Harley Elias is an Indian-Iraqi Arab-Jewish playwright, librettist, and performer from New York City. His plays include Bad Dog (Miami New Drama), The Handless King (Amphibian Stage, Wild Imaginings, 2024 NNPN National Showcase of New Plays Finalist), Lincoln Road Hustle (Miami New Drama), The Museum Plays (Miami New Drama, Miami New Times’ Best Play of 2024). His work has been supported by the Banff Centre (where he was librettist-in-residence for Opera in the 21st Century), Sewanee Writers Conference, a Fulbright Grant to India in Playwriting, Atlantic Center for the Arts, Resonance Ensemble, and Sparkfest at Amphibian Stage. He is the winner of the ABC Signature Emerging Playwrights Initiative, Wild Imaginings New Play Award, the Samuel French OOB Award, and Young Playwrights Award. As an actor his credits include several Broadway shows and national tours. Currently under commission from Miami New Drama and Theater J. BA/MA History, Stanford. MFA Playwriting, Brown University.
SEMINAR DESCRIPTION
Dialogue is at the core of playwriting and nuanced dialogue makes us stand out as writers, but what actually makes a character sound like themselves? In this seminar, we’ll dig into the gristle and grammar of making characters speak: voice, transcription, character creation, punctuation, formatting, and the tiny choices that turn language on the page into a living person. Through examples, live exercises, and experiments, we’ll look at how rhythm, syntax, speech patterns, and the way dialogue is arranged on the page can change who a character is and how we hear them. For writers new to dialogue-writing to the most experienced dialogist, everyone will leave with a refreshed and larger toolbox for writing dialogue that is specific, surprising, and alive.$10 discount for Tier 1 Members.
Harley Elias
The playwright
based inNew York, NY
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ONLINE SEMINAR: Getting It “Right,” or, How One Autistic Playwright Learned to Stop Worrying About ‘Getting Autism Wrong,’ And How You Can, Too!
Dave Osmundsen
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