Workshops

Improvisation for Screenwriters in Film & TV
with Sean McCann

26th & 27th July 2008

"This is the best workshop on improvisation I have EVER attended. It provided a new and refreshing approach to writing that was easy to follow, engaging and provocative. Sean worked hard to create a unified, homogeneous group that got on tremendously well together. After two days I was really sad to have to say goodbye to each and every member of the group! Sean's techniques produced immediate results and I can only grow as a writer, actor and director now that I have worked with him." Kevin Nash, 'Improvisation for Screenwriters' participant,
July 2008

Introduction

A weekend course designed specifically for screenwriters who wish to collaborate with other professional writers, actors and directors, using improvisation techniques to develop and improve their work.

Cinematography department.

Sean McCann with participants of the Improvisation for Screenwriters course July 2008 (Photo: Amos Soffian)

Course Outline

Improvisation is a performance method, and is often used by directors and actors to enhance the quality of performance. However, writers can also use the craft of improvisation to develop their story outlines and screenplays. Whether the writer is a solitary person who needs complete control over their work, or a collaborative person who wishes to combine their writing with that of others, this course will give the writer a clear set of improvisational tools which can be employed at any stage of the writing process, from the very first ideas to the penultimate draft of the finished screenplay.

The intensive course will focus on the following:

  • Apply the fundamental principals of narrative story-telling to the craft of dramatic writing.
  • Use improvisation to put scenes on their feet, and save hours drafting and redrafting at your word-processor.
  • Techniques to unlock creativity, and banish writers' block
  • Using "Status" as a tool to increase and heighten conflict.
  • The difference between "predictable" and "satisfying"
  • "Active" versus "passive" storytelling.
  • Improvising stories from scratch
  • New ways of using classic story structure.
  • Techniques for working with other people (writers, actors, directors etc) in order to create, develop and improve story outlines and screenplays.
  • Identifying weak areas in pre-existing work, and strengthening them.
  • Using archetypal story forms as a basis of improvisation work.

The course will be highly practical in nature, and although an ability to "perform" is not required, participants will be expected to participate fully, including engaging in numerous improvisation exercises. There will be a feedback component, and a full written outline of the course will be supplied, but the nature of the work is practical, immersive and "hands on".

Fee:£180

Maximum Participants: 10

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Instructions

Please complete the Application Form and the Ethnicity and Disability monitoring form and email them to : Carolyn Atherton:
workshops@lfs.org.uk

Resources

email or post them together with the following:

  • Personal Statement
  • CV

Postal Address:
Workshops Admissions, The London Film School, 24 Shelton Street, London, WC2H 9UB, UK

Email:
Carolyn Atherton: workshops@lfs.org.uk

Telephone us:
+44 (0)20 7836 9642

Fax us:
+44 (0)20 7497 3718

Funding

Skillset Screen Bursaries allow freelancers and employees in the UK's film and TV industries to train for less. Visit: www.skillset.org/film/
funding/bursaries for details and contact Hal Sinden directly for eligibility criteria hals@skillset.org