The Glen Rock High School Theatre Company hosted its annual Playwriting Workshop read-through on Wednesday May 14 at 7:00 pm in the Glen rock High School Cafeteria. Now only in its second year, the event is already celebrated as the last bastion for the young thespians of this school to try their hand at writing their own written plays after the year’s spring performances  are through.

In the words of a celebrated student writer and participant in the workshop Andrew Peiser, “[The playwriting workshop] is a chance for our school community to get together and attempt to create something beautiful with the theatre (pronounced: THē-ā-tər).”

With the old spring theatre coming to an end, where students had the opportunity to write, cast, and direct in their own productions, the playwriting workshop is an effective alternative which allows students to write their own short scenes and cast the actors who will read them.

In order to allow the students to get professional feedback to help the students mature as playwrights, the school also brings in John Wooten, an established playwright, to give the students constructive criticism.

With helpful “homework” such as scene breakdowns, character naming, and name your stakes, all of which Peiser says are “very effective.” Meeting every Wednesday the group soon progressed with monologues, and received feedback that allowed the playwrights to progress their play writing skills. Progressing even further, the playwrights began to write scenes and hear how the plays sounded, which was very beneficial to the play wrights.

Yet, perhaps the most help in the workshop; according to Peiser were his fellow peers, “The real way you’re helped along the way is by support. I had other people there who were going through the same thing [I] was doing.”

“They share some of the struggles; they share some of the worries and anxieties about really being able to write this.” Peiser stated. “I feel like that more than anything else helped.”

The workshop was on Wednesday May 14.