Participate Writer's Studio

A mentored, four-month, project-specific, screenwriting workshop for writers, producers and other screen storytellers wishing to develop an original, feature film project from first draft to finished production. Screen storytellers with at least the first draft of an original feature screenplay are urged to apply. At the end of the workshop one of the script maybe chosen for production. Those wishing to apply – either individually or as a team – will have a passion for screen storytelling and a commitment to acquiring and developing the skills and strategies necessary for writing strong, character-based dramatic features.

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A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE

PARTICIPATE WRITER'S STUDIO is a part-time, screenwriting workshop for screen storytellers that have written at least one-draft of a promising feature. The workshop is unique – a script lab where participants are initiated into an entirely different way of working with character and story.

Over four months (August – November) participants will be mentored through a development process that will assist them to complete a compelling and suitably commercial screenplay that can be produced by Participate Film Academy or other production companies working in Australia.

Participants will acquire the necessary skills for writing successful character-based drama, as well as develop a set of revolutionary strategies aimed at transforming the storyteller into a medium for character and story.

By way of number of guided, learner-centred, experiential activities - including group readings, script analysis, improvisational story-telling, and acting exercises aimed at illuminating character and character actions – participants will develop a mastery of the basic principles of dramatic writing, as well as a useable vocabulary for facilitating effective discussion concerning all elements of feature script construction. Participants will also have the chance to test their script scenes by actually shooting them.

Special attention will be paid to working with character. This will include the identification or ALL the characters necessary for finding the story, including “audience”, “tribe” and the “screenwriter”.

Topics will include the narrative line (plot), building and releasing emotional energy, character development, text, context and subtext, the BIG PRINT, voice and dialogue, the ecology of screenwriting and the art of the pitch.

A REVOLUTIONARY APPROACH

“IT’S THE CHARACTERS, STUPID!”

Good drama depends upon getting the story right, which means working with the characters – ALL of the characters.

For years, Australian critics, journalists and others have criticised Australian films and filmmakers for failing to tell stories that audiences want to see. The on-going crisis confronting the industry is symptomatic of a general misunderstanding of dramatic storytelling. Rather than add yet another negative voice to the seemingly endless criticism, Participate Film Academy in co-operation with screenwriter/producer, Billy Marshall Stoneking, offers something constructive and thoroughly unique.

August 2010, sees the first intake of writers, producers and other screen storytellers into Participate’s hothouse WRITERS’ STUDIO - an intensive, feature development workshop that aims to revolutionise Australian screenwriting.

The STUDIO will give you an honest and illuminating response to your work, couched in constructive language that will turn you on to your script’s as-yet-unrealised possibilities.

Over four-months participants will write during the week and attend face-to-face workshops on the weekends. This will allow participants to be actively involved whilst maintaining regular employment. By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

• Design and successfully construct compelling and dramatic scenes for feature screenplays
• Read and critically examine and compare the strengths and weaknesses as well as the relative merits of a series of dramatic scene and acts
• Employ a practical understanding of the grammar of drama in developing original, surprising and credible characters.

 MEET THE MENTOR

Over four months, the STUDIO’S founder, Billy Marshall Stoneking, will mentor a small group of imaginative and talented storytellers that have written at least the first draft of a promising feature-length script. Employing the principles and processes of MEDIUMISTIC STORYTELLING www.whereisthedrama.com Stoneking will mentor participants in the development of their projects, culminating in the selection of at least one script for production.

The STUDIO is the first of its kind in Australia, maybe the first in the world in terms of scope and method of approach. The guiding ideas informing the STUDIO are the outcome of a lifetime of practice by Stoneking working in film and television, in both fictional and factional storytelling, including seven years as lecturer in screenwriting at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School in Sydney. His contribution to AFTRS films helped the school earn several major awards, including two Academy-award nominations.

More recently has written and is co-producing the international feature film, Breaking Bread, which will be shot next year in Prague. He is also the writer/producer of the feature documentary, Waking the Martyrs, which is currently in post-production. In addition, he is known as one of Australia’s most astute script editors, having contributed his editing expertise and insights to such projects as Chopper (Andrew Dominick) and the SBS-TV drama series, The Magician, written, directed and acted by Scott Ryan.

PARTICIPATE WRITERS’ STUDIO doesn’t separate “art” from “business” – the business of dramatic filmmaking is to tell a great story and to produce product that, while connecting with Australian audiences, also competes internationally.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

Acceptance into the STUDIO will be competitive, limited to no more than ten projects. Teams of filmmakers are urged to apply. Cost of admission is project based, hence, three participants will pay no more than one participant to have their feature workshopped and eligible for production. Screenplays not selected will remain the property of the writer, writer/producer. Apply now if you meet the following selection criteria:

• You have first-draft screenplay
• You have desire to make dramatic films
• You have some creative, storytelling ability
• You possess the necessary inter-personal skills to be an effective collaborator

Application must be delivered by 5pm of 9th July 2010 to:

Participate Film Academy
Australian Technology Park

Suite 3015, 2 Locomotive Street

Eveleigh NSW 2015

Sydney, AUSTRALIA

FAX +612 9209 4307

Script must be part of your Application
Application Fee: $170 cover readings of scripts and administration fees. If project is approved this amount will be deducted of the course fee.

START DATE 1st August 2010
COURSE FEE $ 4,500 inc. GST (must be paid in full on acceptance, by 27th July 2010)

For more information call 02 9209 4309 or email info@participate.com.au

F A Q s

What can I expect from PARTICIPATE WRITERS’ STUDIO that will benefit my screenplay?
In a word: honesty. There are so many people out there telling writers what they think they want to hear. The STUDIO will give you an honest and illuminating response to your work, couched in constructive language that will turn you on to your script’s as-yet-unrealised possibilities.

We work with what you have written in order to help you uncover what is still hidden. The STUDIO will NOT co-write your screenplay or suggest changes to your work that are not inherently implied by what you have already written.

Our job is to conduct you to vantage points from which you can see and better understand what you are writing and why.

Your fee seems very high. I mean $4,500! That’s rather dear, isn't it?
Not as expensive as paying a “hack” $4,000 for a first draft, only to discover (too late) that the script is just as undramatic but in an entirely different way.

Our fee reflects the highest standard of script consultancy in Australia – and is very cheap considering. We know you can get a simple analysis for much less, and maybe all you want is someone to tell you how good it is. What the STUDIO offers is a “new window” through which you can view what you are doing, and a chance to develop your ideas alongside others who share your passion for big screen storytelling.

We work with your fears, prejudices, assumptions, and expectations), helping you manage and transform them so you can begin to see what you need to do in order to break through the barriers that stand between you and the story that wants to get itself told. We also charge on a per-project basis, so that if you are joined by other members of your creative team you will pay even less per person.

I love writing but I dread of criticism and negative comments. How does THE STUDIO deal with a writer’s insecurities?
What we offer is a new window through which you can view what you are doing. Our job is to help you form ever more intimate relationships between you and the ALL of the characters necessary for finding the story. Such intimacy is not possible when one acts out of fear. We work constructively with your opinions, fears, expectations, prejudices and assumptions, showing you how they can be creatively transformed and used to benefit your project rather than stifling or frustrating it.

Do you have a website where I can peruse and read about the sorts of ideas and strategies that you use in order to develop screenplays to their highest potential?
Yes we do. You can find it at www.wheresthedrama.com. It will tell you all about the fundamental philosophies and principles of character-driven, MEDIUMISTIC screen storytelling, canvassing a variety of subjects, including CHARACTER-DEVELOPMENT, SUBTEXT & CONTEXT, GENRE, AUDIENCE and TRIBAL STORYTELLING.

Can you help me find a producer?
If we like your script, WE want to BE your producer! We believe that if you are able to master the basics of dramatic grammar, and are able – through our unique approach to screenwriting – to work as a MEDIUM for character, you will be able to produce a thoroughly compelling screenplay with fresh and dynamic characters, caught up in a situation with which any audience can identify. Do that and you’ll be a lot closer to getting your project made than if your screenplay lacks those elements.

What happens if my screenplay is selected for production?
It will form the basis of an illuminating and rigorous exploratory period lasting up to ten months, in which casting possibilities, rehearsals, test shoots, re-writes, conferences, and exploratory editing of sequences will initiate all cast and crew into the story-world within which they will be working during the actual four-week shoot at the end of the year – approximately 12 months after the conclusion of the STUDIO.