Workshops
Guided by a professional screenwriter, gain a solid foundation in the essentials of screenwriting: concept, character, story, plot, dialogue, and structure.
Dates:
Apr 29, 2024 - May 3, 2024
Jul 1, 2024 - Jul 5, 2024
Sep 9, 2024 - Sep 13, 2024
Levels:
Beginner,
Intermediate,
Workshop Fee: $1195 (Apr 29-May 3) & $1295 (Jul 1-5 & Sep 9-13)
Workshop Duration: 1-week (Monday-Friday)
Workshop Location: On-campus
Class Size: 12
This unit provides a solid foundation in the essentials of screenwriting: concept, character, story, plot, dialogue, and structure. Guided by a professional screenwriter, students will examine format, the importance of visual storytelling, developing an economical writing style, the process of shaping story, creating compelling character arcs, constructing scenes and sequences, writing effective dialogue, the fundamentals of suspense and tension, and how to outline. The realities of the marketplace will also be discussed. Through writing exercises, students will implement the dynamics discussed in class. Scenes will be workshopped.
While the unit’s primary focus is on developing scripts for film, television, and the web, many of the lessons will also resonate with novelists, playwrights, game designers, and filmmakers working in non-fiction. Producers and directors are also encouraged to attend. This class is also offered online.
Student Testimonials
“My experience far exceeded my expectations. I never thought I would walk away from the workshop with the feeling of confidence and motivation that I now have.” – J.C. Camelio, 2023
“A thoughtful and practical tutorial of everything you would need to know about screenwriting and character development.”
– Bryant Rohloff, 2023
“This was one of the best workshops I ever had the privilege of taking; I learned so much.” – Jennifer Schoerke, 2023
“Excellent workshop, highly recommend this class if you want to learn how to write a screenplay.”- Kathy Clem, 2023
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Instructor: Wayne Beach (Teaching Apr 29-May 3, 2024 workshop - Register here)
Wayne Beach has written screenplays for Warner Bros., Twentieth Century Fox, Disney, Sony, TNT, Village Roadshow Pictures, Wolf Films, and other studios and networks. His students have gone on to create box office hits and popular TV shows. His filmed screenplay credits include Murder at 1600 (Warner Bros.) starring Wesley Snipes, Diane Lane and Alan Alda; and The Art of War (Warner Bros.) starring Wesley Snipes. He wrote and directed Slow Burn (Lionsgate) starring Ray Liotta, LL Cool J, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Mekhi Phifer, Jolene Blalock, and Taye Diggs. His directorial debut, Slow Burn premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was released in 1100 theaters by Lionsgate. He has written projects for the makers of Pirates of the Caribbean, Law & Order, House M.D., Ocean's Eleven, The Perfect Storm, Total Recall, The Fugitive Platoon, and many others.
Instructor: Francine Volpe (Teaching July 1-5, 2024 workshop - Register here)
Francine Volpe is a Brooklyn-based screenwriter and playwright. Her writing credits include TOKYO VICE (HBO), THEM: Covenant (Amazon), THE FIRST (Hulu) and P-VALLEY (Starz). Her original series, TARA LYNCH is in development with Topic Studios. She is also a producer on the HBO series TOKYO VICE. Francine received her B.F.A. from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She was later the recipient of a two-year Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwriting Fellowship at The Juilliard School where she studied with Marsha Norman and Christopher Durang. She has taught screenwriting, playwriting and television writing at NYU and Sarah Lawrence College.
Instructor: Jule Selbo (Teaching Sep 9-13, 2024 workshop - Register here)
Jule Selbo has transplanted from California to Portland, Maine. Her screenwriting credits (spanning over two decades) in film and television include George Lucas’ Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, HBO’s Women Behind Bars, George Romero’s Tales from the Darkside and Monsters, Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame Part Deux and Cinderella II, Aaron Spelling’s Melrose Place, Fox’s Space Above and Beyond, the television series Hercules produced by Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, Hard Promises starring Sissy Spacek and more. She has worked as a screenwriter, screenwriter/producer in live action and animation, feature length work and shorts. She recently completed (summer 2019) a production rewrite on a feature film focused on the work of Nikolai Tesla.
