ENGL 151, 152, 153 – Creative Writing (Online)
Stage Drama Workshop Notes
These notes introduce the shape and spirit of the drama workshop, which is what lies at the
heart of all creative writing classes at the college level and beyond!
At the heart of any creative writing class is the workshop. Workshops occur when a writer puts
their work up for discussion in a group, and the group aims to provide feedback that will help
the writer improve their story. This is where you get to put all the theoretical ideas about what
makes good poetry into practice. This is where you get to discuss each other's work.
The goal here is to grapple with the elements of craft that we have studied in this course. Use
our class terminology and content to guide your feedback. It is important that you avoid saying
what you "like" or "dislike" about the scene. Remember, the work is under discussion, not the
writer. And unless you notice considerable language/grammar/punctuation errors, your job is
not to comment on these things.
Your Workshop Responsibilities
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Post the rough draft of Ten-Minute Play to your Workshop Group (5 pts).
Write comments on for each of your classmates’ drafts. Remember, there is no sample
draft this time. Show what you’ve learned this quarter about providing responsible and
thorough feedback (10 pts.)
Write a critique in the form of letter addressed to the writer. Again, make sure this is
the most thorough and thoughtful critique letter of the quarter (10 pts.)
Use our Responsible Workshop Questions (included in these notes) to guide your draft
comments and critique letter. Reference at least 5 of our RWQ per draft. The goal of these
critiques is to help the writer see where the opportunities for improvement are in their work,
but also to display to me that you understand and can apply the elements of craft that we have
studied this quarter.
Your draft comments will address specific moments in the scene and provide specific bits of
feedback while your critique letter will provide an overall summary of your draft comments;
think of it as providing the writer (and me!) the overall experience for what it was like reading
their poetry.
Responsible Workshop Questions
These are the questions you should use to drive your evaluation of each other’s work, as I will
use them to guide my evaluation of your final drafts. You do not need to answer all of these
questions for every poem you workshop, so pick the ones that seem the most relevant for each
poem. The answer will always be more than a simple yes or no!
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Is the scene all current story that takes
place in the present tense?
Are there only 2-3 characters?
Does the action take place all in one
location at one time? Remember, there
shouldn’t be any jumps in setting or
time.
Is the opening stage direction
appropriate and effective?
Is the scene’s action strictly visual?
Does the action get going quickly?
Is the set described in the right
amount?
Are representative pieces of inventory
involved in the scene? Do the
characters interact with this inventory
in meaningful ways?
Is the dialogue appropriate, credible,
and interesting?
Does the exposition sound natural?
If non-human and non-verbal sounds
are used, are they appropriate,
credible, and interesting?
Are the stage directions strictly visual?
Are stage directions used at the right
times and in the right quantities?
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Has the playwright avoided using stage
directions to indicate the tone of
dialogue?
Are stage lies used to good effect?
Are the characters too amused with
one another? In other words, can you
see the playwright complimenting him
or herself?
How are these characters not
convenient to one another?
Is the writer using clichés – with
language, character, or plot?
What is the source of tension or
conflict in the scene?
Are there opportunities to make the
typical more specific and the exotic
more casual?
Does the scene seem like something
you would see on a stage rather than a
screen? In other words, is it dramatic
rather than cinematic?
Does the slipper fit? Is the scene’s
resolution forced or credible based on
action?