Professional writers increasingly work in multiple modes of expression. In the playwriting and screenwriting BA program at Purchase College, students learn to write for both the stage and the screen through studies that engage with these disciplines at the introductory through advanced level. After the foundation courses, writers can choose to continue to study both playwriting and screenwriting or to focus exclusively on one craft.
The curriculum helps students develop a sophisticated eye and gain a deeper understanding of the art and craft involved in making theatre and film. Being at Purchase means a professional approach—working alongside talented film and theatre majors, actors, theatre designers, musicians, visual artists, and dancers in a world-renowned artistic community few other schools can provide. The college’s proximity to New York City provides a distinct advantage: students are taught by industry professionals and have access to all the culture and excitement the city has to offer, and to theatre, film, and television production facilities for their studies and internships. The affordability of Purchase is vital to the economic freedom needed in pursuing a career as a dramatic writer.
The program includes required and elective courses in playwriting and screenwriting; theatre and film history; writing for television, new media, and documentaries; and directing for both stage and screen. Because playwriting and screenwriting are performance arts, students are encouraged to present their work to an audience as much as possible. In their final year, students work with a faculty mentor to develop a substantial senior project: a full-length play, feature-length screenplay, teleplay, or documentary script. Other courses provide the student with portfolio materials in the form of writing samples, both on the page and short works on the screen.
This BA program also provides a solid foundation in the liberal arts, with majors required to complete a minor in a non-theater/film related field of study. This still leaves plenty of room for students to explore other interests, including study abroad programs—all of which enriches their sensibilities as dramatic writers.
The program also offers a minor in playwriting and a minor in screenwriting, open to students in all disciplines.
Note for Transfer Students
Students interested in transferring from another school into this BA program and earning the degree in four semesters (entering as a junior) should be aware that they must have already taken:
introductory screenwriting
introductory playwriting
at least one semester of either theatre or cinema history (recommended)
Junior transfers must register for PSW 2000 and 2010 in their first semester.
THP 2885/Theatre Histories I or THP 2890/Theatre Histories II: 3 credits
*Students must earn a minimum grade of C- in PSW 1000 and PSW 1010 in order to continue in the sequence to PSW 2000 and PSW 2010, respectively.
Electives: 17 credits**
Students choose their electives in consultation with their faculty advisor. At least 10 of the 17 credits must be upper level. Courses in the list of examples are subject to change, and new courses may be added.
**A minimum grade of C- is required for any elective pre-requisites.
Synthesis courses: 14 credits
PSW 3880/Junior Seminar: 4 credits***
PSW 4880/Senior Colloquium in Playwriting and Screenwriting: 2 credits
SPJ 4990/Senior Project I: 4 credits
SPJ 4991/Senior Project II: 4 credits
***A minimum grade of C- is required in the Junior Seminar as pre-requisite for the Senior Project.
CIN 1510/Introduction to Cinema Studies II COM 3701/The Business of Writing PSW 1030/Improv for the Writer PSW 1250/Plays and Playgoing PSW2200/Intersectional Playwriting PSW 3000/Screenwriting III PSW 3120/The Writer and the Documentary PSW 3130/Site-Specific Playwriting PSW 3150/How to Say It: Pitch Sessions and Public Speaking for Writers PSW 3155/The Art of Rewriting: Killing Our Darlings PSW 3200/Playwriting III PSW 3230/Writers’ Scene Workshop PSW 3300/Writing for Television PSW3305/History of the American Musical PSW 3310/Book Writing: Story Structure in Musical Theatre PSW3320/Northern Ireland: The Role of the Artist in Peacebuilding PSW 3400/The TV Writer’s Room PSW 3500/Documentary Theatre: Performing Real Life PSW 3600/Songwriting for the Musical PSW 4150/Making New Plays THP 2205/Shakespeare Then and Now THP 3725/Adapting Literature for Performance
Minor Requirements: 20 Credits
Students must complete a minor in an approved area of study in Liberal Arts and Sciences, after consultation and approval from their advisor. Excluded from the list of approved minors are: Arts Management, Film/Video Production, Music, Theatre and Performance, Television and Theory Practice, Creative Writing, Communications and Visual Arts, Journalism.
For students declaring an additional major in one of the approved fields, the minor requirement is waived. In certain circumstances students may be approved to take an alternate course of study in lieu of the minor, in consultation with their advisor.
Playwriting and Screenwriting Double Majors
All Playwriting and Screenwriting double majors are required to take Junior Seminar in either playwriting or screenwriting. However, if a double major’s senior project is focused only in their second area of study (not Playwriting and Screenwriting), the Playwriting and Screenwriting Senior Project and Senior Colloquium are not required.
An introduction to the basic techniques of writing for the stage, beginning with the story. Multiple short writing assignments emphasize character, plot, diction, subtext, and meaning. They include writing from personal experience, adapting a short story and a classical play, and using a current news story as inspiration. Students discuss Aristotle’s elements as they pertain to the scene, apply basic elements of the craft, read several short plays, and attend performances on campus and in New York City.
Credits: 4
Department: Playwriting and Screenwriting
Introduces the student to writing a dramatic story for the screen, placing an emphasis on discovery, good work habits, critical assessment, and rewriting as essential to the professional writer. Through numerous assignments, students learn the basics of dramatic story structure, revealing character, writing dialogue, genre, and use of story suspense. All techniques are applied in a final short screenplay.
Credits: 4
Department: Playwriting and Screenwriting
Study the art of improvisation and apply its rules to dramatic writing. Look at artists across mediums who have used improvisatory methods to develop their work. Through written and performed games and exercises learn to create “in the moment;” imagining characters, settings, and worlds for plays and screenplays on our feet.
Credits: 3
Department: Playwriting and Screenwriting
Learn the fundamentals of television (episodic/serial) writing. All aspects of dramatic storytelling in the episodic/serial form will be covered - from proper formatting to television's various dramatic structures and genres. Students will complete exercises that reinforce the concepts and present these for in-class workshops.
Credits: 4
Department: Playwriting and Screenwriting
What makes a play alive, provocative, and vital? Using classics of dramatic literature as well as plays that are new to the stage, students read and study the ideas and mechanics of the play. An examination of some key texts and theories, including Aristotle’s Poetics, Brecht’s Epic Theatre, Artaud’s Theatre of Cruelty, and Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed lead to a fresh look at the old and the new. Students attend plays on campus and in New York City, and meet some of today’s leading theatre artists.
Credits: 4
PREREQ: PSW1000
Department: Playwriting and Screenwriting
Using an existing short piece of fiction, students delineate the elements of the story, experiencing their importance and power; translate the short story into a screenplay for a narrative film; and complete two drafts of a 25-page screenplay. In the process, they learn the techniques of adaptation for the screen and a deeper level of dramatic story structure. Emphasis is on discovering the dramatic character when evaluating the merits of a particular adaptation, which extends to evaluating one’s own ideas for a screenplay; introducing genre and story types; and research as a dramatist’s fundamental tool.
Credits: 4
PREREQ: PSW1010
Department: Playwriting and Screenwriting
Building on PSW 1000, students read and attend new plays, develop in-class writing exercises, and then write and revise a 30-page play.
Credits: 4
PREREQ: PSW1000 Or THP3590
Department: Playwriting and Screenwriting
While theatre features more BIPOC artists than ever, there exist de facto racial silos – Black stories, Latinx stories, indigenous stories, Asian stories. Where are Latinx-Asian narratives, or Indigenous and Black characters sharing the stage? In this course, students will read and write plays that feature relationships amongst characters from different BIPOC communities, creating theatre that reflects our present and future.
Credits: 4
PREREQ: PSW1000
Department: Playwriting and Screenwriting
An introduction to full-length narrative and the three-act structure. The art and craft of screenwriting are explored through analysis and developing, writing, and rewriting a longer screenplay (60 pages), with an emphasis on what Hollywood looks for in a screenplay. Techniques covered include voice-over, establishing shots, montages, and creating tension and payoff. The business of the screenwriter, how to pitch, and finding work/selling a screenplay are also covered.
Credits: 4
PREREQ: PSW2000
Department: Playwriting and Screenwriting
In recent years, opportunities in nonfiction work have grown significantly. In this course, students screen and analyze documentary films, and produce their own short nonfiction film on digital video. Field assignments include researching and conducting interviews; written assignments include narration exercises, documentary summaries, and scripts. Students also learn the basics of Final Cut Pro editing software.
Credits: 4
Department: Playwriting and Screenwriting
Explores techniques for developing narrative and dramatic structures in specific spaces/sites. Students read, view, and discuss sample works and theoretical investigation as a means to contextualize our inquiry, while also doing a series of ‘building block’ exercises both in and out of the classroom. Small modular writing assignments build to a final full-length piece.
Credits: 4
PREREQ: PSW1010
Department: Playwriting and Screenwriting
An exploration of revision techniques and strategies in a workshop environment. Students revise existing material through examinations of character, dialogue, and structure; text analysis; and other tools. First drafts and production drafts of contemporary American plays are also studied and discussed.
Credits: 4
Department: Playwriting and Screenwriting
Students research, gather, and incorporate ideas from a variety of sources to write a new full-length play. Weekly readings of plays are paired with focused writing exercises. The course culminates in a public reading of excerpts from students’ completed plays. Students also explore the business of playwriting, touring a theatre in New York City and meeting with artistic staff.
Credits: 4
PREREQ: PSW2010 Or THP3591
Department: Playwriting and Screenwriting
Students bring their screenwriting to a professional level by learning the deep anatomy of the scene. Students look at their writing from the perspective of the director and learn to craft scenes that have what these collaborators look for in a text. Whether writing for film or television (or theater), well-crafted scenes are essential for a script directors will want to direct and actors will want to act. Students practice the director’s craft by realizing their own original scene on digital video, giving them new insight in to the writing process. The aspects of directing, producing, casting, editing and other areas are also essential for writers interested in one day becoming showrunners or making their own work.
Credits: 4
PREREQ: PSW2000
Department: Playwriting and Screenwriting
Screenings and discussion of various forms of the medium, including the sitcom, television movies, and documentary and experimental forms. Students write a script that is critiqued in class and rewritten, with concentration on the world of the story, tone, character, style, dramatic tension, pacing, and evolving narrative.
Credits: 4
PREREQ: PSW1010 Or PSW1050
Department: Playwriting and Screenwriting
Examines the history and craft of storytelling in musical theatre. Students consider song topic and placement to structure a short original musical. The ability to read and write music is not required.
Credits: 4
PREREQ: PSW1000 And PSW1010
Department: Playwriting and Screenwriting
Students are introduced to the history of Northern Ireland and the legacy of The Troubles. Through lectures, workshops, and experiential field work, students explore the power of the arts to promote healing, understanding, and transformation within a conflict/post-conflict society. Working in partnership with local artists in Belfast, students create socially engaged art during a residency with our core partner, The MAC.
Credits: 6
Department: Playwriting and Screenwriting
Students experience the real-world model of collaboratively writing a television series in a “writer’s room.” With the instructor as “show runner,” the class creates a half-hour series and together writes a pilot episode. Each student then writes an episode for the series. Episodic story structure, weaving multiple story lines, the tradition television series, and newly emerging variations are covered.
Credits: 4
PREREQ: PSW1010 Or PSW1050
Department: Playwriting and Screenwriting
The landscape of short-form, online, episodic storytelling is surveyed, and each student is required to conceive a short-form episodic series, create the show “bible,” and write and produce a pilot “webisode” for that series. Emphasis is on story structure and telling a story in a nontraditional form.
Credits: 4
PREREQ: PSW1010
Department: Playwriting and Screenwriting
Students will gain an understanding of the craft of writing and combining lyrics and music. Focus is placed on the process of artistic collaboration as librettists and composers are paired to create original songs. Students will also survey musical writing teams and repertoire. Composers must have the ability to create scores and regularly perform their work.
Credits: 4
Department: Playwriting and Screenwriting
Students develop ideas for their senior project—a play or screenplay. They research, develop, and present their scenarios to the class for response and critique.
Credits: 4
PREREQ: PSW2000 And PSW2010 And (CIN1500 Or CIN1510 Or CIN1030 ) And (THP2885 Or THP2890 )
Department: Playwriting and Screenwriting
Writers and actors learn tools for working together on new plays. Taught by a playwright and a director, the class studies different collaborative models, including devised theatre, and explores communication strategies for working through creative friction. The course culminates in a final showcase on campus.
Credits: 3
Department: Playwriting and Screenwriting
During the solitary pursuit of writing their first full-length play or screenplay, students come together regularly to share in-process work for feedback and critique. A completion schedule is created, and assignments are given to aid in the scriptwriting discovery process. Classes are also devoted to visiting professionals who relate their experiences in the business of being a playwright or screenwriter.
Since actual course offerings vary from semester to semester, students should consult the myHeliotropecourse schedule to determine whether a particular course is offered in a given semester.
Information Changes
In preparing the College Catalog, every effort is made to provide pertinent and accurate information. However, information contained in the catalog is subject to change, and Purchase College assumes no liability for catalog errors or omissions. Updates and new academic policies or programs will appear in the college’s information notices and will be noted in the online catalog.
It is the responsibility of each student to ascertain current information (particularly degree and major requirements) through frequent reference to current materials and consultation with the student’s faculty advisor, chair or director, and related offices (e.g., enrollment services, advising center).
Notwithstanding anything contained in the catalog, Purchase College expressly reserves the right, whenever it deems advisable, to change or modify its schedule of tuition and fees; withdraw, cancel, reschedule, or modify any course, program of study, degree, or any requirement or policy in connection with the foregoing; and to change or modify any academic or other policy.