Creating Characters That Soar (& Sell) - 6 Week Seminar

Creating characters that “pop” on the page, on stage and on the screen, involves creating a dynamic relationship with your character.

This 6-Week workshop focuses on a relationship-based process for creating compelling, multidimensional, non-stereotypical, and commercially viable characters. The class focuses on nourishing the writer-character relationship for more authentic and marketable screenplays.

Unlike any other workshop, you will ignite a tight connection and a more lasting intimacy with yourself and to your work through our “writer-character relationship” paradigm.

• Challenge the status quo (both personal and cultural) 
• Unearth hidden pockets of dramatic struggle, transformation, and triumph.
• Represent cultures and cross-sections of society that are traditionally overlooked
• Explore stories from vibrant, diverse points of view

Everyone knows that screenwriting is on the knife’s edge of business and art. So, this class is not just about the craft of writing, but includes the necessary POVS of the Producer, Director and Actor for breathing life into characters because of the collaborative nature of filmmaking.

Taught by a team of four talented, working entertainment veterans, the class is the first to combine the professional’s perspective and craft building as the ‘leg up’ you need in your career. It is imperative that you master not only your craft, but also feel confidant using your craft to inform your career. Our goal is to give you our expertise, hard-won tools to be practical about the marketplace and know how to position yourself – beginning with where you are now. Learn through this profound, fun, entertaining intensive how to identify your unique voice and your specific “dynamic brand” in every creative setting.

Classes will feature short weekly lectures, handouts, in-class exercises, and homework.

Students are expected to share ongoing work to the mentor/instructors as well as tap into the group for guided feedback.

Brainstorming and applied solutions are filtered through the class discussion by the facilitator(s) for the week.

WEEK ONE

• Introduction (to the Team) and the Character-Relationship Writing System ™ 
• Investing in You
• Investing in Your Character… The Money Conversation
• The Bar Metaphor: Choosing the Right Character Fit (to keep your career fit)!

WEEK TWO

• Intro to “The Duality Engine ™
• Using Yourself to Create Dynamic Opposites that Drive Your Character; 
• Restocking your Inventory
• Knowing your (Writer’s) Past to Predict your (Character’s) Future

WEEK THREE

• Deepening the Character Relationship
• Widening Your POV 
• Going Beyond What You Know or Can Even Imagine
• Visualizing Your Character’s Life with New Eyes

WEEK FOUR

• Clarifying Theme: The Purpose of Your Character IS the Purpose of Your Story
• Asking Your Character the “Big Questions” to Reveal Inner Essence
• Pitching the Story from Your Character’s POV

WEEK FIVE

• Character Behavior Shaping the Micro/Macrocosm of the Story
• Upping the Ante
• Encouraging, Navigating, Resolving Conflict
• Making the Feral Character Talk Back to You – Sassy, Secure and Socialized

WEEK SIX

• Genre and Genre-Bending; Transforming the Look of the Page and Tweaking Your Brand
• Marketing for the Artist Made Easy
• Releasing Character(s) into the World

The format of each class:

½ hr Lecture
½ hr Timed Exercise/Responses/ Q&A
1 ½ hr Writer Presentations re: assigned homework/personal stage of writing process
½ hr Mixer post class

Join industry professionals: Award-winning Producer/Manager Marilyn R. Atlas, Award-Winning Producer-Writer-CEO, The Script Broker ® & USC Adjunct Professor Devorah Cutler-Rubenstein (both featured in NOW WRITE! SCREENING, Penguin 2010), VP Literary Development Elizabeth Lopez, Award-Winning TV Writer/Exec Producer Scott Rubenstein -- Four for the price of one, in an intimate, relaxed setting for fool-proof techniques, individual guidance and tales from the trenches.

Where:
8350 Melrose Ave – Suite 204
Los Angeles, CA 90069

When:
February 23rd – March 30th, Wednesday Nights 7:15-9:45 (plus optional half-hour mixer afterwards)