TEACHING
Current Classes
At Chapman University (Spring 2025)
Intro to Creative Writing
(CW 204)
​
At CSArts-SGV (Spring 2025)
The Art of Theatre (CW)
*In Conjunction with Citrus College
Theatre Appreciation (CW)
*In Conjunction with Citrus College
​
At OCSA (Spring 2025)
Musical Theatre History (CW)
*In Conjunction with Santa Ana College
Testomonials
“This course was my favorite of the ones that I took this semester. Overall, I think what makes it successful is Blaylock himself - he's a charismatic speaker and clearly very passionate about his subject, while also making deliberate space for those who are not knowledgeable about musical theatre to explore and create without feeling self-conscious about their level of personal expertise.”
- College Undergraduate (Class Evaluation)
“I’ve only had two years of Mr. Blaylock as my director. And while I wish it was more, I’ll only ever be grateful to him. For being kind, for being whimsical. For caring. And most importantly, for opening up this door that I never knew I had access to.”
- High School Sophomore (Personal Reflection)
“Mr. Blaylock, I once had a dream where your head was a bowl of bread and they cut a big circle out of the top of your head like in the “Indiana Jones” and then they pulled your brains out and then they put a bunch of chunky clam chowder soup, a lot of chunky noodle soup in there, and it was the best damn bread bowl I’ve ever had. Thank you very much for everything. It’s been a real good romp.”
- High School Senior (Appreciation Video)
Classes Designed and Taught
California Literature
Creative Nonfiction
Creative Writing
Immersive Theatre
Musical Theatre Literature
Musical Theatre Writing
New York City Literature
Nonsense Literature
Origins and Sources of Disney
Playwriting
Songwriting
Theatre History
Theatre for Young Audiences
Worldbuilding
This is a survey of authors who have lived in and written about California and includes fiction, nonfiction, dramatic writing, songwriting, and poetry. Authors studied include Octavia Butler, Joan Didion, Firoozeh Dumas, Marisella Norte, Luis J. Rodriguez, Sam Shepard, John Steinbeck, Ritchie Valens, Lauren Yee, and more.
Lee Gutkind, often referred to as the godfather behind Creative Nonfiction, describes the genre as being “true stories, well told.” So, who decides if a story is well told when so much of creative writing is subjective? What works for one reader may not work for another. It’s up to us, as the writers, to ask not what’s the “best” way to tell a story, but rather what is our way to tell the story? This course will look at an array of authors and examples including the personal essay, memoir, and new journalism.
An introductory class to creative writing, this course includes fiction, poetry, dramatic writing, and creative nonfiction. Areas of study include plot, setting, character, style, tone, voice, and creative inspiration.
Often referred to as a “theatrical experience,” shows categorized as Immersive Theatre come in many different forms. By studying the history of the genre and diving deeper into the meaning of both immersive theatre and site-specific theatre, this class gives students a better understanding of what Immersive Theatre means and the challenges and secrets that make it work.
From "Show Boat" to "Hamilton," this in-depth look at the history of musical theatre will give students the opportunity to study individual shows and talk about what goes into creating a successful musical.
This course gives students a fundamental understanding of musical theatre writing, particularly as it applies to how the book, music, and lyrics of a musical work together to create a cohesive unit. The class culminates with a collaborative "mini-musical" assignment.
This is a survey of authors who have lived in and written about New York City and includes fiction, nonfiction, dramatic writing, songwriting, and poetry. Authors studied include Giannina Braschi, Bob Dylan, O. Henry, Langston Hughes, David Henry Hwang, N. K. Jemisen, Lin Manuel Miranda, Grace Paley, Hanya Yanagihara, and more.
This is NONSENSE! Writing that uses surrealism, absurdity, and experimental techniques can range from being incredibly meaningful to purposefully void of meaning. . . which in itself may be considered meaningful. . . or not? This course explores authors who have immersed themselves in nonsense and asks students to let their subconscious come out to play.
Disney has been an influential part of children’s storytelling for over 100 years, but where did Disney find the stories that have become movie history? What were the inspirations? Dealing primarily with the animated features, this course examines not only the sources of Disney classics, but also the genres and cultures that influenced the films to start a conversation about the value of source material and research.
This is an introductory course that dives deep into the fundamental building blocks of playwriting. Areas of study include plot, character, dialogue, structure, tension, escalation, and dramatic action with a main focus on short-form playwriting.
Through weekly prompts, students will learn how to craft a strong lyric and understand the musicality behind that lyric. Areas of study include structure, scansion, rhyme, storytelling, and look at how music and lyric work hand in hand to create a well crafted lyric.
This is an introductory theatre course that includes the history of theatre, play analysis, classic and contemporary theatre, and how the director, playwrights, producers, actors, and designers all work together to put on a show. This class can be taught from a writing perspective or an acting perspective depending on the students.
Students will participate in writing theatre for children. Course content includes play analysis, short writing prompts, and techniques in writing, directing, performing, and teaching with the objective of creating a production appropriate for an elementary school audience.
This course gives students the opportunity to begin (or continue) creating their very own imaginary world book or series. Coinciding with a series of examples and discussions, everyone in the class will be building their own world by creating a notebook of details and descriptions to eventually use in a story.