Say Again: Introducing Verbatim Theatre

Instructor: Oonagh Duncan

Duration: (4 Weeks), April 19 to May 10 (Tuesdays), 6:30 -9:30

What did you say? And what did she say to him? And what of him to her? Say again. Verbatim theatre is a form of documentary theatre in which plays are constructed from the precise words spoken by people interviewed about a particular event or topic. One of Canada’s top verbatim playwrites Oonagh Duncan introduces the genre, the major players and how they choose to shape raw testimony. Participants will be asked to collect transcripts with some tips on how to gather the most interesting material. The course will cover editing testimony for dramatic effect, with some time allotted to create and workshop a one minute monologue from your material; character creation, including composites and a discussion about ethics in representation while using first hand material; how to apply these techniques on a larger scale and how to apply dramatic structure to huge amounts of raw material. The real challenge will be learning to “play” within these foundations and push the envelope of the genre.

Fee: $150.00