Yearlong in Playwriting
with Miriam Tobin
Genres: Writing for Performance
In Person
In Person Open to all levels
Open to all levels 30 Sessions
30 Sessions This class meets IN PERSON at Hugo House in Capitol Hill.
This is your cue.
If you’ve ever dreamt of writing for the stage—but didn’t know where to begin, how to stick with it, or who might care—this yearlong playwriting cohort is for you: part class, part workshop, part writing group, and a place to fully embrace risk, revision, and beginning again. With structure, momentum, and a supportive community, you’ll finally have the time and space to write the thing you’ve been circling.
Over nine months, you’ll study the fundamentals of dramatic writing—how to build scenes, shape dialogue, and think from the audience's perspective—while diving deep into your own full-length project. You’ll read and analyze scenes, write from prompts, engage in feedback sessions, and attend two live shows as a class, discussing them together like playwrights-in-process.
Leave with a full-length play, a deeper understanding of theatrical craft, and a working relationship with the writing process—from first draft to final scene.
Open to performers, writers, and creatives of all levels—no playwriting experience required, just curiosity and a commitment to play.
Note: As part of this class, students will see Fancy Dancer on 10/15 at the Seattle Rep and the aves on 4/26 at Union Arts Center. Students are not required to independently purchase tickets for these plays.
This class focuses on:
- Generative Writing: Focuses on producing new writing through prompts and exercises.
- Craft & Technique: Focuses on improving writing skills, exploring elements like plot, character, or dialogue.
- Workshop: Students submit work and receive feedback from the instructor and/or classmates.
What to expect:
- Goal-Setting & Accountability: Includes tools or practices to help students stay motivated.
- Project-Based: Students will work toward completing a specific project (e.g., a story, poem, or essay).
- Reading & Analysis: Published works will be closely read as part of the learning process.
- Lecture: Instructor-led teaching
- Class Discussion: Facilitated class conversation
- Prompts & Exercises: Class features guided writing activities.
- In-Class Sharing: Students are invited to share their writing aloud or in small groups during class.
- Instructor Feedback: Students receive direct feedback from the instructor.
- Peer Feedback: Students share and critique each other’s work.
- 1-2 hours of reading and/or writing outside of class per week.
Students say…
“Miriam gave models we could use, but also illustrated the enormous range of writing they could encompass. The highlights for me were the surprises, both in my own writing (" where did that come from"?) and in reading other members plays. Miriam was so engaging, smart and enthusiastic. When she seemed surprised by something, it reinforced my own sense that it's the sign of something good in the writing.”
“Tremendously knowledgeable, clear, engaging, warm instructor. Learned frameworks, felt safe to share, learned a lot from analytical riffs on what we did.”
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Q&A with Yearlong in Playwriting instructor Miriam Tobin:
What do students need in order to take this class (craft knowledge, specific skills, projects, etc.)?
Students need an open mind, a blank page, and a commitment to their imagination. No previous playwriting experience is necessary, but a willingness to learn is.
What is the community-building experience like in this class?
In many ways, this class functions like a cohort as much as it does a class. Students are expected to show up for one another and celebrate successes as a group. There will be lots of opportunities to discuss experiences, brainstorm ideas, and ask one another for help and advice.
What are you most excited to share and/or experience with your students?
I'm most excited to share my love of storytelling! This class takes the student from the blank page all the way to a full-length play, and they'll learn everything from writing and editing to learning how to read and watch plays. It's a full cycle kind of class!
What is your philosophy on being an artist?
I believe that art is a heightened reflection of life, and playwriting is a multi-genre, collaborative, visceral way to engage audiences. To me, being an artist means living in the present and finding creative ways to expressing my emotions, thoughts, curiosities, and confusions.
Anything else you'd like to share with your students?
I love working with playwrights of all experience levels! This class is, in many ways, built like a mini MFA. We'll spend the first half of the year focusing on craft, building the tools you need to write a play. We'll spend the second half of the year learning how to edit, revise, and rework our plays. There will also be two outings to local theatres to watch plays from the perspective of writing them, and there will be many open discussions, exercises, games, and industry talk along the way. This is a wholly interactive class designed for students of all learning styles.
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Registration Dates:
- August 12: Member registration opens at 10:30 am PT
- August 19: General registration opens at 10:30 am PT
- August 26: Scholarships open
- August 31: Last day of Early Bird discount
This class is not eligible for a member discount. Learn more here »
Miriam Tobin
Miriam BC Tobin (she|her) is a Seattle-based playwright, theatre artist, and writing instructor. She has performed on stages across the US and Europe and has taught drama to youth in Seattle, NYC, Denver, and on a farm in the Czech Republic. She founded MBCT; Modern But Classical Theatre in NYC to de- and re-construct classic plays into highly physical adaptations. Her play The War of Women received a roundtable reading at The Lark and several of her plays premiered at Goddard College’s Ten-Minute Play festival. Honors & awards include a Hedgebrook residency, PEN Writing Scholarship, Newington-Cropsey Fellowship, the London Dramatic Academy Fellowship, and she was a Pipeline Theatre PlayLab semi-finalist. Miriam was the fall 2020 Editor-in-Chief of The Pitkin Review and is currently a dramatic writing editor with The Clockhouse. Her work appears in multiple issues of The Pitkin and Smith & Kraus. Miriam also runs SCRiB LAB, a writing organization aimed at creating community through experimentation.
Describe your teaching style.
I'm all about interaction, collaboration, and discussion. My teaching style is very open, and I welcome all ideas and questions in the classroom. Each class is a mixture of different learning styles, including presented lessons, reading and writing exercises, and open discussions.
FAQ
Complete FAQEach class description includes a breakdown of what you can expect in terms of in-class activity, feedback, and homework (if any).
Generative means you’ll be generating new writing, either in class or at home between classes.
Workshop means you’ll be sharing work to be read and critiqued by your instructor and classmates and that you will also be critiquing the work of your peers.
Reading means you’ll be doing close reading of a work with an eye toward craft.
Craft discussion means you’ll be looking at the tools writers use to do that thing they do so well and then trying it out yourself.
Class levels are designed for various stages of the writing journey. Simply self-select the level that sounds best for where you’re at.
Introductory: This is your first creative writing workshop, first writing class since high school, or first foray into a new genre or form. You’re looking to try something new, kickstart your writing, and/or establish yourself in the fundamentals.
Intermediate: You have a strong understanding of writing fundamentals and are eager to deep dive into craft. You’re honing your writerly identity and voice through independent projects. In workshop, you look for constructive feedback and are ready to do writing and reading outside of class.
Advanced: You’ve written a significant body of work and have taken it through several stages of revision. You’re getting ready to publish or are in the early stage of publishing, and you’re interested in refining the skills that will take you to the next level in the literary industry.
All Levels: You are any of the above and are looking to play with new possibilities.
You’ll get your class information, including Zoom link if applicable, three days before the first day of class.
Write With Hugo House is our free monthly write-in program, operated in partnership with the Seattle Public Library. Two take place onsite at SPL locations, one takes place online.
Sliding-scale classes are offered every quarter. Find them in our Class Catalog.
We announce flash sales, early bird periods, and special deals through our e-newsletter; sign up at the bottom of this page.
At this time, we offer payment plans on classes 8 sessions and up. Email education@hugohouse.org with the name of the class you’re interested in to set up a payment plan. Please note that you can only have 2 active payment plans per quarter.
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We charge a 5% nonrefundable administrative fee for all payment plans.
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Extended payment plans up to 8 monthly installments and 16 semi-monthly installments are available upon request.
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We are unable to hold seats for prospective payment plan students. Students will be enrolled once their first installment has been paid.
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If you need to cancel, Hugo House will issue refunds according to its cancellation and transfer policies. Your 5% nonrefundable admin fee will not be refunded.
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If you withdraw from a class after it begins, you will not receive a refund and are still responsible for paying the full course tuition.
Asynchronous classes are perfect for students that need flexibility!
During an asynchronous class, instructors release new lessons once per week. Students then have one week to complete that lesson and any accompanying coursework. You’ll learn as much as you would in a traditional class but with the flexibility to work at the best times for your schedule!
While there are no live sessions, asynchronous classes are still a lively and rigorous experience. Async classes are not static lessons but an adaptable and energetic community space. Be ready to work in a collaborative environment, giving and receiving feedback on your writing, participating in discussions, and growing your writing practice in a way that works best for you.
Asynchronous classes take place through the website Wet Ink. Students receive an invitation to the class and to set up a Wet Ink account on the start date of the class. Each week of the class, a new lesson will be available through the Wet Ink portal. Classes close two weeks after the end date, and students receive an email containing their content from the class when it closes.
Hugo House will only process refund requests that are submitted 5 business days or more before the class start date. To request a refund, log in to your account, go to “My Account,” select the “Orders” tab on the left-hand side, click the appropriate order, and request a refund for your specific class. Administrative fees apply. Please see our full refund policy here.
In general, we do not record classes. However, an exception if a student has specific access needs.
We encourage students to only sign up for classes that fit with their schedule.
We do not tolerate racist, sexist, homophobic, ableist, transphobic or any other oppressive behaviors, regardless of who commits them. Please check out our full community guidelines by clicking here. If an instance of community guidelines are violated and not resolved within the classroom, students may let us know by filling out the student incident report.
If Hugo House needs to cancel a class for any reason, you’ll receive a full refund.
You can apply for a scholarship by clicking the red “Request a Scholarship” text on class pages. The scholarship request text is located at the top of each class page, underneath the “add to cart” button.
Due to the limited number of scholarships, please only request up to two scholarships for two different classes per quarter if you truly meet the financial need requirements.
Hugo House members get to register early for classes – a full week before they open to the general public!, receive a 10% discount on events and classes, and more. See the full list of membership benefits here!
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