist, Tom Hendry Drama Award) Beautiful Renegades (Peggy Baker Dance Projects), Two Minutes to Midnight (The Assembly Theatre), Miss (Unit 102), and Tough Jews (Dora Award nomination, Outstanding New Play). Michael's work has been presented in multiple Fringe festivals, including Edinburgh, Brighton, Edmonton, Halifax, and FringeNYC. Five of his plays were staged in the Toronto Fringe Festival, includingThe Huns and Anywhere; both plays were named Patron’s Pick and Best of Fringe, and have received subsequent productions.
Sign up“Michael introduced me to playwriting concepts I had never heard of before - they are so practical.
It was a great sandbox to explore in and try new things.”
– Past Participant
THE LEAP: Expanding from Playwriting into TV Writing with Anusree Roy
As someone who started my career as a playwright, I had very little knowledge of how a writing room operates.
This course will focus on the fundamentals of writing for television, creating your own series idea, and pitching your show.
I created this course to address the fundamental knowledge playwrights need when expanding into television. This course will not only explore what happens inside the writing room but will also provide a step-by-step, in-depth approach on how to create, write, and pitch your own show.
ANUSREE ROY +
Anusree is a two time Governor General’s Award-nominated and four-time Dora Award-winning writer, actor, and director. She is currently the Co-Executive Producer and writer for the Allegiance S3 (CBC) television series. Anusree has also worked on Interview With The Vampire S3 (AMC), Allegiance S2 (CBC), Transplant S2 (NBC/Netflix/CTV), I Woke Up a Vampire (Netflix), SkyMed (Paramount+/CBC), Remedy (Global TV), Killjoys (SyFy), and Nurses S1 & S2 (NBC/Global TV). She has also received a CSA nomination for a Guest Star role on Allegiance.
For theatre, Anusree’s plays include: Through the Eyes of God, Sisters, Trident Moon, Little Pretty and The Exceptional, Sultans of the Street, Brothel # 9, Roshni, Letters to my Grandma, and Pyaasa. She is the recipient of the K.M. Hunter Award, the RBC Emerging Artist Award, the Carol Bolt Award and the Siminovitch Protégé Prize. She was the 2018 finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize (the largest and oldest playwriting prize for women writing for English-speaking theatre). Currently, she is the commissioned playwright at Tarragon Theatre, writing her new play, 147, 8th Street. She holds a B.A. from York University and an M.A. from the University of Toronto, and most of her plays have been published by Playwrights Canada Press.
Sign up“This course will help me shape the future of my career. Invaluable lessons learned from an amazing instructor.”
– Past Participant
PAST WORKSHOPS
- THE LEAP: Expanding from Playwriting into TV Writing with Anusree Roy
- ME, IRL: Turning Awkward Life Moments into Sketches with Aurora Browne
- SAY IT WITH A SONG: The Basics of Musical Theatre Writing with Britta Johnson
- PLAY FINDING: Discovering Your Play in Your Own Story with Daniel MacIvor
- PLAYWRITING 101: Getting to a First Draft with Erin Shields
- WRITER’S ROOM: Idea/Pitch/Pilot: A 3-Day TV Writing Intensive with Fab Filippo
- REALLY EFFECTIVE WEAPON: Writing Comedy with Mark Crawford
- OH. THEY’RE SUDDENLY SINGING: How Musicals and Narrative Songwriting Work with Kevin Wong
- MIC DROP: From Playwriting to Podcasting with Leah-Simone Bowen
- INDIE CINEMA: Making Movies No Matter What with Sook-Yin Lee
- SLIDING OVER TO THE MIC: How to adapt your craft to perform behind the mic with Dee Shipley
- FIND YOUR FUNNY: Crafting Your Comedic Voice with Ali Hassan
- WRITING FOR MUSIC THEATRE: A Step by Step Guide with Beau Dixon
- WRITER’S ROOM—Idea/Pitch/Pilot: A 3-Day TV Writing Intensive with Fab Filippo
- CRITICAL THINKING: The role of theatre criticism & how to use it with Glenn Sumi
- WORKING TOGETHER: An Agent & Playwright, in Conversation with Colin Rivers & Marcus Youssef
- CREATE YOUR OWN RESIDENCY: A Resource for Playwrights, Directors, and Creators with Amiel Gladstone
- SMALL SCREEN, BIG STAGE: A Crash Course in TV Writing for Playwrights with Chloé Hung
- PERFECT PITCH: How to present touring projects, productions, and scripts to Artistic Directors with Jillian Keiley
- CRIME STORY: How to Tell Compelling and Engaging True Crime Podcasts with Kathleen Goldhar
- ONLY THE TRUTH IS FUNNY: or, Everything You Wanted to Know About Writing a One Person Show but Were Afraid to Ask, with Sandra Shamas
- FROM SCRIPT TO SOUNDWAVES: Harness the Power of Podcasting
- MUST WATCH: Writing TV Drama with Greg Nelson
- START HERE: Introduction to Playwriting with Keith Barker
- PLAYFINDING: Discovering Your Play In Your Own Story with Daniel MacIvor
- HORIZONTAL: Writing Towards a Theatrical Event with Jillian Keiley