PEP Writing Course
THE COURSE
Need that final push to get that idea on paper? Want to develop a writing practice you can use to help build a sustainable career? Just want to upskill and understand your craft better?
PEP (Prompt, Energy, Practice) is an eight class course which aims to teach process – how to consistently take a play from the idea phase to a first draft. It is an in-person class taught over three months by award-winning playwright Sam Brooks.
COURSE GOALS
This course has two goals. One is to develop a playwriting practice. The other is to develop a new piece of theatre from an idea phase to a first draft. Across the eight classes, participants will be provided the tools to build their own process and the time to work on their chosen idea. By the end of the course, participants will have a finished first draft and be well on the way to developing an established playwriting practice.
The duration of the course is four months, with weekly classes and a break in the middle. The class also involves two one-on-one sessions with Brooks for tailored feedback on their writing, and tools that might be specifically helpful for each playwright.
WHO THIS IS FOR
The intended audience for this class are those with some experience writing for theatre who are looking to upskill, to add tools to their proverbial kit, or carry one specific idea to a first draft phase. This course is also suitable for first-time writers who have other experience in theatre – actors, directors, designers, technicians, producers – who have the same goals.
A maximum of eight participants will be taken for this course.
COURSE DETAILS
COST: $450, which includes all eight in-person classes and two one-on-one sessions with Brooks for feedback (in person or remote, whichever the participant prefers). Happy to discuss options for payment on a one-on-one basis too!
DURATION: Classes will run on Wednesday evenings in a location in the Auckland CBD from March 5 every week (5th, 12th, 19th, 26th) with a three week break in between the fourth and fifth class, resuming on April 24.
CONTACT: Email at smokelabours@gmail.com or DM for more details.
BIOGRAPHY
Sam Brooks is an award-winning playwright and journalist. His plays include Burn Her, Riding in Cars with (Mostly Straight) Boys and Lads on the Island. He has won the prestigious Bruce Mason Playwrighting Award and currently holds the record for the most plays shortlisted for the annual ADAM New Play Award, at 15. He won the award in 2024 for his play This is My Story of Us and several of his other plays have been awarded highly commended. As a journalist, he worked in multiple roles at The Spinoff, and has had bylines published in Metro Magazine, Ensemble, Sunday, amongst others. He currently runs a cultural newsletter called Dramatic Pause.