By: Noah Coss

Creative writing and talking about films is very common but meaningful hobby among IA students. Dramatic Writing, an honors level ELA course, taught for three years by Mr. Custar, is the perfect class where the focus is just that. In this course, students analyze and discuss creative works of fiction, such as plays, scripts, really any form of storytelling. The students also get the opportunity to write their own with an abundance of creative freedom.

This is a favorite quality among students, as filmmaker Tommy Steimer (senior) stated, “Being able to have the creative freedom to write what I want… I think that it is such a good way to let students grow in what they really want to do in the future and what they want to write in the future.” But the course doesn’t just allow students to write plays, it also allows them to talk about movies and analyze movies as well.

A film enthusiast, Bassel Quraishy (senior), stated “My favorite part about the course is probably the fact that you just get to talk about everything. You talk about movies where it ranges from Marvel movies, DC movies… some random movie that came out in 1942 with a $15 budget, and you talk about it.” Students have found many positive things to say about this class, but as fun as the course is, it never fails to prove challenging for students.

The opportunity for students to freely write what forms in their imagination comes at a cost. Many students, including the teacher, have voiced how difficult Dramatic Writing can really be. “These really quick deadlines, don’t get me wrong, they are hard.” Baasel explained, “The course work isn’t hard. In my opinion, it’s fun. I enjoy doing them. It’s just the harsh due dates.” This is a common struggle among students, especially since it’s on top of the honors level expectations placed on students.

“Dramatic Writing is not an easy course. Students are required to develop and apply new creative writing skills at a high level across sustained periods of time” Mr. Custar explained, “Students must manage their time and projects in- and out-of-class, they must plan ahead,” Many students might see this as a negative quality of the course, but it really isn’t. “They must eschew perfectionism (the enemy of productivity), they must learn to inspire the muse – and not wait for the muse to inspire them.” Mr. Custar stated. Having tight due dates challenges students to think on their feet and roll with what they made.

Dramatic Writing is a class, much appreciated by students, where they are able to develop their skills as writers and storytellers. It is a fun course with awesome assignments that brings freedom and creativity to the student workload, while also challenging them through tight deadlines and high-level expectations. This is that kind of course that can improve you more than anything, and IA students are all for it.