Following on from Richard James Allen’s Finding Your Story workshop, this workshop will support you to develop the theme of your big idea and its unique potential through dramatic storytelling as a scriptwriter.

Participants will work closely with Richard to interrogate the authenticity of your story idea and how it will resonate with an audience through telling. This workshop is a highly interactive craft workshop to develop and refine a specific idea for your next play or film.

Participants will:

• Extend and develop the idea they initiated in part one of the workshop series (Finding Your Story)
• Work on understanding what you really care about as a writer
• Explore the characters, story-worlds and plot designs that will bring your themes and ideas to life
• Leave with direction for the next steps of developing your big idea.

This workshop is part two of a two-part workshop series with Richard James Allen. It is recommended that you register for and attend both but not compulsory. Register for part one “Finding Your Story” here.

This workshop is presented by the Writers SA No Limits: Young Regional Writers program, however all ages and locations are very welcome to attend this online workshop.

About Richard James Allen

Richard James Allen (Pronouns: He/Him), is an Australian poet, born in Kempsey, New South Wales, on the unceded lands of the Dunghutti People. He now lives on the lands of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation, in Redfern, a centre of Indigenous migration and a hub of Aboriginal activism for many years. Richard’s writing has appeared widely in journals, anthologies, and online, and he has been a popular reader at multiple performing arts venues, over many years. In 2021, his first novel, More Lies, was published by Interactive Press. In 2019, a collection of poetry, The short story of you and I, was published by UWA Publishing, and a suite of poems, Minimum Correct Dosage, was commissioned by Red Room Poetry. Previous critically acclaimed books of poetry, fiction and performance texts include Fixing the Broken Nightingale (Flying Island Books), The Kamikaze Mind (Brandl & Schlesinger) and Thursday’s Fictions (Five Islands Press), shortlisted for the Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry. Well-known for his multi-award-winning career as a filmmaker and choreographer with The Physical TV Company (http://physicaltv.com.au/), and critically acclaimed as a performer in a range of media and contexts, Richard has a track record for innovative adaptations and interactions of poetry and other media, including collaborations with artists in dance, film, theatre, music and a range of digital platforms. A First Class Honours graduate from Sydney University, he won the Chancellor’s Award for best doctoral thesis at the University of Technology, Sydney.

WSA Member $88 / Non-member $140

No Limits (regional writers aged 30 and under) $20

No Limits workshops are heavily subsidised for regional writers aged 30 and under. If the fee is still a barrier please email [email protected] for the No Limits 50% off or 100% off code to enable you to participate. 

This workshop will be delivered via Zoom. Instructions will be emailed to you, please check your spam/junk folders. 

—Writers SA members must be logged in to receive the member discount. If you would like to use a workshop credit to book in please contact [email protected] at least five working days before the workshop commencement date. Our staff don’t work full time and we don’t want you to miss out!

—Members of other writing centres in the National Writers Centre Network can access our member discount. Contact [email protected] with your membership number to make your booking.

—Our Youth Membership category also includes a subscription to Voiceworks. Voiceworks is a national literary journal that features exciting new writing and art by young Australians. Join here.