Playwriting I begins with a vigorous review of the basic principles taught in Craft as they apply to playwriting. Students will concentrate on characterization, dialogue, and structure with an emphasis on identifying the stakes, turning points, climax and resolution of the drama. The course builds to an exploration of theatricality and how the use of physical action, props, movement, sound, and light are primary to the creation of a dramatic work for the stage. Playwriting at its core is about telling a story in the moment when an audience is gathered together in the same space as the performers. The course will return again and again to the notion of theatricality and what that means.