Thursday, May 15, 2025 
7:00–8:30 PM ET 
Register Today! 

Sponsored by the New York Life Foundation and developed in partnership with Writopia Lab, this free virtual workshop is designed for educators supporting teens in processing grief. Legendary playwright Paula Vogel gave her student Sarah Ruhl, another legendary playwright in her own right, this advice: “Try not to look at grief directly, but to squint at it, through the lens of form.” Ruhl has gone on to write plays about grief that were powerful and joyous in equal measure. In Writopia Lab’s Grief Workshop, teachers will learn and play original writing games, which they can then take with them into their writing classroom, that focus not only on writing about grief, but on using form and genre to process and transform grief into something new, healing, and uplifting. 

About the Facilitator 

Matthew Jellison is a playwright, actor, educator, and native New Yorker. He serves as Associate Director of Education at Writopia Lab, where he’s worked on writing with extraordinary kids since 2017. He is currently a 2024-25 Dramatist Guild Playwriting Fellow and has had work developed or produced at the Kennedy Center, TOWN Stages, the Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, FreshGround Pepper, The Lark, SPACE on Ryder Farm, and more. He holds a BFA in acting from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and will begin pursuing his MFA in Playwriting at Brooklyn College in the fall. 
 
About the New York Life Award 

Supported by the New York Life Foundation, the New York Life Award offers $2,500 scholarships/travel stipends to ten students whose works explore death and personal grief. Learn more about this annual scholarship opportunity and how your students can enter here. 

Featured Image: Sydney Adams, Jordan and Me, Drawing & Illustration. Grade 12, Ensworth School, Nashville, TN. Cati Blitz, Educator; Cheekwood, Affiliate. Silver Medal, Tennessee State New York Life Award, 2023