What makes dialogue leap off the page and come alive?

Join award-winning playwright Judy Simpson Cook as she explores how writers can use dialogue to reveal character, create conflict, and keep audiences engaged.

Judy Simpson Cook is an actor, director, producer, and award-winning playwright whose work has been produced by theatres across the country. A member of The Dramatists Guild, she was named a North Carolina Playwriting Fellow by the NC Arts Council in 2003.

Her plays range from comedy and holiday favorites to powerful dramas, including Running on Empty, The View from the Porch, and Old Enough to Know Better.

Judy is the founder of The Storefront Theatre in Waxhaw, where she has spent the past 18 years producing, directing, and performing. Her most recent production there was Sweepstakes, a play commissioned by her alma mater, Presbyterian College.

Whether you write fiction, memoir, screenplays, or stage plays, this talk will offer practical techniques for creating dialogue that sounds authentic, carries emotional weight, and keeps readers turning pages.