Community Bake-Off Writing Workshop

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Masthead Image
12 October 2024 | 12:30 - 3:30pm
13 October 2024 | 12:30 - 3:30pm
Centre 42 Office
By Donation. Recommended amount of $30 is encouraged.
Sean Dunnington
Registration

Register here! Capacity limited to 12 pax, first-come-first-served.

Overview

Inspired by the legendary playwriting exercise created by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel, we invite you to join us for a creative, fast-paced, and immersive Bake-Off facilitated by our visiting resident playwright Sean Dunnington.


What is a Bake-Off?

In Paula Vogel’s own words, “a bake-off is a quickly written exercise on an assigned theme with assigned elements that folks do within a 48-hour period. It’s a conversation across time, reacting to plays and works of art, often spanning centuries. Participants gather after the writing period to read their scenes in a shared celebration of creativity.”


How does it work?

First, a classic tale will be selected as the foundation for the  Bake-Off. From this tale,  several essential elements will be identified—ideas, objects, and themes—to serve as the "ingredients" for the plays. Over the course of 48 hours, participants will create and commune.

Here's an example from a Bake-Off run by Paula Vogel herself in 2018 at the Vineyard Theatre in New York.  The assigned theme was The Pied Piper, which included the following ingredients:

  • rats
  • a rat trap
  • children
  • payment
  • a breach of contract
  • mad music

The Bake-Off was a wild rush of creativity and collaboration, with scenes crafted, shared, and celebrated in just two days. Some of these exercises even went on to become some of Sean’s favorite Off-Broadway hits. 

This workshop is open to playwrights of all levels. Build your writing toolkit and sharpen your craft through some writing exercises!


Documentation

A male-presenting person gesturing towards an easel in front of a few people.

Sean started the workshop by introducing the participants to the concept of a Bake-Off, and discussed the different elements of drama and the shapes a play can take.

Four persons seated around a table, working off their laptops.

The participants attempted an exercise Sean assigned, which tasked them to write a scene based on a random object they picked and a prompt about a promise.

A male-presenting person in a green shirt, standing beside a poster on an easel. The poster is filled with writing.

All the participants read the short story Rumpelstiltskin, and suggested the different 'ingredients' that made up the story, such as 'mystery', 'a magic man', and 'rule of threes'. Out of all the 'ingredients' suggested, ten were selected, and participants were tasked to write a short play incorporating these 'ingredients'.

A group of people seated around a table, looking at their laptops.

Participants returned on the second day of the workshop with their short plays. Each person's play was read aloud by fellow participants, giving everyone the opportunity to hear how different people incorporated the 'ingredients' in various ways.

A large group of people seated around some tables, smiling into the camera.

Thank you to our participants for joining us at the Community Bake-Off Writing Workshop. We loved hearing everyone's short plays, and spending two days discussing theatre together! 


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