SCREENWRITING: First Year

SCR 511 and 512: Screenwriting Workshop and Conference
FIRST AND SECOND TERMS
4 CREDIT HOURS TOTAL

In this Screenwriting workshop, Fellows meet weekly in a small group with their Faculty mentor and discuss their story ideas, develop outlines and complete at least one full-length feature screenplay, and a second draft of that screenplay. Fellows read each other’s work and give productive notes to their colleagues, as well as hear notes from each other and the mentor. The Screenwriting workshop emphasizes dramatic structure, telling a story cinematically in terms of action and the reality of characters portrayed.

SCR 531: The Great Screenplays
FIRST TERM
1 CREDIT HOUR

This seminar for first-year Screenwriters studies a series of “great” screenplays. Various genres are studied through close examination of works acknowledged as classics of their type. How these works are constructed in character-driven narrative, and how they have withstood the test of time and connected with audiences across social and cultural barriers, will be a central focus of the seminar. Fellows will read screenplays, the films will be screened, and the work will be discussed in terms of the “mechanics” of the screenplay, as well as the psychological and archetypal features of the characters.

SCR 535 and 536: The Story Incubator: Story Creation, Development, Presentation
FIRST AND SECOND TERMS
4 CREDIT HOURS TOTAL

A year-long practicum for first-year Screenwriters in story creation, development and presentation. Fellows work on what makes a good story for the screen and how to take it from idea to realization. Over the course of two semesters, through writing assignments and discussion, Fellows practice creating, developing, analyzing and presenting or pitching original stories for film and television.

SCR 541: Improv for Writers
FIRST TERM
1 CREDIT HOUR
ELECTIVE

This is a ten-week elective workshop, open to first-year Screenwriting Fellows. “Improv for Writers” introduces Fellows to the principles and rules of improv in a positive and supportive environment, with the goal of applying those principles and rules to writing for screen and television. Particular focus is placed on collaboration, on developing a positive and constructive writing process and on the fundamentals of sketch writing and scene construction.

SCR 555: Scenes, Sequences, Outlines
FIRST TERM
2 CREDIT HOURS

Scenes, Sequences, Outlines is a semester-long first-year workshop that focuses on developing skills in the building blocks of dramatic writing: dynamic scenes and sequences that can move the story, dialogue that feels like authentic behavior and outlining of the overall structure of a story. Fellows will do in-class exercises on scene writing, dialogue and sequence building, to specific prompts. Case studies and lectures will be used to illustrate successful use of these elements. There will also be assignments to be done at home and brought in for critique – including possible “special” dialogue assignments, some involving eavesdropping, which may change from term to term.

SCR 572: Writing for TV — Comedy
SECOND TERM
1 CREDIT HOUR

This workshop focuses on the foundational basics of writing for television, specifically the half-hour comedy. Fellows will break an original story and develop an outline and first draft spec script for a current television series.

SCR 574: Writing for TV — Drama
SECOND TERM
1 CREDIT HOUR

This workshop focuses on the foundational basics of writing for television, specifically the one-hour drama. Fellows will break an original story and develop an outline and first draft spec script for a current television series.

First Year Comprehensive Review

At the end of the first year, Screenwriting Faculty conduct a year-end review through a formal interview with each Screenwriting Fellow, which results in a recommendation regarding future directions the Fellow might decide to take in the program.

SCREENWRITING: Second Year

SCR 611 and 612: Advanced Screenwriting Workshop (in conjunction with SCR 690)
FIRST AND SECOND TERMS
6 CREDIT HOURS TOTAL

In this workshop, each Screenwriting Fellow develops a thesis portfolio consisting of two full-length written works. These may be two feature-length screenplays, or one feature-length screenplay and, upon request of the Fellow and at the discretion of Faculty, an additional TV pilot (one required TV pilot will be written in SCR 631 and 632). Each Fellow revises and completes drafts of the two works in the context of continual analysis and evaluation by Faculty and peers. All Fellows in the workshop group read each other’s work and come prepared each week with constructive notes.

SCR 615: Introduction to Writing for Video Games
Cross-listed for producers as PRO  515 & 610
FIRST TERM
1 CREDIT HOUR
ELECTIVE

An application-only elective class. Writing a video game storyline shares key features with writing a film screenplay: interesting characters, conflict, emotions, originality, style and purpose. Because story is the most important value in video games, the workshop will focus on the core narrative concept of the game and build out the characters and world from there. Fellows will have their works-in-progress read, analyzed and discussed by all participants as they move from Game Conception to a polished and professional Pitch Deck.

SCR 631 and 632: The Writers Room: Writing and Re-writing the TV Pilot
FIRST AND SECOND TERMS
2 CREDIT HOURS TOTAL

This two-semester workshop will focus on the skills necessary to become a professional writer in television. The class itself will function as a writers’ room — each Fellow will be working on their own script as well as helping structure and note the work of others. The core skills learned will be applicable for all screenwriting work, including features, one-hour dramas, half-hour comedy, animation or web series. Each Fellow will complete an original pilot and a re-write of the pilot in the course of the year.

SCR 633 and 533: Writing the Adaptation
FIRST TERM
1 CREDIT HOUR
ELECTIVE

An application-only elective practicum for first- and second-year Screenwriters on the essentials and challenges of adapting existing material. Fellows will work from their choice of fiction or nonfiction source material in public domain, seeking the story they want to tell and building it into a movie-sized or television series-sized project that honors the original while not necessarily just duplicating it for the screen. Fellows are tasked with giving source material new life in a new form.

SCR 636: Original Series Development for the Global Market
Ccross-listed with producing as PRO 636
SECOND TERM
1 CREDIT HOUR
ELECTIVE

An eight-week, application-only elective workshop designed to give Screenwriters or Screenwriting and Producing teams an opportunity to develop original TV drama series for the current global marketplace. Each Fellow or team is expected to produce a full bible, series document or pitch outline refined by the class, and regular story notes.

SCR 646: Introduction to Directing for the Writer
SECOND TERM
1 CREDIT HOUR
ELECTIVE

This application-only elective is a focused 12-session workshop that takes Screenwriting Fellows through the directing process in a series of exercises and assignments specifically designed to make them better writers. Each Fellow will bring in material that they have written – either a simple short, or an excerpt from ongoing work in one of their writing workshops. Over the first few weeks, all the material will be heard and critiqued in table reads, with notes provided for re-writes. Then scenes will be staged, so that writers can see what happens when a scene gets up on its feet, and the scenes are filmed. Finally, the writers will go into the editing room to “write the last draft.” In the final sessions, the material is screened and critiqued again, with everyone providing notes.

SCR 658: Running the Show: Writing for TV Week-to-Week
SECOND TERM
2 CREDIT HOURS
ELECTIVE

An application-only elective providing an overview of the broad spectrum of tools needed to be a showrunner in the modern world of television production. Accepted Fellows produce a look book based around their pilots written for SCR 631 & 632 and preside over a table read, tone meeting and production meeting in a workshop environment intended to emulate the writers room experience. Industry guests are brought in to discuss how their departments function, and in general how TV production works week-to-week.

SCR 662: The Table Read 
SECOND TERM
1 CREDIT HOUR
ELECTIVE
(8 sessions over 13 weeks)

This workshop is centered on table reads of 30 pages of each enrolled Screenwriting Fellow’s work, generally the first act of one of the second-year feature scripts. Fellows will work with Faculty to prepare their script pages, and will work with a casting director to cast professional actors who will perform the table read of their work. At the end of the table read, they will receive feedback from the actors as well as the other workshop participants. The final assignment is a proposal for revisions based on the notes and feedback from the workshop.

SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER