Broadway Playwright to Teach Workshops in Ashland

   My pal Jenny Homes sends along this information about the "Get Published Expo" - a playwright workshop coming up at the end of the month at the Paramount Arts Center. 

   You can learn more about it at this website. 

   Here's the info:

Broadway Playwright Comes to Tri-state to Teach Workshops at Writing/Publishing Conference; Author Exhibit Area, Writing Contest & More 

Laura Marks is coming to the Paramount Arts Center to teach playwright workshops during the Get Published Expo on March 30. Marks, the author of several plays, comes to Kentucky following the recent close of her first Broadway production, Bethany, which premiered off-Broadway at City Center Stage through February 2013 and starred America Ferrara (Ugly Betty). 

Marks grew up in Lexington, but has lived in New York City for the past decade and recently graduated from New York's Julliard playwriting program. Marks has received numerous awards for her work and is working on another play launch in Chicago this year. 

Marks will teach two courses at the upcoming conference geared toward authors, writers and aspiring playwrights and include: "Broadway and Beyond: Writing for the New York Stage" where she'll discuss playwriting as both an art and a business. Attendees will learn about writing for stage instead of other media and how to get your play in the hands of the right people and what opportunities are available for early-career playwrights. 

Marks will teach a second event, a hands-on course where she invites writers to bring a notebook, pen and an idea and roll up their sleeves to learn timed writing exercises designed to free your impulses, unlock inspiration and generate new work. Attendees can even walk away with the beginning of a new play. 

Complete Conference Details: www.GetPublishedExpo.com. Attend an individual session for $75 or get a full-day pass to the Get Published Expo for $125. The Early Bird Registration fee is $100 for full-day pass through March 10. 

Additional workshops include How to Publish an eBook, How to Publish a print Book, Social Media Marketing for Books, Writer APPY hour and much more. A complete list of courses can be found at www.GetPublishedExpo.com. 

Authors are invited to display, sign and sell their books at the event. Author exhibit fee is $100 and includes booth space and a workshop pass to attend all sessions. Authors who just want to display and sell books can have booth space for $50. Registration for authors and attendees is available through the website. The expo is sponsored by AT&T, Greater Ashland Beacon, Clear Channel Media and Entertainment. For more information email jenny@GetPublishedExpo.com or call 606.923.3371.  

Laura Marks Bio: Marks is the author of Bethany, which premiered off-Broadway at City Center Stage II in January 2013 (produced by the Women’s Project, directed by Gaye Taylor Upchurch, starring America Ferrera). Bethany won the Leah Ryan Prize for Emerging Women Writers, was published in the UK in Methuen’s American Next Wave anthology, and was chosen by John Guare as runner-up for Yale’s David C. Horn Prize. Other plays include Mine (Princess Grace finalist; upcoming production at the Gift Theatre, Chicago) and Gather at the River. Ms. Marks recently graduated from Juilliard’s playwriting program and became a member of New Dramatists. Other honors include a 2012 Helen Merrill Award, a 2013 award from the Fellowship of Southern Writers, a two-year residency in the Public Theater’s Emerging Writers Group and two Lecomte du Nouy awards while at Juilliard. Her plays have been developed at the Public, the Women’s Project, Manhattan Theatre Club, the Black Dahlia, the Royal Exchange Theatre (UK), HighTide Festival Theatre (UK), the Wilma Theater, the Lark, Steppenwolf, Partial Comfort, Prospect Theater, Naked Angels, Synchronicity, Reverie Productions et al. and she currently holds a commission from South Coast Repertory. She’s a native of Kentucky, now living in New York City.