Playwrights have turned to the Denver Center for the Performing Arts to hone their craft since it opened in 1979 whether attending playwriting classes or submitting scripts for consideration. As the area and its cultural options have grown, it’s little wonder that other opportunities for aspiring writers have come onto the scene, namely Lighthouse Writers Workshop (LWW).

LWW’s dramatic writing community has expanded tremendously since Documentary Filmmaker and Screenwriter Alexandre O. Philippe began offering workshops in 2000. Ostensibly geared toward screenwriters, playwrights also found the classes welcoming and instructive, informed by LWW’s commitment to the writer’s personal and professional growth.  Terry Dodd was the first instructor who exclusively taught playwriting while screenwriters Matt Ferner and Jenny Taylor-Whitehorn soon came on board. Actor and Playwright Michael Catlin brought his focus on “Story” to the curriculum. Upon Dodd’s passing, Melissa Lucero McCarl, award-winning playwright of Painted Bread and Poignant Irritations, assumed the responsibilities of guiding the playwriting aspects of LWW’s writing program and continues to do so today.

While many come to Lighthouse with a well-defined choice of preferred genre in which to write, others come with an itch, an idea, a story aching to be told. LWW provides the opportunity to explore a variety of literary experiences. It is not uncommon for a writer to discover that what she/he/they had originally envisioned as a novel is actually better expressed via the vehicle of poetry or as short story, movie script, or yes, even a play.

Photo by Seth McConnell for Denver Business Journal

Playwrights at Lighthouse find the support and resources necessary to focus on story development and the structural foundations of their work. “Actors can only do so much with a crappy script,” says Genna Kohlhardt, Director of Adult Programs. “A play is more than just characters and dialogue. Our classes offer playwrights the opportunity to explore the parts of a story that they may initially overlook – conflict, structure, narrative arc, setting – these and other elements all come together to write a script that can serve as the basis for an incredible theatrical experience.”

As a Teaching Artist, McCarl is committed to creating safe spaces where playwrights can take risks. With every class, she facilitates the creation of a group agreement, or covenant, to define safety for that group and to serve as a set of guiding principles. She is committed to helping her students understand the ground rules of the stage so that they can choose when to adhere to them and when to break them. In Poignant Irritations, a play that explores the complex relationship between Gertrude Stein and Alice Toklas, McCarl has the actors switch roles at intermission to illustrate their “twinship.”

LWW hosts LitFest, an annual 8-day literary conference, every June. More than an offering of workshops, participants enjoy readings, salons, business panels, and opportunities to engage directly with literary luminaries. Playwrights who have attended and taught at LitFest include established Broadway playwright Daniel Goldfarb and MacArthur Fellowship recipient and playwright Sarah Ruhl among others.

LWW has also had writers featured at the DCPA’s Colorado New Play Summit, including Book Project Mentor Vauhini Vara in 2024.

Several Dramatic Writing faculty members have taught at both LWW and the DCPA. When asked about programmatic differences, they stress that both organizations provide high quality instruction. DCPA provides greater access to actors; LWW allows for greater exploration of a variety of literary forms. However, since LWW has moved to its new location at 3844 York Street, faculty members do agree about one thing – Lighthouse has plenty of free, accessible parking. That alone is worth the price of admission.

For more information contact:
Lighthouse Writers Workshop
3844 York St. Denver, CO 80205
303.297.1185
Info@LighthouseWriters.org

Twanna LaTrice Hill is a teaching artist, actor and director who has published works of fiction and nonfiction and penned two plays that have been produced and performed in the Denver metro area. Princeton/Harvard/Regis educated and a trained Sovietologist, she is currently seeking representation for her first memoir, What’s Done in the Dark.