Playlab Gather Masterclass: Shaping Writing From Personal Experience with Seán Dowling
Through discussion and hands-on writing, this workshop offers a supportive space to explore the complexities of telling your own story on stage.
Presented by Playlab Theatre
How do you craft deeply personal stories for the stage while balancing truth, theatricality, and emotional impact? In this workshop, writer and performer Seán Dowling will share insights from her acclaimed debut work, Unconditional—a semi-biographical exploration of family, identity, and self-discovery.
Drawing from her own process, Seán will guide participants through exercises in mining personal experiences for dramatic potential, shaping raw memories into structured narratives, and finding the balance between authenticity and artistry. Through discussion and hands-on writing, this workshop offers a supportive space to explore the complexities of telling your own story on stage.
Perfect for writers, theatre-makers, and anyone interested in personal storytelling, this workshop will help you turn lived experience into bold, compelling theatre.
Unlock the power of personal storytelling—book your spot now!
6pm - 9pm
Thursday 19 June - 6:00pm
About
Seán Dowling
Seán Dowling was one of Playlab Theatre’s 2020 Alpha Processing participants with her new work Quarehawk. She was one of the 2019 La Boite Theatre Company 21 Artists Development, where she wrote and produced the short 21 Dates. As a Graphic Designer and Illustrator who specialises arts organisations, Seán was a key creative in the development of Counterpilot’s transmedia projects Spectate, Crunch Time, Truthmachine and Avoidable Perils. She served as Assistant Director, Graphical User Interface Designer, Polygraph Guinea Pig, and Illustrator, respectively. She has a background in writing for screen, having received Screen Queensland grants to develop the short films Skip to the End and The Beer Line. Seán was one of the founding members, writers and performers of The Sexy Detective Show, a nationally touring sketch comedy troupe. In 2006 Seán’s short film, Copy, swept both major awards for Best Film and Audience Choice in Brisbane International Film Festival Fast Film Competition, the Best Film in the Queensland Short Film Festival and Judge’s Choice in The Melbourne Comedy Film Festival and went on to be nominated and feature in international film festivals such as San Francisco Independent Film Festival, New Jersey Independent Film Festival, and the Salento International Film Festival.
#More Chances to Gather
Explore our other Playlab Masterclasses. Save $15* when you attend all three.
Over the last 52 years Playlab Theatre has worked passionately to support Queensland artists and theatre. In the last decade, Playlab has facilitated over 220 playwrights growing their craft through development programs, published over 300 titles from around the country, and presented 12 productions of Queensland new work.
