In this course we will take inspiration from plays by contemporary women playwrights from around the world. We will be enlightened by feminist theory about female characters. And most happily we will write scenes featuring our own charismatic female-identified characters. These scenes will be prompted at first by exercises, some of which grow out of the varied plays we’ll be reading. In the process we will attempt to understand what the specific narrative pitfalls are when writing a female character, both historically and now. We’ll explore common themes in women’s stories and new ways of writing them. We’ll learn what writing a full, rich, complex, layered character of any gender entails. You needn’t worry about writing “politically correct” women—there is no censorship in this class— only woman as the subject of a drama, a protagonist with a strong p.o.v. You will end this class with scenes toward a play centered on your dynamic female character, the possible structure for the play, and new strategies for writing in a linear and non-linear way. Pre-requisite Foundations in Playwriting OR Contemporary Women Playwrights 1