Class

8-Week: Screenwriting Workshop

Do you have a screenplay-in-progress? It’s workshop time! In this class, we’ll learn techniques to improve our storytelling and screenwriting craft by learning from produced screenplays and workshopping each other’s pages. All formats are welcome: features, pilots, animation, web series, shorts—you name it!

Each class will be divided into two sections. First, we’ll focus on specific elements of what makes a screenplay work through viewing, reading and discussing examples from different genres. These will be tailored to the project needs and interests of the class, but could include topics like: creating suspense with Jordan Peele’s 'Nope,' establishing a clear tone with Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s 'Fleabag,' choosing which story information to include versus withhold with Dan Erickson’s 'Severance,' or articulating plot without dialogue with Gints Zilbalodis’s 'Flow.' Then, we’ll workshop student pages through moderated group discussion.

Students should expect to share up to twenty pages of a screenplay for the workshop, and will receive verbal feedback from peers and the teaching artist, in addition to written feedback from the teaching artist. Students will gain experience giving and receiving notes (a crucial part of the screenwriting life!) in addition to craft tips and tools to help build greater confidence as screenwriters.