Creating Characters Through Habit and Ritual, with Kira Rockwell

By nature, humans are ritualistic beings. From brewing our morning coffee to tending our gardens, we are steeped in habits that define our day-to-day lives and hint at our deeper histories. When explored in your work, these small moments of ritual, either sacred or secular, provide a treasure trove of character action and development. Through a variety of writing exercises, in-class discussions of published work, and plenty of time to share, writers will explore how detailing the rituals of their characters’ lives can add critical action and characterization to their works in progress. This workshop will primarily be taught from a playwriting lens, but it is easily transferable to other writing genres. All writers are bound to walk away with potent scenes and a better understanding of their characters.

This workshop will be held online.

Saturday, October 30, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EST ($75)

Kira Rockwell (she/her) is a playwright from the heart of Texas. She is a 2021 Artist Fellow in Dramatic Writing with Mass Cultural Council, a recipient of the Judith Royer Excellence in Playwriting Award, as well as a Runner-up for the Princess Grace Award, among others. Her plays have been supported by The Kennedy Center, National New Play Network, Last Frontier Theatre Conference, and Third Culture Theatre in partnership with HBO and Arts for Incarcerated Youth Network, among others. Her neurodivergent love story is now available through Original Works Publishing. Rockwell has a BFA in Theatre Performance and an MFA in Playwriting from Boston University. As an educator, Rockwell has taught at Wheaton College, Boston University, Hyde Square Task Force, and Grub Street. Currently, she lives in Boston with her husband and their rescue pup, Koda.