North New Works Lab for Playwrights and Actors Now Enrolling Students

Want to learn what it takes to bring a new play to life on stage as an actor or writer?

North Seattle College's Continuing Education is launching North New Works Lab for Playwrights and Actors in Spring Quarter 2016. In this innovative new program we link playwriting and acting courses to form a learning community designed to support artists through the collaborative process of creating new work for the stage. The resulting work will be presented in a showcase production at the end of the quarter.

Artists at all levels of experience are welcome to take part in North New Works Lab for Playwrights and Actors.

How does the class work? Over an eleven-week period, from April 5th to June 10th, the playwriting and acting classes will be staggered with each group of students attending class for eight of the eleven weeks. The program begins with the playwriting course, so the writers have opportunity to draft the scripts which are then shared with the acting class. Through this unique collaborative process participants in North New Works Lab for Playwrights and Actors will be guided through a communal creative process that fulminates in the presentation of brand-new, world-premiere plays.

North New Play Lab is taught by two seasoned veterans of the Seattle theatre community.

Playwriting instructor Daniel Tarker holds an MFA in Playwriting from San Francisco State University and seen his work produced across the globe with such companies as Santa Cruz Actors Theatre, Portland Theatre Works, The Pocket Theatre, 14/48: The Worlds Quickest Theatre Festival, Seattle Theatre Works, Seattle Playwrights Collective, The Western Stage, Pacific Play Company, AD Charade, and Spokane Radio Theatre to name a few.

Students taking Daniel Tarker's class, Playwriting and the Art of the Short Play had this to say about their experience:

"The one-act playwriting class positively exceeded my expectations. In the course of the quarter I completed two plays, a shorter one of 10 minutes and a longer one-act of approximately 25 minutes. Both plays are currently in submission to competitions nation-wide. To have gotten that far in the space of 8 weeks is (for me) remarkable." - Stephen T.

"Dan is a dynamic teacher; he 'knows his onions', condensing a torrent of insights into eight short meetings. He gets you writing, and when he hears your work read, he laughs out loud - in all of the appropriate places." - Dan B.

"Dan Tarker's playwriting class was a great way to explore the short form and work on the skills needed for longer works. Highly recommended."- Scott S.

Acting instructor José Amador is a local playwright/director/actor who has been actively involved in the Seattle Theater scene for the last two decades. As a playwright, he has written two solo plays, A Walk in the Dark and El Hijo Prodigo, along with numerous full-length, short- plays and sketches featured at or by 14/48: The World's Quickest Theatre Festival, Disgruntled Bit Players, Death/Sex, Greetings from Styx, among others.

Students taking José Amador's Acting classes through Continuing Education had this to say about their experience:

"José provides a full experience from warm-up exercises to one-act performances, providing individualized attention that allows actors to progress from whatever stage they began. He pays particular attention to stage awareness and fine details that allow actors to become engrossed in the process and the characters they portray...His good nature and sense of humor add further to an enjoyable experience from which real growth as an actor occurs."-Anthony F.

"Right from the start I loved José's class, and not just because of the acting techniques that we were learning. I really appreciated the way he interacted with the class. A lot of students in that first class were still growing their English skills. The patience that he showed them, and the creative ways he adjusted assignments for the particular student made it clear from the beginning that this was a safe place to try new and unfamiliar things. The acting classes were an absolute gas! I can't wait to come again (this) was about as much fun as I've had in years." - Gerard M.

Students wishing to enroll in the North New Works Lab for Playwrights and Actors can do so online at continuinged.northseattle.edu/courses/north-new-works-lab-playwrights-and-actors or by calling Continuing Education at North Seattle College at 206-634-3705.

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