Experience a two-hour creative writing wor kshop designed for individuals with minimal playwriting experience. This d ynamic\, interactive session welcomes fiction writers of all levels\, thos e interested in learning the fundamentals of playwriting\, and anyone curi ous about constitutional law.
\nThe workshop focuses on the core ele ments of playwriting\, including the development of credible dialogue and action. Participants will take part in a writing exercise in which the pre senter&mdash\;an attorney&mdash\;provides a brief overview of three Opinio ns of the Supreme Court of the United States. The first case addresses a f ree speech issue\, the second is a landmark decision in criminal law\, and the third centers on the women&rsquo\;s suffrage movement. Each participa nt will select one of these fact patterns as the backdrop for an original play scene inspired by the chosen case.
\nThe presenter\, Donna Kath ryn Kelly\, is an attorney who has practiced law for three decades\, prima rily within the Illinois criminal justice system. Early in her career\, Ke lly served as an assistant appellate defender in the Office of the State A ppellate Defender in Ottawa\, Illinois. Her legal work on a clemency petit ion is featured in the HBO documentary The Murders at Starved Rock\, where she appears extensively in Episode 2 of the series.
\nKell y is the author of The Cheney Manning Series\, a collection of su spense novels featuring a public defender turned amateur sleuth investigat ing homicide cases in northern Illinois&rsquo\;s Fox River Valley. Her par anormal horror thriller\, The Descent: A Halloween Novel\, was a semi-finalist in the 2023 Soon to Be Famous Illinois Author Project Manusc ript Contest. Her magical realism novel\, The Lion at the Falls\, was a finalist in the 2024 Killer Nashville Claymore Award Competition (S upernatural Category).
\nAn award-winning poet\, Kelly&rsquo\;s work
has appeared in numerous anthologies and literary journals\, including
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