Designed to assist aspiring writers in their development through a great variety of projects reflecting the range of contemporary theater. After a series of introductory exercises, students will choose to concentrate on the writing of a play lasting not more than 30 minutes, the development of a one-person performance piece, a group performance piece, or on the adaptation of existing material for the stage.

The course culminates in Playwrights Week, a six-day intensive period in which up to fifteen of the "works in progress" are staged. Professional playwrights, directors, or actors are invited to respond to these staged readings. Recent responders have included Scott Richards, faculty member at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, playwright and composer; Kia Corthron, playwright; Keith Reddin, playwright; and Juanita Rockwell, director, producer, and faculty member at Towson University MFA Program.

The playwriting work at NTI is complemented by the Playwrights Colloquia Series. One or two times every semester a professional playwright joins us at The O'Neill for a discussion of his or her recent work and an exchange of ideas with the students. Recent guests have included: Paula Vogel, Pulitzer Prize winner for Baltimore Waltz and How I Learned to Drive; Dmitry Lipkin, author of Skitaletz, or The Wanderer, developed at the O'Neill Playwrights Conference; Kia Corthron, whose play Breath, Boom has been produced at Playwrights Horizons and Yale Rep; and Diana Son, author of Stop Kiss.