Cary Playwrights’ Forum Holding Free Workshop for Veterans
Cary, NC – The arts are a way for many people to express themselves and the Cary Playwrights’ Forum (CPF) is looking to get more people involved with a free playwriting workshop in August for veterans and active military members.
Expressing Yourself
CPF has held playwriting workshops in the past but Lydia Sbityakov, CPF’s chair, said this is the first year they have done a class specifically for members of the military.
“Someone on our board talked to a member of the VFW and they started chatting about how we might have some veterans in the area who would be interested and we thought it was a cool idea,” Sbityakov said.
The classes, which will run on Thursdays in August, are led by Ian Finley who will work with the students to find what they want to express, and Sbityakov said there is no push to make these plays be about military experience.
“He’ll work with the students to see what they get out of it. It’s all up to the students,” Sbityakov said.
The Important Fundamentals
In the August classes for veterans, they will focus on the important elements of a play: plot, set, characters, dialogue and structure. While these are fundamentals, Sbityakov said playwrights of any experience level still need to focus on them.
“No matter how experienced you are, the fundamentals are always important,” she said.
And when it comes to self-expression, Sbityakov said playwriting and the theater give people an outlet that does not fit in other formats.
“When you’re talking to your friends, you want to express the full magnitude of your feelings but you don’t have two hours to just talk,” she said. “Sometimes you need that time. You can get things off your chest.”
If you or someone you know are interested in participating in the veterans’ workshop, contact Lydia Sbityakov.
CPF is also accepting short play submissions for their Bar Plays show in November, and for the CPF Radio Hour to be read on-air, Tuesday nights at 9 PM on WCOM 103.5 FM.
Story by Michael Papich. Photos by Bruce Guenter.
