Writers, busy at their computers, may not think too much about sharing their words out loud, but they may be missing a wonderful outlet for their work. At the Jan. 19 meeting of Willamette Writers’ coast chapter, actress/speaker Megan Cole will explore the possibilities in “From Page to Stage, and Back Again.” The free workshop takes place at 2 p.m. at Newport Public Library. Cole is a professional actor and speaker living in Manzanita on the north Oregon coast. She has developed a series called “Storytime for Grownups,” in which she shares stories and poems centered on a particular theme and delivered in the manner of folks gathered together to hear superb stories, as in childhood, or as childhood should have been. In this session, she will discuss how she selects the material, how she moves it from the page to spoken performance, and how her guiding principle is that of all good writers: Know Your Audience. Megan Cole has had a long acting career on the professional stage, and has also made frequent TV guest-star appearances on “Seinfeld,” “ER,” various “Star Treks,” “The Practice,” “Judging Amy,” “Las Vegas,” and many other shows. She originated the leading role in Margaret Edson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama WIT in 1995, for which she received the L.A. Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Outstanding Performance. She also tours with “The Wisdom of WIT,” her solo version of the play. As Artist-in-Residence at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, Ms. Cole developed workshops on empathic communication, medical ethics, and the connections between medicine and the humanities. She now takes these workshops and other related performances to healthcare and end-of-life care venues across the country. For more information, visit www.megancole.net. Willamette Writers is the largest writers' organization in Oregon and one of the largest writers’ organizations in the United States. The organization’s goal is to provide and encourage a creative environment and support system for current and aspiring writers. Since its beginning in 1965, Willamette Writers has provided meeting places for the exchange of ideas and information and has initiated programs designed to help writers increase skills related to the craft of writing. For more information, visit http://willamettewriters.com/coast or Willamette Writers Coast Chapter’s Facebook page. Willamette Writers thanks the Anchor Pier Lodge, Sylvia Beach Hotel, Hallmark Hotel and the Inn at Nye Beach for donating lodging for their authors and the Newport Public Library, co-sponsors, for providing a monthly meeting space.

Upcoming Willamette Writer Coast Chapter programs include:

·         Feb. 16: Ned Hickson, comedian and editor of the Siuslaw News, will talk about how to structure a book.

·         March 15: Novelist Michael Strelow will offer a fiction workshop

·         April 19: Jan Priddy will talk about creative nonfiction

·         May 17: Philip Kenney will talk about the psychological challenges writers face