FROM PAGE TO STAGE

A course in Acting, Writing & Creating Scenes — led by Hayat Abu Samra and Jana Zeineddine - two Actor-Writers!

From Page to Stage is designed for young writers who want to explore acting — and actors who want to explore writing!

Led by Hayat Abu Samra and Jana Zeineddine, and building on the foundations introduced in Intro to Dramatic Writing last year with Hayat, young writers will take character, conflict, dialogue and scene structure into performance, discovering how acting and improvisation can help bring stories to life — and reveal what’s working (and what isn’t) on the page!

Through acting exercises, improvisation, scene work and writing prompts, students will explore:

• What does a character really want?
• What are they doing to get it? What is standing in their way?
• What happens when characters don’t say exactly what they mean?
• How does a relationship change during a scene?
• How can acting help a writer discover what needs to change?

What students will develop:

• Character through behavior — discovering who a character is through what they do, not just what they’re told.
  
• Objectives & obstacles — understanding what characters want and what stands in their way.
  
• Relationships & status — exploring how power, history and relationships shape a scene.
• Subtext — discovering the difference between what characters say and what they actually mean.
  
• Intentions — exploring how characters change their approach to get what they want.
  
• Stakes & escalation— learning how scenes build emotionally and dramatically.
  
• Beats & turning points — recognizing the moments when a scene shifts direction.
• Writing for actors — understanding how dialogue, silence, action and stage directions work in performance.
• Rewriting through rehearsal — using actors and performance as a tool for developing and strengthening the writing.

The goal?

To experience dramatic writing as a living process — not something that happens only on a computer screen in isolation!

By the end of the course, each young writer will develop an original 4–6 page dramatic scene, which will then be rehearsed and performed by members of the group in a Final Scenes Showcase!

If your teen loves stories, acting, writing, creating characters, or bringing ideas to life, this course is an opportunity to explore all of it — together!

Ages 13–15 | 6 weeks | 3 hours/week

Dates: Saturdays, November 7 – December 12, 2026

Course Fee: 270 JD