UPDATE! THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED
Dates: Thursday, October 2, through Saturday, October 4, 2025
Time: Noon – 4:00 PM (each day).
Location: Boreal Theater in downtown Millinocket, Maine.
Cost: $25 per person (includes all three days). Four sponsored slots are available.
This engaging three-day workshop is designed for aspiring writers of all experience levels. Throughout the program, participants will learn the fundamentals of playwriting, with a focus on story structure, character development, and the art of writing effective dialogue. Through guided writing exercises and in-class readings, each student will develop a 10-minute play to be presented on stage at the end of the week.
No acting required—actors will be available to perform your work if needed. Just bring a notebook and a pen!
The workshop will conclude with a public reading of the students’ plays on Friday evening, August 1, at Boreal Theater—open to friends, family, and the community.
A nationally produced playwright and performer, Karmo Sanders is known for her dynamic characters and sharp wit. With years of experience writing for both stage and screen, she brings energy, insight, and a deep love for storytelling to the classroom. She earned a Master’s in Creative Writing from Boston University, under the guidance of Derek Walcott (1992 Nobel Prize in Literature, Poet and Playwright), and is currently teaching Playwriting at USM. In addition, Karmo continues to write and tour her one-woman stand-up comedy show.
An accomplished Maine-based playwright with national credits, Payne Ratner specializes in character-driven narratives and theatrical realism. His work has been staged across the country, and he’s passionate about helping new writers find their voice and structure their stories for the stage. Payne holds an MFA in fiction from Stonecoast. He writes fiction and plays. His short story “Fish Story” won the New Guard Review’s Machigonne Fiction Contest. His story, “Fullness,” was a finalist in the Fractured Lit flash fiction contest. Several of his plays have won awards and been produced in Boston, San Francisco, New York, and Maine. One ten-minute play is published by Samuel French. He makes a living writing radio commercials, which are broadcast nationally. He has acted in multiple theaters and productions in Maine and Kansas.
