In connection with Create! Eugene, the Downtown Eugene Public Library will host four free writing workshops in August. Due to limited space, pre-registration is required: call Eugene Public Library at 541-682-5450.
WRITE THE PERFECT 10-MINUTE PLAY
Saturday, August 10, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. - Pre-register starting July 20
Join Paul Calandrino and Connie Bennett to discover how to “Write the Perfect 10-Minute Play.” Learn what distinguishes a 10-minute play from a skit, a sketch, or vignette. Explore issues of structure, character, dialogue, and theatricality. Plus, get practical advice on formatting and submitting plays for production.
Paul Calandrino is an award-winning playwright who holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College and teaches playwriting at Oregon Contemporary Theatre. His work "Big Life" was a finalist in the 2011 National 10-Minute Play Contest. Short plays by Connie Bennett, the Director of Eugene Public Library, have been produced in a number of U.S. states and Canada. Her work "Gray Reflections" was a finalist in the 2010 National 10-Minute Play Contest.
CREATIVE SUSPENSE: A WORKSHOP FOR FICTION & SCREENPLAY WRITERS
Wednesday, August 14, 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. - Pre-register starting July 20
Award-winning novelist Cai Emmons will lead “Creative Suspense: A Workshop for Fiction and Screenplay Writers.” As Emmons explains, “Good stories foster the feeling of needing to know what happens next. Without forward momentum a story stagnates and loses readers or viewers. This workshop is an opportunity to learn how to build that necessary tension and curiosity.”
Cai Emmons is the author of four novels including the Oregon Book Award winner “His Mother’s Son.” Her essays, stories, and reviews have been widely published. She also writes plays and screenplays, and has written and directed two independent films. Emmons has taught at the University of Southern California, U.C.L.A, and the University of Oregon.
JUMP-START! POETRY WRITING WORKSHOP
Monday, August 26, 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. - Pre-register starting August 10
Jump-start those poetry engines at this workshop led by poet Toni Hanner. The session will include free-writing and structured writing exercises aimed at generating new first drafts in a friendly, safe, and playful environment. Beginning and experienced poets are welcome. Bring something to write with and an open mind.
Hanner’s “Gertrude” was a finalist for a 2013 Oregon Book Award. She has been encouraging poets and leading writing exercises since moving to Eugene in 2000. A member of the Lane Literary Guild’s Red Sofa Poets and the Madrona Writers of Pt. Townsend, Washington, she facilitates a weekly free-writing group.
BE YOUR OWN (A)MUSE: COMEDY WRITING WORKSHOP
Tuesday, August 27, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. - Pre-register starting August 10
Leigh Anne Jasheway says, “If you can make yourself laugh with your writing, you’ve passed the first milestone in writing humor.” But how does a writer get that first giggle – and be sure to amuse more than an audience of one? Join Jasheway for a fun workshop covering the basics of being funny on the page without looking like you’re trying. She will share comedy writing techniques from many authors -- including her own “weird little tricks” -- to send participants home with a tool box full of new ideas to try.
Jasheway won the Erma Bombeck Humor Writing Award for a true-life column about how her first mammogram caught on fire. The author of 17 humor books, plus pieces in more than two dozen anthologies, she has been a humor columnist for Family Circle, The Comic News, and the Register Guard’s Dash Magazine. In addition to blogging for BlogPaws, AccidentalComic, and WagNotWhine, she has written screenplays, greeting cards, bumper stickers, and even a funny apron.
CREATE! EUGENE is a project featuring nearly 200 creative workshops in the local area during the month of August. Create! Eugene is collaboration of the Arts & Business Alliance of Eugene, Travel Lane County, and the City of Eugene.