Want to write a play but have no idea where to start? Getting a full-length play produced is a challenge, but there are many “Short Play Festival” calls for entry.
COTA is running two workshops, Saturday, May 3, and Saturday, July 12, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at Blue Heron Books, 62 Brock Street W, Uxbridge. No playwriting experience necessary. $75 fee for a class (eTransfer to writer@wsws.ca to register)
This fall, the well-loved Uxbridge Celebration of the Arts (COTA) will add a new activity: a “Short Play” Writing Contest. In preparation for this exciting event, the COTA executive will offer a workshop on how to write a short (10 minutes or under) play. The workshops will be held on Saturday, May 3, and Saturday, July 12, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Blue Heron Books, and will be conducted by experienced playwright Rich Helms.
“In addition to taking courses at George Brown College and Toronto Metropolitan University, I completed a Graduate Certificate in Playwriting from the Humber School for Writers,” Helms says. “Two of the plays I wrote with my wife, Dorothea Helms, have been produced—one in Port Perry and the other in Dublin, Ohio. Many short play festivals calls for entry limit the length to a maximum of10 minutes. It may sound simple, but it can be a challenge.”
Participants do not need previous playwriting experience to join. The first class is a tutorial covering play structure, script formatting, playwright groups, etc. For the second class, students will bring a one-minute (yes, that’s one-minute) play they’ve written to be read and discussed. “It’s going to be fun,” Helms adds, “and we hope to awaken a passion for yet another branch of the arts.”
Want to write a play but have no idea where to start? Getting a full length play produced is a challenge, but there are many “Short Play Festival” calls for entry. A short play has three main characteristics:
- It should be 10 or fewer minutes long
- It should have four or fewer characters
- It should require no elaborate costumes, set or props.
Sounds simple, but as Mark Twain wrote, “I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.” The class is being taught by Rich Helms. I quickly learned that writing a short play was fun but challenging.
The 10-minute play “Dear Angie” took my wife and I about 30 person hours to write.
- On Saturday, May 11, 2024, Theatre On The Ridge in Port Perry performed our play “Dear Angie” that Dorothea and I wrote as part of the Snapshots Short Play Festival. We also won the Audience Choice Award.
- The 2025 call is out, deadline April 1, 2025. We will discuss with some of our thinking on our entry for this year.
- On Jan 31, February 1,2, 2025 our short play “On the Edge” premiered at Stage Right Theatrics‘ annual theatre festival 2025 at the Abbey Theater of Dublin in Dublin, OH.
Through my journey, I found groups, organizations, websites and other resources. My purpose in designing this course is to teach the basics and provide a comfortable environment for participants to write a short play.
Schedule – Tutorial
Saturday May 3, 2025 1-4 PM, Blue Heron Books
Saturday July 12, 2025 1-4 PM, Blue Heron Books
Cost $75 for a class (eTransfer $75 to writer@wsws.ca to register)
- Before the course the student will be emailed the script for “On The Edge” as well as a link to view the play performed.
- Bring your script ideas or a page of a scene.
- Each student will be given access to the online materials
- Play structure. We will dissect two short plays
- Script formatting with templates
- Groups of fellow playwrights
- Facebook Playwright Groups
- New Play Exchange (NPX)
- How to find short play festivals
- Then we will perform some one-minute plays and discuss your ideas.
Comment from a March workshop student
Thanks for a great workshop! It was nice to hear from your experiences in writing plays and to learn from the resources in the link you provided. It was also great to hear other members’ plays. I really enjoyed the opportunities of acting out the lines of their works and of presenting my first play. The workshop was actually my birthday present for myself and, as a community theatre lover who had never written any plays, this first exposure of play writing was definitely a great gift that I would never forget.
(eTransfer $75 to writer@wsws.ca to register) Have questions and to register, email Rich Helms rich@richhelms.ca