Writing Scripts 101

GUIDE TO SCRIPTWRITING COURSES
Scriptwriting Pathways
Foundation
If you’re not sure what kind of script to write...
If you know what kind of script to write...
Somewhat related...
If you want a rather short course...
Or...
Next Steps
After completing a Level I ten-week course...
After completing TV Writing II Pilot…
Writing Scripts 101

Writing Scripts 101 is a 6-week class, which includes a mixture of lectures and exercises. It’s for beginners or anyone who wants a refresher. Farther down, you can view a syllabus for this course.

Do you dream of seeing your work performed, up there, somewhere? A spellbinding movie. An addictive TV show. A gripping play. The thrill of scriptwriting is that, if you’re lucky, you get to see your work soar to life once all the elements—the work of directors, designers, cast, crew—are added to the vision of your script.

Here you’ll gain an introduction to writing for movies, TV, and plays, and you’ll also learn techniques fundamental to all forms of scriptwriting. It’s a sampler platter, with no pressure to work on a specific project or settle on which type of scriptwriting you prefer.

If you’re eager to enter the excitement of writing scripts, the show begins right here.

About Writing Scripts 101
Writing Scripts 101

A good 101 for anyone looking to put pen to paper on their movie, television or play ideas!

Rose Frullani-Bacon

publicist

Notes

This course includes screenwriting, TV writing, and playwriting.

The 101 courses do not include workshopping of student projects, but students write and receive feedback on writing exercises and assignments.

Upcoming Classes

To ensure everyone's good health, students in NYC classes must provide proof of full Covid vaccinations (the initial series of Covid vaccines plus at least one booster). We will accept your Covid vaccine card (or a digital scan), a NY State Excelsior digital card, or another form of government-approved proof. We will contact you before class begins about showing us proof. Also, we will require masks in the classrooms and Gotham premises.

More Covid details

Price

Registration fee $25, paid once per term

6-Week

Syllabus

This course explores the major types of scriptwriting, and the techniques that go with them. Course components:
     Brief lectures
     Writing exercises

New York City/Zoom classes
The syllabus varies from teacher to teacher, term to term. Many topics will be similar to those covered in the Online classes.

Online classes 
Week 1
The Big Picture: Desire and conflict. Dramatic structure. Character—personality, actions, change.

Week 2
Scenes: Objective/obstacle. Scene pointers—beginning/middle/end, compression, stage directions, Dialogue—illusion of reality, reflecting character and situation, subtext.

Week 3
Playwriting: What makes it a play?—live-ness, theatricality, scene approach. Shaping a play—plot, character, and other considerations. Play scenes analyzed.

Week 4
Screenwriting: What makes it a movie?—Hollywood vs. indie, visual storytelling, scene approach. Shaping a movie—plot, character, and other considerations. Movie scenes analyzed.

Week 5
TV Writing: What makes it a TV show?—stories expanded over time, serial vs. episodic, types and forms. Shaping a TV episode—plot, character, and other considerations. TV scenes analyzed.

Week 6
The Dramatic Life: Getting ideas. Studying and stealing. Doing it—writing and revising, finding production.

Note: Content may vary among individual classes.

Teachers

Kuros Charney
Kuros Charney

Kuros Charney has had plays produced at numerous theaters, including Shame and Desire (Stella Adler Theatre), The Man from Brazoria County (ALAP New Works Lab), The Moving Forward of Souls (Coronet Theater), Anger (Elephant Theatre), and The Humanist (Dayton Playhouse). He wrote the feature film Another City, which premiered at the Manhattan Film Festival, and the feature screenplays Used Books, which was developed with actor/producer LeVar Burton (Eagle Nation Films), and The Sea Between, commissioned by producer Elizabeth Kahn (Forever After Project, Inc.). His work has appeared in New York magazine, Another Chicago Magazine, and FOLIO. He holds a BA from UC-San Diego and an MFA in Film from USC.

Read more
Richard Caliban
Richard Caliban

Richard Caliban was artistic director of Cucaracha Theater in NYC where he produced new works and directed  his own plays, including Homo Sapien Shuffle at the Public Theatre. His work has been seen at Primary Stages, Playwrights Horizons, Cherry Lane, Ensemble Studio Theatre, La Mama, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Geva Theatre, Denver Center Theatre, and the Berkshire Theatre Festival. He wrote the book/lyrics/music and directed MoM: A Rock Concert Musical, which won Outstanding Musical at the NY International Fringe Festival. Published plays include Rodents & Radios, Gladiator, Famine Plays, and Cranium Fandango. He has directed and/or taught at the National Theatre Conservatory, NYU, Columbia University, C.W. Post College, Hunter College, City College of New York, Towson University, Lincoln Center Director’s Lab, and the Director’s Guild. He holds a BA from Bard College and attended the Yale School of Drama and NY Film Academy.

Read more