Our Education Mission
Bramble Education seeks to provide theatremakers with the tools to find and develop their own artistic voice. By offering a wide variety of classes and instructors, we empower students to direct their energy toward the skills and experiences that most inspire them. Our educators promote collaboration between diverse artists, exploration of new ideas and techniques, accessibility, and ensemble building. We strive for all of our students to continuously hone their skills, thrive in ensemble environments, and enrich the larger theatre community.
Bramble Education Program
UPCOMING CLASSES
All classes take place at the Bramble Arts Loft (located at 5545 N. Clark Street, 2nd Floor in Andersonville) unless noted otherwise.
Echoes and Dramatic Meaning with Dan Washelesky
May 18 & 19 at 12 PM - 3 PM
Enrollment fee: $159
"I tell you again and again most earnestly and seriously, that unless you repeat the words that I have repeated, you will throw away all the best stage effects and make the play unpopular with the actors. ... Half the art of dialogue consists in the echoing of words." -George Bernard Shaw
"What does it mean for characters to say the same thing twice? 3 times? Over and over and over and oh-vah." - Suzan-Lori Parks on her technique of Rep & Rev (Repetition and Revision)
The repetition of the same word or phrase throughout a play is an extremely common technique in dialogue, but how exactly do echoes create their layers of meaning? In this masterclass, artists will first explore the various kinds of echo and their effects on an audience, and then put this knowledge into practice by creating short scenes that unlock echo’s dramatic potential.
This masterclass is ideal for directors, devisers, playwrights, actors, critics, screenwriters, and anyone who is interested in the art of playmaking and dialogue.
Dan Washelesky (they/he) is a Chicago-based director/dramaturg, playwright, theatre administrator, and teaching artist. They completed their M.A. in Theatre and Performance Studies at Washington University in St. Louis. Dan is the Managing Director of Bramble Theatre Company and previously served as Managing Director at The Passage Theatre, Director of New Play Development at Valiant Theatre, and Head of Dramaturgy at First Run Theatre. With Steppenwolf Theatre, he assistant directed Describe the Night and The Children, provided dramaturgical support for The Rembrandt and The Doppelgänger, and script supervised workshops of La Ruta and Lindiwe. They have also worked with Avalanche Theatre, St. Louis Actors’ Studio, Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis, Eclectic Full Contact Theatre, and (remotely) Seattle-based Dacha Theatre. Dan has a particular interest in new play development and social justice theatre, such as the Forum Theatre methods of Augusto Boal and David Diamond. They have written and directed three cabarets (and counting) featuring James Gavin.
Intro to Playwriting with Alex Lubischer
An 8-week course on Tuesdays, June 4 to July 30 at 7 PM - 10 PM (NO CLASS the week of July 4)
Enrollment fee: $450
Maximum of 10 students
Application deadline: May 1
Applicants notified: May 14
Class description: Through a series of weekly writing exercises inspired by the freshest, most inventive plays of the 21st Century, aspiring playwrights will add skills to their storytelling tool belt while writing the first act of a full-length play. Students in the workshop will study plays by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Annie Baker, Rajiv Joseph, and Alistair McDowall—to name a few—paired with storytelling theory from Sarah Ruhl, Zadie Smith, Simon Stephens, and more. The course asks writers to read like thieves, not like academics: does the play move you? Could you use this structure/technique in your own plays? What is your play doing to its audience? How?
As part of the application process you will be required to submit ten pages of creative writing. It can be a ten minute play, an excerpt from a one act play, or an excerpt of a full length play. If you do not have any playwriting work, any piece of creative writing will do, including poetry, screenwriting, a short story, etc. You needn’t be a playwright to take this course. Wanting to write a play is enough!
Please submit your work as a PDF in the application form, and please be sure that your name appears on the first page.
Alex Lubischer (he/him) is a queer Midwestern writer, born and raised on a farm in Nebraska. His plays include You Deserve to Be Here (Goodman Playwrights Unit commission; Roundabout Theatre Laura Pels commission; The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting – Longlist), Pivot (Yale School of Drama, GPTC New Play Conference 2024), Do Wasps Have Desires? (Milwaukee Repertory Theater), Bobbie Clearly (Roundabout Theatre Company, Steep Theatre, Jeff Award Winner: Outstanding New Play), Weird Kids (Haven Chicago), The Quonsets (Yale Cabaret, co-written with Majkin Holmquist), and Survey No. 5 (House of International Theatre, Copenhagen). He was the 2017/18 Tow Foundation Playwright-in-Residence at Roundabout Theatre Company. He teaches playwriting at DePaul University in Chicago. MFA: Yale
Praise for Alex’s classes
“By taking Alex’s playwriting classes, I strengthened my skills as a writer by having access to his expertise, knowledge, and encouragement. Alex created an incredibly warm and collaborative learning environment which helped me and my fellow colleagues write to the best of our abilities. I highly recommend! ”
“Of the many playwriting classes I’ve taken across Chicago (and I have taken pretty much all of them), Alex Lubischer’s Intro to Playwriting was the only one that I can confidently say made me a better writer. Alex blends a perfect reading list with thoughtfully curated writing exercises that challenge playwrights to take risks with form and style in a supportive and encouraging space. Every emerging playwright should take this class if they can!”
“Alex is one of the best writing teachers I’ve ever had. His reading list taught me about so many ways to tell a story, and his exercises gave me new tools to write my own. He also knows how to create an atmosphere among his students that encourages supportive, insightful feedback.”