About the Collective

From September through May, Guerilla Opera’s Writers’ Collective creates a space for a collective of artists developing texts for musical performances to convene virtually as a supportive creative community.

Meeting remotely via Zoom twice a month for nine months, this inclusive and encouraging writing group will explore developing a completed draft of a script intended to be performed with music.

Participants will develop and hone their own unique approaches to writing musical text, have their pieces workshopped using Critical Response Process, and support one another as peers by acting as readers and providing feedback for the work of others. We will hold regular Open Mics for participants to present their work, and full table-reads of all participants’ work at the end of the program.

The Dates

Tuesdays from 8:00-10:00pm EST, every other week / or / Thursdays from 3:00-5:00pm, every other week

    • Tuesday Cohort: 9/9, 9/23, 10/7, 10/21, 11/4, 11/18, 12/2, 12/16, 1/6, 1/20, 2/3, 2/17, 3/10, 3/24, 4/7, 4/21, 5/5, 5/19

    • Thursdays Cohort: 9/11, 9/25, 10/9, 10/23, 11/6, 11/20, 12/4, 12/18, 1/8, 1/22, 2/5, 2/19, 3/12, 3/26, 4/9, 4/23, 5/7, 5/21

Additional Course Dates: TBD

Deadline to apply

  • July 31, 2025 by 11:59 EST

Acceptance Notification

  • August 8, 2025

Participant Fee

  • $969.00

Payment Due: In order to secure your spot we need payment either in full or in part to secure your spot in the workshop by August 29, 2025.

We offer payment plans! 

  • 3 Payments of $323.00 each

  • 4 Payments of $242.25 each

We offer subsidies (scholarships) to any participant based on expressed need and as funds are available. Indicate in your application if you need a subsidy and we’ll reach out to you directly!

With respect to our extraordinary teaching artists, we cannot offer these classes for free.

To receive a 50% refund, participants must cancel 7 days before the first class start date. There are no refunds for late cancellations or dropouts.

Why?

We want to amplify your unique perspective in our storytelling community. Our vision is to infuse the music industry with stories that confront antiquated traditions and examine our world through contemporary lenses.

Guerilla Opera is the premiere ensemble for new opera in the Boston area and one of the first in the country to exclusively commission new works. Our Writers Collective supports writers in their journey to create new works that challenge the status quo, address social issues, empower performers from marginalized groups, and bring the stories of marginalized historical or fictional figures to light. This is an anti-racist and anti-bigotry program. 

Who is this program for?

Although the Writers Collective will focus on libretto creation specific to opera, it’s not limited to writers interested only in opera. All artists (ages 18+) seeking support and guidance in writing text to be set to music are encouraged to participate – including but in no way limited to librettists, poets, singer-songwriters, playwrights, filmmakers, composers, stage directors, dramaturgs, vocalists, instrumentalists, designers, etc. No previous writing experience required, although each participant should bring a proposal for a project they would like to develop to the first meeting.

We especially encourage women, LGBTQ+, and BIPOC artists to apply! Multi-lingual participants are also encouraged to apply, but sessions will be facilitated in English.

Program format

Guerilla Writing Collective artists will meet twice a month for two hours in video conferences through Zoom, and program materials will be shared using Google Docs and other online resource-sharing programs.

Participants must have access to a computer, laptop, or smartphone with a video camera, and a reliable internet connection. Participants must be able to use email, Zoom, Google Drive, and Google Docs independently. Participants must know how to create a PDF and upload it to the internet.

Writers Collective participants will be expected to complete writing, research, and other activities, including watching videos, reading, and listening assignments, between sessions so co-learning time can be used for discussions, sharing large selections of writing, and critical response processes.

Estimated Monthly time commitment

Co-Learning: 4 hours per month

Independent Study: 6 to 12 hours per month

Total: 6 to 10 hours per month

What to expect:

We build a safe and vital space for creative ideas to be nurtured as part of a creative community. The Writers Collective allows for peer-learning, valuable critical response and feedback, and hands-on group exercises, discussions, and process-driven activities where each participant will grow and evolve their own individual practice. This is an anti-racist and anti-bigotry program. 

Each participant will:

  • Develop an outline for a new short form or full length opera libretto

  • Explore character development work

  • Develop a complete draft of a new short form or full length opera libretto

  • Have one-on-ones with the course facilitator

  • Have a live reading of your completed libretto by the end of the program

  • Have opportunities for networking

  • Have temporary access to Guerilla Opera’s full video archive

Additional discussion topics include:

  • Approaches to creating:

    • Creating original libretti

    • Adapting pre-existing work as libretti 

    • Writing libretti based on auto/biography or historical events

  • Artistic activism

  • Funding and pitching new works

  • Editing and revising

  • Dramaturgy

  • Research

  • Legal considerations and contracts

  • Methods for critical response

  • Writing for the voice

  • Story telling aesthetics for the stage

  • Inclusivity and diversity in opera, including:

    • Representation in the opera itself

    • Representation on stage and among performers

    • Engaging with diverse audiences

    • Working with companies of varying means

    • Accessibility

    • Collaboration with composers and performers

The Facilitator

Kendra Preston Leonard is a lyricist and librettist who tells stories about empowerment, resilience, and compassion. Inspired by history, language, nature, and myth, Leonard has worked with numerous composers to create new opera and art song. Current opera projects include Protectress, with composer Jessica Rudman; This is Jane with composer Angela Elizabeth Slater; and she who will trouble you all night with Rosśa Crean.

Recently premiered works include Sense of Self, created with composer Lisa Neher and premiered by Opera Elect in 2021; Waters Rising, with composer Tim Hick, commissioned by Arts Capacity and Walker State Faith and Character Based Prison; Marie Curie Learns to Swim, with music by Jessica Rudman, performed by Hartford Opera Theater in 2018; and The Harbingers, with music by Rosśa Crean, premiered in 2019. In 2021, she and Neher created a series of micro-operas for Neher’s One Voice Micro-Opera Project, featuring singers Zach Finkelstein in Now Available; Margaret O’Connell in Woman Waits with Sword; Hugo Vera in Wide Awake in the New City; and Audrey Yoder in Par for the Course.

Questions?

Please email any questions to sbeebe@guerillaopera.org; you’ll get a response as soon as possible!

Thank you!

This program is supported in part by a Creative Vitality grant from The Barr Foundation and a Second Year Staffing the Humanities grant from Mass Humanities and the Mass Cultural Council.