First, you need a story to tell! This class will employ a series of exercises to develop characters, settings, scenes, and plot. Students will write, read, and discuss their plays in class during the writing and revising process; they will also analyze a variety of dramatic texts and other sources to discover individual voice and understand narrative structure.
Teaching Artist: Jim DeVivo
Dr. Jim DeVivo is a theatre teacher, director, and researcher with over 25 years experience. He teaches grades 7-12 in the Holmdel Township Schools, is an adjunct professor of educational theatre at NYU, Artistic Associate for the New Plays for Young Audiences Series at the Provincetown Playhouse (NYC), and the creator of Young Playwrights Guide, a playwriting resource for young writers and their mentors. Prior to classroom teaching, Jim specialized in the development of theatrical work by and for youth as Director of Education for Writers Theatre of New Jersey and produced the annual New Jersey Young Playwrights Festival. His research is published in Youth Theatre Journal, ArtsPraxis and the Routledge Companion to Theatre and Young People. Jim received the Lowell S. and Nancy Swortzell Graduate Scholarship (2008), a NJ Governor's Award for Arts Education (2009), an Award of Excellence from the NJ Theatre Alliance (2018), and is a member of the Liverpool Central School District Fine Arts Hall of Fame. He earned PhD and MA degrees in Educational Theatre from NYU and graduated magna cum laude with University Honors from Niagara University with a dual major BFA in Theatre and English. Jim is married to Bridget DeVivo, the award-winning Director of Drama at Oak Hill Academy in Lincroft, with whom he co-directs Stargazer Performing Arts LLC as well as a troupe of three children and one pug� some of whom take direction well. www.jimdevivo.com
