Saturday, March 15, and Saturday, March 22, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Uxbridge Public Library
$40 fee for both classes

This fall, the well-loved Uxbridge Celebration of the Arts (COTA) will add a new activity: a “Short Play” Writing Contest. In preparation for this exciting event, the COTA executive will offer a workshop on how to write a short (10 minutes or under) play. The two-part workshop (requiring a fee of $40 total) will be held on Saturday, March 15, and Saturday, March 22, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Uxbridge Public Library, and will be conducted by experienced playwright Rich Helms.

“In addition to taking courses at George Brown College and Toronto Metropolitan University, I completed a Graduate Certificate in Playwriting from the Humber School for Writers,” Helms says. “Two of the plays I wrote with my wife, Dorothea Helms, have been produced—one in Port Perry and the other in Dublin, Ohio. Many short play festivals calls for entry limit the length to a maximum of10 minutes. It may sound simple, but it can be a challenge.”

Participants do not need previous playwriting experience to join. The first class is a tutorial covering play structure, script formatting, playwright groups, etc. For the second class, students will bring a one-minute (yes, that’s one-minute) play they’ve written to be read and discussed. “It’s going to be fun,” Helms adds, “and we hope to awaken a passion for yet another branch of the arts.”

Want to write a play but have no idea where to start? Getting a full length play produced is a challenge, but there are many “Short Play Festival” calls for entry. A short play has three main characteristics:

1. It should be 10 or fewer minutes long
2. It should have four or fewer characters
3. It should require no elaborate costumes, set or props.

Sounds simple, but as Mark Twain wrote, “I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.” The class is being taught by Rich Helms. I quickly learned that writing a short play was fun but challenging.

The 10-minute play “Dear Angie” took my wife and I about 30 person hours to write.

1. On Saturday, May 11, 2024, Theatre On The Ridge in Port Perry performed our play “Dear Angie” that Dorothea and I wrote as part of the Snapshots Short Play Festival. We also won the Audience Choice Award.
   • The 2025 call is out, deadline April 1, 2025. We will discuss with some of our thinking on our entry for this year.
2. On Jan 31, February 1,2, 2025 our short play “On the Edge” premiered at Stage Right Theatrics‘ annual theatre festival 2025 at the Abbey Theater of Dublin in Dublin, OH.

Through my journey, I found groups, organizations, websites and other resources. My purpose in designing this course is to teach the basics and provide a comfortable environment for participants to write a short play.

Class 1 – Tutorial

Saturday March 15, 2025 2-4 PM, Uxbridge Public Library
Cost $40 total for both classes

• Each student will be given access to the online materials
• Play structure. We will dissect two short plays
• Script formatting with templates
• Groups of fellow playwrights
• Facebook Playwright Groups
• New Play Exchange (NPX)
• How to find short play festivals

Class 2 – YOUR 1 Minute Play

Saturday March 22, 2025 2-4 PM, Uxbridge Public Library

• Student will bring a 1 min play they wrote. Can be a scene or part.
• Script will be read and discussed.

(eTransfer $40 to writer@wsws.ca to register) Have questions and to register, email Rich Helms rich@richhelms.ca

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