About Workshops

Designed for playwrights and screenwriters now working on a script or about to begin one, this unique weekend intensive offers in-depth writing exercises, actor support, and group discussions of your work plus eligibility to participate in our New Writers/New Works staged reading series. The program usually includes three weekend sessions each quarter. Each is self-contained so that you can sign up for one, two, or all three sessions. Many writers use Story Weekend as an ongoing resource for script development.

Any type of dramatic script, such as a stage play, screenplay, or radio play of any size from one act to full-length. You choose your genre, subject, and style.

That’s up to you. The workshop offers an in-depth writing exercise on Saturday morning to help you write a new scene for your script, and gives you the opportunity to hear two previously written scenes read by actors and discussed by the group. (Some writers on Sunday afternoon present the scene they wrote on Saturday morning). Each workshop also offers a global exercise to help you see the “big picture” of your characters and story.

You’re welcome to use whatever writing tools you choose. Some writers prefer laptops. Some prefer pen and paper. And many use a combination of tools as they move from initial exploratory steps to actual scene writing.

The program attracts both types of dramatic writers since we focus on character development and story structure issues common to both forms. In most workshops, the majority of writers in the group are playwrights.

Designed for beginners and other observers, a Weekend Pass lets you audit any or all Story Weekend workshop activities. You can follow along during writing exercises, observe scene readings and critiques, and meet a great group of Bay Area writers and actors in the process. For the current cost of a Weekend Pass, see the “Current Schedule” on the Workshop Enrollment page.

Guided and focused, Writer’s Workout is a weekly tool to spark new ideas, work through writing problems, and overcome writer’s block. Meeting online for one hour on Sunday mornings, each self-contained session offers a step-by-step writing exercise to help you flesh out your characters, develop a scene, or explore your story. The workshop is designed for playwrights and screenwriters, but many fiction writers have found the weekly workout helpful in developing short stories and novels as well.

A self-contained creative weekend experience, each Shorts workshop uses theme elements and step-by-step writing exercises to guide you through the process of writing a short play, from blank page to completed draft, to a reading by Bay Area actors. While the workshop is designed for experienced playwrights, it has been successful with confident beginners and can be a great boost for writers who feel blocked, or rusty, or just want a writing change of pace. It’s fun, it’s creative – and it all happens in one weekend!

All workshops currently meet online via Zoom. Otherwise, we meet in the downtown San Francisco theatre district at the Phoenix Theatre Annex, Fourth Floor, 414 Mason Street, near Geary – about a block from Union Square.

Online Story Weekend workshops meet on Saturdays from 10 AM to 4:30 PM Pacific (with two hours offline for writing and lunch) and on Sundays from 12 PM to 4:30 PM Pacific (with one hour offline for writing and lunch). The online Writer’s Workout meets on Sundays from 10 to 11 AM Pacific.

Story Weekend workshops are usually offered monthly on an ongoing basis. Shorts workshops are offered periodically. Check the current workshop schedule to find out what’s being offered now and the future workshop schedule to see what’s ahead.

Since 1988, many workshop scripts have received honors and awards in national competitions such as those sponsored by the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center, Sundance, Independent Spirit Awards, Writer’s Digest, and Fade In Magazine. Some scripts also have generated honors and awards in local competitions as well as grants from the California Arts Council and Marin Arts Council. Many works have gone on to production. In addition, excerpts from selected works-in-progress are presented publicly in the New Writers/ New Works staged reading series. Public staged readings of completed drafts are facilitated on an as-needed basis.

Check the current workshop schedule for workshop fees. You can save up to $100 if you sign up in advance for a series of three Story Weekends. Tuition payment plans also are available for series members.

Email us now or call (415) 609-8670 to request enrollment in the workshop of your choice. If space is available, you can reserve your spot with a nonrefundable deposit toward the tuition amount. Workshops tend to fill in advance, so plan ahead and sign up early for the workshop you want.

When you arrive for your first workshop session. You may pay either by check or in cash. And, if you prefer to pay the balance in installments over an extended period of time, tuition payment plans are available.