Solo Show & Story for the Stage Online Winter 2026

Solo Show & Story for the Stage 
with Arlene Malinowski

This workshop is designed for solo artists & storytellers, actors, playwrights and lovers of words of all levels – who want to work on the development of a one-person show or story for the stage. The class will focus on cultivating your unique style and the voice of your story. It will equip you with rubrics for creating the world of the play, including the universal truth, inciting incident and quest. You will explore story structure, development of plot and characters and learn techniques to enhance the storyteller/audience relationship. Advance work at any stage of development, from an idea to a finished piece.

Arlene Malinowski has been performing and teaching Solo & Story for over 25 years. Her award-winning solo works have been performed both in the US and internationally. She views her solo work as an artistic espresso of her social justice work in the area of Deafness and disability.  Her plays include, A Little Bit Not Normal, Full Disclosure, Aiming for Sainthood, What Does the Sun Sound Like, Interrobang, and Where All of it is True and None of it is Real. Theaters include Victory Gardens, Pritzker Pavilion, 16th Street theater, HBO Workspace, Collaboration, West Coast Ensemble, Minneapolis Arts center, St Louis Center of Contemporary Art and College and Universities. She is the recipient of 3 Arts/UIC fellowship, LA Ovations award, LA Garland Award. Finalist in New Plays from Heartland, semi-finalist Blue Ink award, and the O’Neill.As an actor, she has performed on stages in LA and Chicago including Goodman, 16th Street, Victory Gardens. She has been an Artist in Residence at 16th Street and Quad City. As a storyteller, she has performed all over Chicago & LA. Taught at College of the Canyons, Victory Gardens and Master-classes nationwide. She is a Resident Playwright at Chicago Dramatists where she has developed the Solo & Story curriculum and serves as Director of Education.
 

Instructors send out Zoom invites one day before class begins.