The Barton Community College Library will team up with the English department and Barton’s literary annual “Prairie Ink” staff to host a Writer’s Workshop from 6-7:30 p.m. Nov. 20 in the Cavanaugh Room of the Learning Resource Center and via Zoom at https://zoom.us/j/2375299435.

Participants will join “Prairie Ink” editors and special guest presenter Barton Theatre Instructor Jack Greenwood for a playwriting workshop. The session will explore what it means for a story to be theatrical. Attendees will discuss how to craft a plot for the stage, write directions for staging, and engage a live audience while focusing on format and structure. The event is open to students, faculty, staff, and community members.

The workshop will also serve as an introduction for high school-aged participants ahead of the inaugural High School Playwrights Festival, scheduled for spring 2026. Area high schools will be invited to a creative forum where they can draft and workshop ten-minute plays for submission to a contest. Six chosen plays will be performed as readings on a live stage April 18 as a collaboration with both Barton Theatre and the greater Barton community. Following the performance, a winner will be named as the first-ever champion playwright and receive a prize.