Classes

Fiction

  • Term: Winter 2023
  • Start Date: January 25, 2023
  • End Date: March 22, 2023
  • Day of Week: Wednesday
  • Time: 7:10pm - 9:10pm PT
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Audience: Adult
  • Location: Online
  • Availability: Yes
  • Public Price: $395.00
  • Member Price: $355.50

Learn About Scholarships

Writing a Feature-Length Screenplay: Structure and Character

Every movie starts as nothing more than words on a page. But how on earth does a writer get from the opening titles to the final fade-to-black? This course is aimed at writers who want to understand the possibilities—and limitations!—of a screenplay. Through weekly exercises and assignments, we’ll study screenplay structure and learn how to develop intriguing protagonists and supporting characters. Students will plan and begin to write their own feature screenplay.

Registration dates:

December 5: Scholarship Donation Day (Learn more.)

December 6: Member registration opens

December 13: General registration opens

Marissa Flaxbart

Marissa Flaxbart

Marissa Flaxbart is a writer, filmmaker, and podcaster based in Los Angeles. She holds a BA in Cinema and Media Studies from the University of Chicago and an MFA in Screenwriting from Chapman University. Early in her professional life, she produced and directed a feature-length documentary, SHOW/CHOIR, while leading a team of technology lecturers at one of the first flagship Apple stores. Since relocating to Los Angeles, she has worked as a writer and developer for film and television. She is the host of the culture podcast Sweet Valley Diaries and a writer/producer for Twenty Thousand Hertz. Her first narrative feature will be released in 2021.