Workshop in Edinburgh

Workshop, Friday 17th of December, 2-5 pm, Edinburgh.

As a dramatic writer, you can easily get lost in the woods of rules and dramaturgical models. I've tried go beneath the surface of models and rules in search for the basic principles of drama - to let them lead me in my own work as both a dramatic writer and stage director. So far I operate with 5 basic principles:

1. Conflict: This is the basis of drama, change and consciousness. Obvious, but the importance often overlooked.

2. Tonality: We have two fundamental tonalities in drama; comedy and tragedy - they are of huge importance for the construction of a drama, which has more similarities to the construction of music than to litterature.

3. Character: The old discussion, plot or character, I argue that character comes first, especially the will of the character.

4. Mystery: Drama has its origin in the ancient Greek religious mystery-plays. It still plays a vital part for the construction of drama.

5. Unity: Aristoteles old principle still holds great value, when applied and understood as a principle.

I'll introduce these principles and demonstrate their application in some quick exercises. If you plan to attend the workshop, you should bring a scene of around 2 minutes length for the exercises. You can also read more about the principles on this blog. To sign up for the workshop and further info, contact me at tcjakobsen@gmail.com

Troels Christian Jakobsen graduated from The National Danish Playwright Education in 1997. He has worked as a dramaturge at the Royal Theater of Denmark, as a writer for TV, film and theater, scriptconsultant for many Greek feature films and as a stage director.