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Course number: S3040
6 points
Day & Time: Monday, Wednesday: 10am-1pm, 2pm-5pm Thursday: 5pm-8pm
May 23 - July 1, 2011
Instructor: Frank Pugliese
The Television Writing Intensive is a six week, concentrated and encompassing introduction into the field of television writing, designed to prepare students for the professional worlds of half-hour comedies, one-hour dramas and police / medical procedurals. In an interconnected program consisting of two intensive writing workshops and a lecture series with guest writers and professionals in the field, students gain the knowledge and authority to explore, examine and create the kind of groundbreaking work that is taking over cable and making its way onto the Networks, here and around the world.
The Television Writing Intensive focuses on two specific tracks. One track is the half-hour comedy; the other is the one-hour drama. These two formats, although having much in common, come out of different traditions and are conceived and written in different ways.
* This intensive course will meet 15 hours per week, on Mondays and Tuesdays for six hours during the day (exact times TBD), and Thursday evenings for three hours (exact time TBD). These times are probable but subject to change based on availability of guest speakers and other opportunities which may arise, but the general format will stay the same if changes do occur. Meaning, the course will meet for two week days for six hours and one week night for three hours, avoiding Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
ONE-HOUR DRAMA:
THREE HOURS, TWO TIMES A WEEK, SIX WEEKS.
We will examine the fundamental tools of the craft of television writing while developing and completing the steps towards an original one-hour pilot.
With the pilot as focal point, we will explore the opportunities and challenges of telling and sustaining a story episodically (one episode per week) and over a long period of time (a year, two years, five years, etc,) with an emphasis on the creation of the quintessential premise and the on-going conflict, be it thematic or literal, behind a successful series.
Over the first week of the course students will be required to present/pitch their series idea. During the subsequent week or two, students will be required to create and present a “show bible” for their developing idea; (the “show bible” being the foundation and blueprint of any potential series.)
As part of the show bible, students will present a synopsis for the project’s pilot. This synopsis is the jumping off point for next two to three weeks of work; a required step/beat-sheet (outline) of that pilot.
The beat-sheet, therefore is, our first step towards the goal of the final weeks of the course which is the beginnings of a finished pilot/teleplay.
Additional course work includes weekly examinations and analysis of successful one hour teleplays, well established series, and the role of the writer-director/executive-producer in the medium.
HALF HOUR COMEDY:
THREE HOURS, TWO TIMES A WEEK, SIX WEEKS.
We will examine the fundamental tools of the craft of television comedy writing while developing and completing the foundation for a half-hour pilot.
In this course, the half-hour pilot will be the focal point for an examination on the opportunities and challenges of telling a story within the given limitations of the form; the emphasis being on the creation of “the situation.” ‘Situation’ being the setting, physically and thematically, the collection of characters that inhabit it, and the ongoing conflict in which those elements find themselves.
As in the One Hour course our goal is to create a show bible and a pilot. With an emphasis on creating a stage and situation that can absorb almost any story.
Additional work includes weekly examinations, analysis of successful half-hour teleplays and well-established series, and the role of the head-writer/executive producer.
NOTE: IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE INTENSIVE, STUDENTS WILL CONCENTRATE ON THE WRITING AND COMPLETION OF EITHER THE HALF HOUR COMEDY OR THE ONE HOUR DRAMA PILOT.
THE WRITER’S ROOM:
THREE HOURS, ONCE A WEEK, SIX WEEKS.
Course work focuses on the weekly examinations, analysis of specific successful half-hour teleplays and well-established series from that week’s quest lecturers; which will include working writers, producers, directors, executives, and actors from the field.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Frank Pugliese is a graduate of Cornell University where he won the Forbes Herman award for playwriting and was artistic director of the Whistling Shrimp Theatre Co. His plays for the New York stage include Aven'U Boys (Off-Broadway, Obie Award), The King of Connecticut,The Talk, The Alarm (all with Naked Angels); The Summer Winds (NY Stage and Film); Hope is the Thing with Feathers (The Drama Dept.). Regional productions include The Talk (One Act Festival in L.A., New York Stage and Film, Williamstown, Mass.). His screenplays include 29th Street (for Paramount and produced by Fox); Born to Run (produced by Fox); Dion (based on Dion and the Belmonts); Infamous (produced by Hart-Sharp); Shot in the Heart (directed by Agnieszka Holland, produced by Barry Levinson and Tom Fontana); and Italian (Greenstreet producing). Directing credits include Some Voices (by Joe Penhall, with the New Group); Betrayed by Everyone by Kenneth Lonergan (The Met Theatre, L.A.); Four by Christopher Shinn (Kaufman Theatre); and The Passion Play (by Pippin Parker, Naked Angels). He also produced and directed the critically acclaimed Hesh (by Matthew Weiss, Malaparte Theatre Company, Naked Angels). Pugliese is a member of WGA East, and won the WGA award for his work on the television series Homicide. He is a proud member of Naked Angels and Drama Dept. and co-founder of both The Writer's Group and The Screenwriter's Collective. As one of Naked Angels' former co-artistic directors, he helped develop The Issues Project, Tuesdays @9, and Angels in Progress. He is a consultant for the Cherry Lane/Alternative Mentor program for young playwrights.
The online application is now available. Please click here. The deadline for the application is April 1, 2011, and you will be notified of your status in the course no later than May 2, 2011. After April 11, applications will be considered on a space available basis.
Admission to the Television Writing Intensive is competitive and by application only. Students will be asked to submit a writing sample, a CV, and a short statement about what you would like to work on during the intensive.
HOUSING:
Limited housing in university dorms will be made available to TV Writing students on a first-come, first-served basis. Details to follow in mid-February.
PROGRAM FEE:
Program Fee: $5890 *
Materials Fee: $150
* $5890 represents the non-credit tuition rate. For those wishing to take this course for 6 credits, the Columbia University standard Summer Sessions tuition rate will apply. 2011 Summer tuition rates have not yet been posted by the University, but 2010 rates are available here.