Stage Writing Workshop

Reports concerning the scarcity or absence of living Portuguese playwrights are greatly exaggerated. This Self-Defense Handbook is not an attempt at rescuing a species from extinction, but rather a leap of faith regarding the possibility of its assisted reproduction. Over seven months of intense work, teacher and playwright Jorge Louraço Figueira will guide the participants towards the ultimate goal of any workshop – figuratively, “the place where a remarkable transformation occurs”. A space where ideas are transmuted into texts, where each author writes their play in permanent dialogue with the workshop coordinator and in confrontation with the other authors. Primarily aimed at former students of ESMAE’s Dramaturgy and Screenwriting post-graduation course – thus offering them a new stage of active –, this workshop also welcomes playwrights whose work has been published or performed. Manual de Autodefesa para Dramaturgos Vivos is not a lightning operation. A long expanse of time is provided for the maturation of the creative process, combining the collective discussion of individual productions with the solitary exercise of writing.