Class: Screenwriting (English elective)
Grades: 11th & 12th
Teacher: Perry Eaton

Students in the Screenwriting English elective Zoomed with professional screenwriters Seth Blogier (The Peripheral) and Kate Murdoch (Anna With The Violin). Blogier and Murdoch talked to the class about their experiences and shared what goes into preparing a script, how to decide the best medium for your story, and tips on developing characters and a writing style. Students also had the chance to ask for feedback about their own scripts.

Up next: Students will spend the next few weeks reviewing and critiquing a script Blogier and Murdoch are working on; the class will reconnect with the writers at the end of the month to share their thoughts and opinions.

This conversation with Seth and Kate was meant as a way for students to begin thinking about how to map out longer story arcs, how to explore characters in greater depth, and what this process looks like in a professional setting. – Perry Eaton, US English teacher

More about this course: How do the stories that we write change when we know that they will be interpreted visually and audibly? In this course, students will craft compelling narratives written in the form of scripts. At least once a week, this class will meet in collaboration with Video Production. Together, we will view and critique film and brainstorm and workshop ideas, and students in Video Production will work with students in Screenwriting to adapt their screenplays to film. With an emphasis on dialogue and indirect characterization, students will learn how to use screenwriting programs to develop short films or television episodes. Over the course of the term, students will storyboard, pitch, workshop, iterate, and see their ideas be reinterpreted through the production and acting of fellow collaborators. Think you have the next great idea for a (short) screenplay? Now is your chance to give it life.