7th ANNUAL MONOLOGUE & SCENE WRITING WORKSHOP
In association with Marfa Independent School District
A Playwriting Preparatory Workshop: Marfa Junior High
January 10-13, 2023
Marfa Live Arts teaches the playwriting prep workshop to all Marfa Junior High students.
This program serves as the preparatory course to the high school’s more advanced Marfa Live Arts Playwriting Program which is taught each spring. The Playwriting Prep Program goals are to teach all MISD seventh and eighth grade students the basics of writing dramatic form while developing critical thinking skills and self-confidence.
Rachel Esther Tate is an Equity Actor and has appeared on stage at the Arena Stage, Mark Taper Forum, South Coast Repertory and commercial Off-Broadway runs. With a passion for new work Tate has workshopped and developed plays with award-winning playwrights and directors at La Jolla Playhouse, The Old Globe, and more. As an educator, she has taught students from kindergarten to college students in beginner to intensive theatrical, film, and dance training.
Marfa Junior High students participated in the sixth annual Marfa Live Arts Playwriting Preparatory Program. Winning monologues will be brought to life by Marfa actors at the Winter Theater Showcase on February 2nd, 2023 at Planet Marfa.
Marfa Live Arts arts educator Rachael Tate shares, “Following a week in the
classroom playing, exploring and excavating our inner monologues, the students
and I are so excited to present a showcase of our time together. While not every
piece could be selected for performance, I was incredibly impressed with the
articulation of thought and expression in each of the student’s writing. We took a
series of journeys through mental exploration to reach a place of inner knowing
to write from; focusing on the things we know to be true about ourselves and
what we believe. Each monologue was sprung from the idea of “discovery”, or an
“Aha!” moment.” Tate continues, “From the perspectives of unique characters,
we asked, what does this character, and we as writers, really need to say? Using
the format of a monologue to communicate from a position of need (I need you to
hear) into a place of desire (I want you to know). It’s the telling of a moment so
pure and intense that we cannot help but share what we feel, what we are and
who we are in that exact moment. The result of that question came through in so
many creative and deeply moving articulations which will be performed by local
actors in a night of communal storytelling. Come play with us!”
One student described what he liked best about the workshop, “To be honest there
was a lot that really let me express myself in these pieces of writing. It let me talk about
different things that I enjoy and things that I cherish with great pleasure. And finally, the
awareness and positivity that I gained is immeasurable.”
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