Our Masterclass series connects Northern playwrights through in-person and online workshops, offering a creative space to investigate the craft of writing for stage, screen and radio. Led by writers and creatives, workshops interrogate various topics and explore different approaches to writing.
Registration is Pay What You Decide (PWYD) donation (minimum £1). All donations go directly towards our PlayMakers Appeal with every penny raised reinvested in Northern playwrights and theatremakers.
Upcoming Masterclasses 2026
Page to Stage: The Writer in the Room
Live Theatre, Newcastle | Tues 17 February 5pm
Hearing your words spoken aloud by an actor for the first time is both exciting and terrifying. The story that existed solely in your head is now out in the world. Collaboration is key to making theatre, but how do you move from flying solo to being part of a bigger creative team? Join Box of Tricks’ Joint Artistic Director Hannah Tyrrell-Pinder for a practical exploration of the playwright’s role in the development process and how you make the leap from page to stage.
Off Roading: Exploring Rural Touring
Leeds Playhouse | Tues 28 April 6pm
Discover how to take theatre beyond traditional stages and into the heart of communities. Join Box of Tricks’ Artistic Director Adam Quayle for a dynamic, practical workshop exploring rural touring, forging local connections and bringing bold new stories to village halls, libraries, pubs and community spaces.
Masterclass Video Archive
≡ Click on the Playlist icon (top right of video) to select which Masterclass you want to watch.
Season Five: May - July 2025
PlayMakers' Masterclasses were in-person in venues right across the North:
1. Building Worlds: People, Places and Things with Lauren-Nicole Mayes (Royal Exchange Manchester)
2. Small/Scale: Ambitious writing for small casts with Tommo Fowler (Liverpool Everyman)
3. Two's company: Writing for two characters with Dermot Daly (Leeds Playhouse)
4. Path Finding: The Playwright’s Relationship with a Director/Dramaturg with Adam Quayle (Live Theatre Newcastle)
5. Spoken Words: Poetry in Theatre with Testament (Leeds Playhouse)
Season Four: October 2022 - January 2023
Check out our video archive of Masterclasses: Season Four...
1. Deconstructing Good with Luke Barnes
2. From Page to Screen: Adapting a Novel with Ella Greenhill
3. Stories of Self with David Judge
4. Outlines, treatments and pitches with Becky Prestwich
5. Structure Serving Narrative with Daneka Etchells
6. Finding Your Voice as a Writer with Conway McDermott
≡ Click on the Playlist icon (top right of video) to select which Masterclass you want to watch.
Season Three: November 2021 - March 2022
Check out our video archive of Masterclasses: Season Three...
1. Breaking the Fourth Wall: Writing for non-theatrical spaces with Becky Prestwich & Alison Carr
2. Endings: Finishing that Play with Patrick Hughes
3. Finding Inspiration with Siân Owen
4. Theatre in Translation with Danny Millar
5. Writing a One Person Show with Rob Ward
6. Q&A with Vinay Patel
≡ Click on the Playlist icon (top right of video) to select which Masterclass you want to watch.
Season Two: April - June 2021
Check out our video archive of Masterclasses: Season Two...
1. Karla-Marie Sweet: Surviving the Industry
2. Billie Collins: Developing Your First Play
3. Ella Greenhill: Writing for Continuing Drama
4. Lindsay Rodden: The Early Days of a Better Nation
5. Furquan Akhtar: Q&A on writing for TV and Radio
6. Chris Hoyle: Writing Dialogue
≡ Click on the Playlist icon (top right of video) to select which Masterclass you want to watch.
Season One: July - October 2020
Check out our video archive of Masterclasses: Season One...
1. Exercise for Creative Muscles with David Judge
2. Group Dynamics with Tom Morton-Smith
3. Character & Dialogue with Chris Hoyle
4. Storytelling Devices with Keisha Thompson
5. Redrafting - Preliminary Exercise with Becky Prestwich
6. Redrafting with Becky Prestwich
7. Writing Theatrically with Lizzie Nunnery
8. Q&A with playwright Alison Carr
9. Writing Pantomime with Al Lockhart-Morley
≡ Click on the Playlist icon (top right of video) to select which Masterclass you want to watch.