For Immediate Release
April 3, 2008

Learn the art of playwriting from "Heartmeat" creator in new UCR Extension class offered in Palm Desert

RIVERSIDE, CALIF. – Mary-Sullivan Roarke, of Rancho Mirage, started her career as a play writer in high school, when she acted in high school plays. As a creative writing graduate student, she naturally gravitated toward playwriting. Years later, Roarke produced "Heartmeat," a dark comedy featuring a neurotic, self-starving romance novelist who solves the puzzle of her mother’s mysterious death. Now Roarke is teaching UCR Extension’s new class, Introduction to Playwriting, which is offered from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturdays April 12 through June 7 at the UCR Palm Desert Graduate Center, 75-080 Frank Sinatra Dr.

Class participants will learn how to structure a play, including the elements of good storytelling and how to translate those into a play. During the course, students write a one-act play (15-25 pages) and are responsible for reading assignments and participation in class discussions. The fee for this class is $225.

To register online, visit www.extension.ucr.edu or call (951) 827-4105 or toll-free at (800) 442-4990. For more information about the class, call (951) 827-5801 or e-mail arts@ucx.ucr.edu.

To receive a free UCR Extension catalog, which includes a complete listing of all our current courses and certificate programs, call (951) 827-3806.

UCR Extension is the continuing education division of the University of California, Riverside. Extension offers more than 3,800 courses and 90 certificate programs in a variety of academic programs, including agriculture and landscape, arts and humanities, business and management, education, forensic investigations and public safety, teacher’s credentialing, English, environmental management, geospatial analysis and technology, health services and behavioral sciences, information technology, languages, law and public policy, Native American studies, natural sciences, and yoga.