Creative Writing for Live Performance: Level 1
This six-week course will develop your creative writing skills and provide you with inspiration to bring an idea for theatre to life.
Key information:
- Course dates:
- Tuesday evenings, 22 Sep – 27 Oct 2026
- Course times:
- 7pm–9pm
- Age:
- 18+
- Art form:
- Drama | Writing
- Fees:
- £315
- Deadline:
- Bookings will close at 5pm on Friday 18 September 2026 or when the course reaches full capacity
- Level of study:
- Short Courses & Summer Schools (ages 18+)
- Mode of study:
- In-person
- Venue:
- Guildhall School of Music & Drama
- When:
- Autumn Courses (September–November) | Evening Courses
Course info
Public booking opens at 11am, Monday 6 July. Join our mailing list before Friday 3 July to receive priority booking.
Ages 18+
Course Dates & Times
Tuesday evenings on 22, 29 September, 6, 13, 20, 27* October 2026
7pm–9pm
*The last session on 27 October will last 2.5 hours
About Creative Writing for Live Performance: Level 1
This six-week course will develop your creative writing skills and provide you with inspiration to bring an idea for theatre to life. The course will focus on sparking ideas and creating theatre through text, with an active approach to playwriting and creative writing that will bring writers away from their desks.
Who is the course for?
Anyone aged 18 and over who has an idea for a story and wants to bring it to life, or anyone who wants to write for performance but doesn’t know where to start. This could be a play, a screen project, poetry, spoken word or performance art pieces.
What can I expect?
You can expect to:
- Learn how to write stories for performance
- Develop writing techniques through exercises, including improvisation
- Gain an understanding of structure, form and character development
There will be optional tasks for you to complete between each session, with the aim of having a completed piece of writing by the end of the course. You will have the opportunity to hear your writing performed by actors in the final week.
Do I need anything for the course?
- There will be required reading and a brief written exercise prior to the start of the course.
- You will be given optional homework (written and/or practical) of which completion is recommended to gain the most out of the course (about one hour per week).
- Attendance of all six sessions is recommended to allow progression of learning and for the benefit of the group as a whole.
Course Fee
£315
Public booking opens at 11am, Monday 6 July. Join our mailing list before Friday 3 July to receive priority booking.
Eligibility
- We welcome participants from all ages 18 and over
- Participants must have sufficient English language skills in order to fully engage with the course
- No prior experience required
About the Course Tutor
The course is taught by award-winning writers and performers Maddie Rice and Tom Machell.
Maddie Rice is known for her work on Fleabag (2016), Every Blank Ever (2018) and Handy (2019).
As a writer she is currently developing television projects with Apple TV, NBC Universal, AMC, Mammoth Screen, HatTrick, Rocliffe and STV and her first pilot HANDY was aired on RTE in April 2019.
Maddie is currently under commission to write a new play for SOHO Theatre and Drywrite as one of the SOHO SIX.
Her debut play Pickle Jar won the 'Three Weeks Editors award' in Edinburgh, transferred to SOHO Theatre and is now being developed for television with NBC Universal.
As an actress Maddie most recently won critical acclaim starring in the smash-hit Fleabag UK and Australian tour. She writes and performs with comedy groups zazU and Lead Pencil.
Tom Machell is an actor and award-winning writer-performer, nominated for the BBC Audio Drama Awards 2026 (Best Comedy Performance) and Best Writer at the NE Culture Awards 2025 for his BBC Radio 4 sitcom Tom and Lauren Are Going OOT, co-starring Lauren Pattison and Julian Clarey.
As an actor, his recent screen credits include Daddy Issues (BBC), Vera and Emmerdale (ITV), Hullraisers (Channel 4), and regular sketch roles on The Emily Atack Show (ITV) and Every Blank Ever (Comedy Central). Theatre highlights include an Off-Broadway debut in the Carol Tambor Award-winning Life According to Saki, Offie-nominated Outlying Islands (King’s Head Theatre), Hand to God (English Theatre Frankfurt), and multiple runs of News Revue.
As a writer, Tom is a BAFTA Connect member and winner of Best Short Script at the UK Film Festival, Los Angeles Motion Picture Film Festival, and Changing Face International Film Festival for A Spoonful. He wrote and starred in the Channel 4 comedy short Junior Doctors Padz and is a core member of award-winning comedy troupe zazU, with four sell-out runs at the Edinburgh Fringe and Soho Theatre. His debut play Ticker was published by PlayDead Press and received critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Find the Short Course that's perfect for you
Explore our Short Courses & Summer Schools
