Workshops
Receive guidance and direction on your script from an accomplished screenwriter.
There are no available registration dates at this time.
SOLD OUT!! Email registrar@mainemedia.edu to be placed on a waitlist.
This class will be held in a live, online format using the Zoom platform. 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. EDT, plus 1-on-1 time as needed.
Filmmaking must begin with a solid screenplay. This workshop is for writers who have a screenplay in progress and are seeking guidance, direction and focus from an accomplished screenwriter.
Class time is divided between lectures on the dynamics of screenwriting and discussion of student scripts. One-on-one sessions between the instructor and each student take place throughout the retreat. The retreat delves deeply into concept, genre, story structure, character development, plot and subplots, theme, dialogue, and the process of revising a screenplay. Students discuss suggestions for rewrites, alternative approaches, and explore solutions to the problems posed by each script. Participants learn to look critically at their writing with special attention to the importance of economy in writing, visual storytelling, thinking conceptually, and how to heighten the emotional stakes of story and character.
Throughout the sessions participants will get a real world view of how the industry works and the practical realities of getting material read and sold. By the end of the retreat, each script has been reviewed and reconstructed with a “battle plan” on how to take the script to the next level.
Participants must have a screenplay in progress. It can be at any stage of development, anything from an outline to a full draft.
Header Image Credit: Devin Altobello
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Instructor: Liz Garcia
Liz W. Garcia is one of the most prolific female voices in film & TV. She was a writer/producer on Starz's P-Valley, USA's The Sinner, and CBS's Cold Case for which she won a GLAAD award. Her directing debut The Lifeguard starring Kristen Bell premiered at Sundance, and her next film One Percent More Humid starring Julia Garner premiered at Tribeca, where Alessandro Nivola won the Best Actor award for his performance in the film. Liz has written features for Warner Brothers, Disney and many independent producers; most recently, she wrote "Purple Hearts" for Netflix, to be released Spring 2022. She has sold over a dozen TV pitches, including to Showtime, Netflix, ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox. She co-created the cop dramedy Memphis Beat starring Alfre Woodard and Jason Lee. She is a New England native who lives in Brooklyn with her family.
