Richard Toscan

Richard Toscan was Dean of the School of Theatre at the University of Southern California, one of the leading conservatory training programs in the US, where he was also Associate Dean of the School of Cinema-Television. His professional work as a producer, story editor, playwright, and judge of new play and screenplay competitions informs his approach to what makes new plays work in the contemporary theatre. He has worked in association with Lucasfilm and noted figures in theatre, film, and television. That experience has led him to stress the importance of “voice” and the dual plot structures used by nearly all produced playwrights today. His radio dramas have been broadcast by the BBC, NPR, CBC, and ABC and are credited with a 40% increase in the audience for public radio in America. By 2006, the first edition of Playwriting Seminars had become a widely used resource in the US, UK, and other European countries.