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Parlaying the Play: Drafting a One-Act Stage Play (Adults)

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Join us for a workshop on how drafting a one-act stage play script may enhance your fiction writing.

Experience a two-hour creative writing workshop designed for individuals with minimal playwriting experience. This dynamic, interactive session welcomes fiction writers of all levels, those interested in learning the fundamentals of playwriting, and anyone curious about constitutional law.

The workshop focuses on the core elements of playwriting, including the development of credible dialogue and action. Participants will take part in a writing exercise in which the presenter—an attorney—provides a brief overview of three Opinions of the Supreme Court of the United States. The first case addresses a free speech issue, the second is a landmark decision in criminal law, and the third centers on the women’s suffrage movement. Each participant will select one of these fact patterns as the backdrop for an original play scene inspired by the chosen case.

The presenter, Donna Kathryn Kelly, is an attorney who has practiced law for three decades, primarily within the Illinois criminal justice system. Early in her career, Kelly served as an assistant appellate defender in the Office of the State Appellate Defender in Ottawa, Illinois. Her legal work on a clemency petition is featured in the HBO documentary The Murders at Starved Rock, where she appears extensively in Episode 2 of the series.

Kelly is the author of The Cheney Manning Series, a collection of suspense novels featuring a public defender turned amateur sleuth investigating homicide cases in northern Illinois’s Fox River Valley. Her paranormal horror thriller, The Descent: A Halloween Novel, was a semi-finalist in the 2023 Soon to Be Famous Illinois Author Project Manuscript Contest. Her magical realism novel, The Lion at the Falls, was a finalist in the 2024 Killer Nashville Claymore Award Competition (Supernatural Category).

An award-winning poet, Kelly’s work has appeared in numerous anthologies and literary journals, including Pasque Petals, The Gilded Weathervane, Southern Arizona Press, and North Dakota Quarterly.

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Accessibility Policy: The Library makes every effort to ensure our programs can be enjoyed by all. If you have any concerns about accessibility or need to request a specific accommodation, please contact the Library. View our accessibility page at https://gpld.org/accessibility. 

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