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Fall 2025

Wicked Stagewriting: From Plays to Musicals

The Wicked Stagewriting: From Plays to Musicals Journey is designed to help develop the skills and understanding needed to work as a writer in today’s theatre industry. This Journey provides insight into the work of a playwright – a deep understanding of live storytelling and professional scripts, plays vs musicals, professional working practices, and employment strategies. We will look to popular musicals such as Wicked for inspiration in creating original pieces.

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This Journey is Closed, but You Can Pre-Enroll in a Spring 2027 Journey Now!

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Learning Objectives

Recognize Playwriting Conventions

Learn how plays and musicals are commonly structured, the roles that characters typically play, and the genres seen in the industry.

Construct a Compelling Stageplay

Practice writing a script using industry-standard stageplay formatting and layout conventions.

Identify Playwriting Resources

Explore tools, communities, and strategies for revising and workshopping a play-in-progress.

Understand Play Production

Gain insight into the steps involved in bringing a play from page to stage, including casting, rehearsals, and performance.

Wicked Stagewriting: From Plays to Musicals Community Experiences

Mentees and mentors in this Journey are required to attend the monthly Journey meetings during the cycle and the Play Showcase.

Journey Meeting Dates:

  • Monday, November 10, 2025, 7 pm ET
  • Monday, December 1, 2025, 7 pm ET
  • Monday, January 12, 2026, 7 pm ET

Play Showcase:

  • Saturday, January 31, 2026, 12 pm ET

In addition, all participants must attend at least one community event each month, with strong recommendations to join Exploratory Community Studios, College & Career Chats, or Salon Experiences.

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Journey Circle: Community

Writing for the Stage: From Plays to Musicals Courses

Writing for the Stage: From Plays to Musicals
This course is designed to help develop the skills and understanding needed to work as a writer in today’s theatre industry. Writing for the Stage: From Plays to Musicals provides insight into the work of a scriptwriter – a deep understanding of live storytelling and professional scripts, short-form and full-length scripts, professional working practices, and employment strategies. Specific topics range from story structure to librettos to actually staging the play.

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Writing

Wicked Stagewriting: From Plays to Musicals Mentoring

Mentees and mentors in the Wicked Stagewriting Journey will be matched for one cycle. Pairs will meet for at least two hour-long sessions each month. Mentees will write a short play, while mentors will offer support and guidance throughout the process. This Journey is open to both mentor-mentee pairs and peer-to-peer pairs.

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Journey Teaching Artist

Carmen Rivera

(she/her/ella)

Carmen Rivera holds an MA in Playwriting and Latin American Theatre from New York University. Her play, La Gringa, was part of the OBIE Award Winning Series New Voices in 1996 and recently celebrated its 29th year anniversary in repertory at Repertorio Español. It is now the longest running Spanish-language play in Off-Broadway history. It was published in both English and Spanish by Concord Theatrical Productions (Formerly Samuel French.)  

Off-Broadway productions include: Celia: The Life and Music of Celia Cruz (Co-Written with Cándido Tirado) – (HOLA Award, Outstanding Achievement in Playwriting); La Lupe: My Life, My Destiny (ACE Award – Best Production); Julia de Burgos: Child of Water; To Catch The Lightning (Nomination ACE Award – Best Production.) 

La Caída De Rafael Trujillo (The Downfall of Rafael Trujillo) – (ATI Award for Best Production) has had 4 sold out productions at Teatro Círculo. It is now available at Theatrical Rights Worldwide (TRW) in both English and in Spanish.

Carmen has been the recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), ATT On-Stage and New York State Council of the Arts (NYSCA). For more information on Carmen, check out www.carmenrivera-writer.com.

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Wicked Stagewriting: From Plays to Musicals

What Past Participants Have to Say

“I’m excited for Nigella’s experience and future experiences with GWN. She grew in terms of confidence and made some friends along the way. Additionally, she has decided to apply for Teach for America. We worked on a variety of things outside of her Collaboratory assignment, including her resume and application.”
​​Bronwen Pelish
“Writing scripts was a new experience for my mentee, so she gained confidence in a different style of writing and expanded her skillset there.”
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Brittany Crowell Mentor
“Collaborating with other peers and my mentor was the most valuable part of the program. I joined GWN to meet more writers like myself and join a diverse community. I was glad to interact with people who had similar goals as I did. I started with the goals of writing more often, obtaining more career readiness tips and overall communication with a like-minded individual. I was able to find that and reestablish a routine around writing but also a daily routine I could adhere to for more structure in my life.”
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Nigella McConnell Mentee
“The thing that I appreciated about this journey is the fact that we had a Teaching Artist who works in the industry. She was really helpful and open to ideas and encouraging. I felt comfortable sharing my work with others as well.”
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La’Tia Owens Mentee

Journeys in the Script 360 Adventure focus on writing for film, television, and the stage. It is recommended for mentees and mentors who would like to create their own plays, screenplays, or teleplays.

Wicked Stagewriting: From Plays to Musicals is a Journey in the Script 360 Adventure.

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Independent Study (Spring 2027)

Create your own experience with our Independent Study Journey. Mentees and mentors meet as a pair, attend events of interest, and use coursework to support creative projects and personal goals. Along the way, you can connect with others during a mid-cycle mixer designed to spark inspiration, share ideas, and build community. The Journey culminates in a showcase where participants present the work they have developed throughout the cycle and celebrate their accomplishments together. Mentees and mentors will benefit by gaining greater independence in their learning, deepening their creative practice, and building meaningful connections while pursuing self-directed goals.

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Teach GWN (Spring 2027)

In this Journey, members of the GWN community will develop curriculum and facilitate a Community Studio for one or more cycles within GWN’s Collaboratory structure. Each cycle involves facilitating three Community Studios, one per month. Mentees and mentors will gain valuable skills in leadership, teaching, and community building. Mentees and mentors can facilitate a Community Studio either independently (if they are 18 or older) or together as a pair.

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Screenwriting: Crafting Short Film Stories (Spring 2027)

This two-cycle Journey guides participants from crafting a short film script to bringing it to life on screen. In the first cycle, mentors and mentees focus on developing compelling stories, dynamic characters, and engaging dialogue, learning the essentials of screenwriting for short films. In the second cycle, participants move from script to screen, exploring the practical aspects of video production, including planning, collaboration, and bringing their creative vision to life. By the end of the journey, mentees will have both a polished script and hands-on experience in producing their own short film.

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Girls Write Now Girls Write Now .

Life Lines: Crafting Memoir (Part 1) (Spring 2027)

In this three-cycle Journey, writers will get the support and expert industry insight they need to write their memoir. In the first three-month cycle, participants will outline, structure their book, and begin their first drafts; in the second three-month cycle, participants will write and workshop their drafts; and in the third cycle, participants will finish their drafts and write their book proposals.

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