The Playwrights' Center (PWC) in Minneapolis asked Susan Kathryn Hefti to talk about her DIY MFA in playwriting for its current Newsletter!
So please take a moment to pour yourself an iced tea (or something stronger, if you prefer) and sink into a comfy chair in a well air-conditioned spot (unless, of course, you're already cool as a cucumber in the mountains of Switzerland, or aboard a sailboat, in which case you should just start reading right now!) and read the piece PWC just posted!
We hope you are all enjoying the summer of 2014!
And we hope to see you all soon for a very happy occasion!
http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=39919c9e8118eca09a6a85e47&id=6ccd961063&e=c4f15b24e4#hefti2
Building a DIY MFA
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Playwrights’ Center member Susan Kathryn Hefti was telling us about how she is creating her own playwriting curriculum—a kind of DIY MFA—and we thought others would be interested as well. Here is Susan’s story:
When Playwrights’ Center (PWC) Membership Manager Hannah Joyce-Hoven asked me to talk about my journey as a playwright, I really didn’t think I’d have anything terribly useful to say. You see, I haven’t been writing plays all that long and I’ve had no formal training; Well, that is, until I joined the PWC.
For while I walk fast, talk fast and spin like the Tasmanian devil, my professional epiphany can only be described as glacial: In fact, it wasn't until the very last day of 2010, that I realized the time had come to put various other writing gigs and projects, that had consumed my time and energy for years, in the rearview mirror and finally devote myself to my first love, theater.
I had always loved school, so naturally my first instinct was to investigate the possibility of getting an MFA in playwriting. And I’d still jump at the chance for this opportunity, were it not for the fact that by the time I finally decided to pursue playwriting, I could afford neither a three-year gap in my career, nor the $50,000+ investment I discovered it would take.
But rather than lament reality, I resolved to give myself an MFA in playwriting. Having taught at Yale and Brown, I was not completely unfamiliar with the task of creating a syllabus. So I drew up a reading list and started ordering plays, having read the “classics” in college.
Read more »When Playwrights’ Center (PWC) Membership Manager Hannah Joyce-Hoven asked me to talk about my journey as a playwright, I really didn’t think I’d have anything terribly useful to say. You see, I haven’t been writing plays all that long and I’ve had no formal training; Well, that is, until I joined the PWC.
For while I walk fast, talk fast and spin like the Tasmanian devil, my professional epiphany can only be described as glacial: In fact, it wasn't until the very last day of 2010, that I realized the time had come to put various other writing gigs and projects, that had consumed my time and energy for years, in the rearview mirror and finally devote myself to my first love, theater.
I had always loved school, so naturally my first instinct was to investigate the possibility of getting an MFA in playwriting. And I’d still jump at the chance for this opportunity, were it not for the fact that by the time I finally decided to pursue playwriting, I could afford neither a three-year gap in my career, nor the $50,000+ investment I discovered it would take.
But rather than lament reality, I resolved to give myself an MFA in playwriting. Having taught at Yale and Brown, I was not completely unfamiliar with the task of creating a syllabus. So I drew up a reading list and started ordering plays, having read the “classics” in college.
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