If you’ve been waiting for the right moment to get your play moving again, June brings a whole run of opportunities to dive back in.
Our Top of the Stack series returns — three focused online courses that guide you through the architecture of your play, act by act — followed by the WriteForTheStage Summer School in August, a full week dedicated to writing, exploring, and discovering.
Whether you’re at the spark‑of‑an‑idea stage or deep in a draft, there’s a course here to help you move forward with clarity and confidence.
Top of the Stack: The First 10 Pages
Your opening pages do a lot of heavy lifting: they set the tone, establish the world, introduce your characters, and signal the kind of story you’re telling.
In this course, we dig into:
- How to hook your reader quickly without over‑explaining
- Establishing character and conflict in a way that feels natural
- Setting up the central question that drives the play
- Finding the rhythm and energy that will carry you into Act 2
You’ll leave with a sharper, more confident opening and a clearer sense of what your play wants to be.
Your first 10 pages will be primed for catching the reader’s attention in competitions by setting up the rest of your play with writing devices that help build the focus, tension, and momentum.
This is the course for you if you’re preparing your script for competions, such as the BBC Writers Open Calls.
Top of the Stack: Act 2
Act 2 is where your protagonist aims to overcome the Problem of the World. It’s also where many writers get stuck.
This course focuses on:
- Building tension and momentum so the story keeps moving
- Deepening character journeys and sharpening motivations
- Developing complications that raise the stakes
- Structuring the middle so it feels purposeful, not saggy
By the end, you’ll have a stronger spine for your play — and a clearer roadmap for the journey to Act 3.
Top of the Stack: Act 3
Act 3 is all about landing the story with impact. In this course, we explore:
- Crafting a satisfying climax that feels earned
- Resolving character arcs with emotional clarity
- Tying up threads without tying everything in a bow
- Leaving the audience with something to carry home
You’ll work on shaping an ending that resonates — one that feels true to your characters and the world you’ve built.
☀️ WriteForTheStage Summer School (August)
A full week dedicated to writing your play. Each morning brings a guided session exploring craft, structure, and creative discovery; afternoons are for writing, sharing, and developing your script. Across the week, you’ll:
- Generate new material through practical exercises
- Explore character, structure, and story shape in depth
- Develop a writing rhythm that carries you through the week
- Work towards a short play or the beginnings of a full‑length draft
It’s a chance to immerse yourself in the joy of writing — with a supportive group alongside you.
Ready to develop your work?
We’d love you to join us for our next term of 5-week courses in June or our Summer School in August.
Don’t forget to check out our blog for tips to help you develop your next great play.
We’ll see you soon.
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