Masterclass in Screenwriting

Catalog description

Majors only. While the screenwriter working in the Western world should be proficient in Aristotelian structure, many of the stories we want to tell don't lend themselves easily to a narrative paradigm in which a hero rises up against the odds in pursuit of a definable concrete goal. Increasingly, many storytellers see life as…messier than that. *Masterclass in Screenwriting: Alternative Narrative Structures* is predicated on the belief that how you tell a story is just as important as the story you tell. In this Screenwriting Masterclass for MFA students, we will explore the expansion of character identification; the balance between plot and character; the manipulation of form, genre, and linearity; and the distinction between the dramatic and narrative voice. We will do this through a combination of text analysis, writing exercises and workshops, as students develop the first draft of a feature-length screenplay (85-100 pages). While challenging accepted narrative models and exploiting the opportunities presented by "alternative" strategies, we will discuss the impact of our artistic choices and how to maintain audience investment in the absence of traditional dramatic guideposts.