Storyopolis Offers Script Workshops for Children

Storyopolis, the children’s book store and art gallery, is complementing its programs for preschoolers with a new writing workshop series for ages 6 and up.

The “Storyopolis Super-Sized Saturday” series launches this weekend with a “Jr. Scriptwriting Workshop” led by Los Angeles-based author, playwright and actor Doug Cooney, whose first novel “The Beloved Dearly,” based on his comic play about an enterprising kid’s pet funeral business, was just published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Cooney’s many works for adults and children have been presented by the Kennedy Center, the Cleveland Playhouse, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and other respected theater entities; a recent project is his adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ “5,000 Fingers of Dr. T” for Sony Family Entertainment’s upcoming animated feature.

During the workshop, Cooney will read excerpts of his book; the scenes will then be performed by the Storyopolis Theatre Troupe. Afterward, Cooney will help workshop participants turn their creative efforts into a script format.

“As workshops go, it’s really substantial,” Cooney said. “What I hope to do is get the kids writing scenes that will show them those essential elements of drama--conflict, tension and character--but with a spirit of fun.

“I think children are natural-born storytellers. I’ve been doing this since the first grade. It’s kind of like setting up a really good joke and giving people parts to play and letting everybody participate in the punch line.”

Cooney, a finalist as a solo performance artist for the CalArts/Alpert Foundation’s 1998 Award for Excellence in the Theater, and recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the MacArthur Foundation and A.S.K. Theatre Projects, has written and performed adult works, but writing for children is “invigorating for me,” he said.

“As a playwright, you work in seclusion,” Cooney said. “These opportunities to get out and work with kids, to be exposed to that kind of life and energy, are great. I always find that I easily get as much from it as I’m giving.”

Other workshops in the new series include a “Jr. Mystery Writers Workshop” with author Bruce Hale (“Chet Gecko, Private Eye” series) on April 6 and an animation workshop with DreamWorks animators and author Kathleen Duey, inspired by DreamWorks Pictures’ new film (and Duey’s novelization) “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron” on May 18.

“Storyopolis Super-Sized Saturday: Jr. Scriptwriting Workshop With Doug Cooney,” Storyopolis, 116 N. Robertson, Plaza A, L.A., Saturday at 4 p.m. Ages 6 and up. $6. (310) 358-2512.