ABSTRACT
This survey of thirty undergraduate playwriting syllabi from colleges and universities across North America addresses questions about what is currently being taught in the playwriting classroom. The survey is informed by a comprehensive list of questions that represent the primary areas of inquiry within the field, drawn from a review of recent scholarship. A brief methodology section discusses in what areas this survey is, and is not, representative of national trends. The discussion section of the survey addresses questions including: Does the classroom primarily orient students to be, in Jill Dolan’s words, “artist/citizen/scholars,” or to enter a profession? Should playwriting be treated as a liberal art? Is playwriting generally taught by reading (literary, or English-studies focused) established work, or by doing/creating new work (which orients more toward theatre and production studies)? Are experimental or traditional approaches to playwriting taught more frequently? And finally, how are issues of gender and inclusion brought into the playwriting classroom? The results of the survey suggest that while some of the concerns raised by recent pedagogy literature are being addressed, there is still much room for growth.
