Classes Winter/Spring 2010

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Writing the Shadow

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross said that before we can find the Mother Teresa within us, we must first acknowledge the Hitler who is there as well. Each of us has a dark self, what Carl Jung called the "shadow" part of our psyche. Sometimes we glimpse it in dreams; sometimes it appears in dark imaginings. In this class we'll experiment with timed writing, dream journals, guided imagery, and Active Imagination. Our goal will be to draw the shadow out, recognize it for what it is, and see what we can learn from it--and what it can bring to our creative writing. This class is not therapy, but it can be very therapeutic.
8 sessions, Feb. 1-March 29 (no class March 15)
Mondays 7:00-10:00pm
Studio School 2nd floor conference room
Enrollment limit: 10

Memoir Writing Workshop

In My Antonia, Willa Cather wrote: "Some memories are realities, and are better than anything that can ever happen to one again." In A Moveable Feast, Ernest Hemingway wrote: "Memory is hunger." This workshop puts these two notions together-that some memories are heightened experiences, and that we hunger for more. Participants will try simple strategies for writing about their own lives. The instructor will offer encouraging feedback as well as specific writing prompts to help students develop ideas.
1 session, Feb 20
Sat, 10 am-4 pm
Studio School, 2nd fl. Conference Room
Enrollment limit: 10

Nuts and Bolts of Playwriting

If a playwright writes plays, why isn't the word "playwrite"? "Wright" comes from Old English via Middle English, and means worker or maker. A playwright drafts, crafts, and builds a play; the nuts and bolts that hold it together are scenes and monologues. This class explores structure, treatment, conflict, character development, setting, and plot. Examine samples of scenes and monologues and then write several of your own. No previous experience in playwriting is required.
6 sessions, Mar 23-Apr 27
Tues, 7-10 pm
Studio School, 2nd fl. Conference Room
Enrollment limit: 10

Contact Mary Holland at 367-0817, or go to http://www.vmfa.org/.



The Visual Arts Center (formerly The Hand Workshop)

The Creative Spark

Clarissa Pinkola Estes writes about el duende–“the goblin wind” within us which can breathe our creative spark into creative fire. The ember may be a poem, a story, a confession, a play. It may not even know what it is, or wants to be–but it’s there. So we’ll experiment. The goal of this creative writing class is to fan your ideas and inspirations into flame. We’ll use timed writing, dream journals, guided imagery, Active Imagination, and anything else we can think of to get in touch with the stories you want or need to tell–and those needing or wanting you to tell them. Come with an open mind. Be honest and brave. You will come away from this class not only a better writer, but also a clearer thinker.
8 sessions
Tuesdays, 6:30-9:00pm
January 19 – March 9

Writing Scenes and Monologues

In this one-day intensive workshop we’ll look at and work on the nuts and bolts of playwriting: scenes and monologues. We’ll talk about dramatic structure, conflict, character development, setting, and plot. We’ll talk about the differences between writing for the stage and writing for film or television. We’ll look at some scenes and monologues written by the instructor to see how they work, and then we’ll write several of our own. No previous experience in playwriting is required.
1 session
Saturday, April 17
10:00am to 4:00pm

Flying Off the Page: Adapt a Story to a Moving Picture

What’s involved in adapting a short story into a film? What do you keep, and what do you leave out? Does adding a love interest raise the stakes, or muddy the plot? In this class we’ll watch movies based on short fiction, and explore the craft of adaptation. Stories and films may include Ambrose Bierce’s “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum,” D. H. Lawrence’s “The Rocking Horse Winner,” Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game,” William Faulkner’s “A Rose For Emily,” “Ernest Hemingway’s “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” and “The Killers,” and Daphne du Maurier’s “Don’t Look Now” and “The Birds.” No special knowledge of film is necessary: we will read as readers, and watch as an audience. You’ll come away from this class with a fresh appreciation for both fiction and films.
5 sessions
Thursdays, May 4 – June 6
6:30-9:00 PM

Contact Aimee Joyaux at 353-0094, or go to http://www.visarts.org/.