Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Script Kitchen

UPDATE: 
John and Tara report strong response to Script Kitchen, so they'll open a Sunday class soon. Date and time TBA. Questions? Want in? scriptkitchen@gmail.com

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Tara Samuel and my husband John Sandel finalized plans yesterday for the screenwriting class the two of them will begin teaching in--wow--just over a week. We're pretty excited around here.

Script Kitchen will include 7 students in 6 weekly classes, "focusing on story structure and how the hero determines the tale." John and Tara believe we all know deep down how a good story is supposed to work. (You know when a story doesn't work, don't you?) In their class you'll find out how much you know and how to apply it to creating a screenplay, full length or short.

I'm sorry they're not teaching novel writing. Next time, maybe? I learned everything I needed to know about story structure from John.

There are still a couple of openings. Here's the info:


In the picture, Tara is not taking dictation. I gave her the notepad as a prop because all she had was that little ole' apple and John had a whole bowl of chili. We offered Tara some chili. Really we did.

23 comments:

Kalei's Best Friend said...

Great news!... BTW, did you notice how monochromatic your photo is? Love just the hint of color- fruit, coffee cup, jewelry!.

TheChieftess said...

Nice shot!!! Congratulations Tara and John! I know you'll do a bang-up job!!!

Will there be a novel writing workshop in the works now too???

Petrea Burchard said...

KBF, this may be a good indicator of how different the many computer screens are. On my screen the walls and table of the nook are pale green.

Chieftess, you give me ideas! I might try to talk them into a class that novelists can take.

JHL said...

If only I was in the area, I would love to take instruction from you guys.

John Sandel said...

We could do a novels workshop if we adapted the format. The Script Kitchen is designed to give our students the most attention possible in a weekly 3-hour class. (We meet for 6 weeks.)

It works because we limit each class to seven students, who deliver their rewrites, as PDFs, to Tara & me at least 24hrs before each class. Then we email the rewrites to the other students, who are responsible for reading them on their own time. That way, nobody reads their works aloud in class: when we meet, everybody's already read each other's rewrites & we can dive into problems of structure, timing, character &c.

Home-reading becomes even more important with full-prose works (stories, novels, memoirs), because of the bulk of material. But the same fundamentals which scripts require obtain in prose works. Sometimes, individual consultations are a good alternative to guide prose writers. Tara &/or I are available for individual guidance, at separate rates.

On another note, I gotta learn to sit up straight …

Kalei's Best Friend said...

@Petrea: on mine its various shades of soft grey!. btw what color is John's shirt? my screen shows a soft charcoal blue grey...

Petrea Burchard said...

KBF, John's shirt is a soft charcoal black, no blue.

John Sandel said...

James L: Get ahold of me separately & maybe we can cook up an individual consult with you.

Our general email is: scriptkitchen@gmail.com.

Anita Davison said...

Wish I could attend this, Petrea- a friend of mine, author Sandra Gulland has just announced that her Josephine Bonaparte Trilogy is being made into a screenplay by Michael Hirst for a film produced by Kelsey Grammar. Jealous? Me?
You bet I am......
Perhaps if I wrote my own . . . .?

John Sandel said...

Anita: You don't have to live in Los Angeles to have access to the Script Kitchen. We consult to people internationally via the wubbernet!

See my latest post at https://www.facebook.com/ScriptKitchen, then email me & tell me what you're working on.

Bellis said...

Hope they're handing out this flyer in all the coffee shops? That seems to be where script writers work. It seems like a really good idea, so I wish John and Tara all the best with it.

My laptop swears blind that John's shirt is blue-grey.

Pasadena Adjacent said...

I'll have to pass this on to a friend. She likes taking writing classes. She's currently studying with someone whose last name is "Grape"

Petrea Burchard said...

Jack Grapes--yes, he's well-known and well-liked. I'm not familiar with him enough to know if he works on structure or not. I believe he uses free writing in his classes and I know writers who have benefited from his teachings. He calls it "Method Writing."

Margaret said...

How exciting. I wish them luck

Ms M said...

That sounds fascinating! I hope they have a full house for the class.

Katie said...

Such a cool endeavor and I wish them much success! I do have an idea for a script (novel?), but I don't have any intention of actually writing it. But I'll get in touch with Script Kitchen if I change my mind. Are you sure Tara isn't copying down the chili recipe?

Petrea Burchard said...

Thanks for the encouragement, everyone.

Katie, we've got a copier so if Tara wants the chili recipe, there's no need to jot it down. Although I should probably retype it because it's a mess.

Adele said...

What a great adventure!

Susan Campisi said...

This is all very exciting. I hope to take the class at some point, when I move beyond my mid-life crisis. Maybe I'll even write about my mid-life crisis?

In the meantime, best of luck to John and Tara!

Petrea Burchard said...

Everyone has a story. Seriously, everyone has a great story to tell. Since it happens to us personally, we don't always realize what an amazing story it is. But we all have at least one, and probably many.

By way of answering your question about your mid-life crisis, Susan, and by way of mentioning the "adventure" word, per Adele.

John Sandel said...

Anyone who wants to talk scriptwriting—any kind of storytelling—or who has questions about the class, drop us a line at:

scriptkitchen@gmail.com

Thanks, all!

LONDONLULU said...

How exciting! I'm looking forward to hearing more about the adventure!

Petrea Burchard said...

They signed up another student today, so I'm fired up.