We host writing workshops & seminars about all kinds of subjects, but especially around screenwriting, television writing, and the art of romantic comedy.
Shonda Rhimes knows her storytelling. She's built an empire from it. From Grey's Anatomy all the way up through Bridgerton, Miss Shonda has built sprawling worlds, heartrending drama, meaningful characters, complex romance, and countless hours of iconic TV we'll be talking about for generations to come. Some of the best episodes of all time have come out of that brain. Whether you're a writer looking to learn from her or a TV lover looking to dissect your favorite shows, THE ART OF SHONDALAND is for you. This six-week seminar will deep-dive into how Miss Shonda keeps us on the edge of our seats, across genres and tone, breaking and making our hearts over and over (and over, and over) again.
Sessions will take place every other week, with an extra gap between weeks four and five, to allow people time to watch the applicable episodes. SESSIONS WILL BE AT 10AM PST/1PM ET ON JUNE 8, JUNE 22, JULY 6, JULY 13, AUGUST 3, and AUGUST 10. All sessions will be recorded, in case you have to miss a session or can’t make the session time.
SHOWS IN THE SYLLABUS:
Grey's Anatomy
Scandal
Bridgerton
Queen Charlotte
SCHEDULE:
WEEK ONE: WORLDBUILDING (JUNE 8)
Homework ahead of week one: Watch Grey's Anatomy 1x01, Scandal 1x01-1x03, Bridgerton 1x01
WEEK TWO: CRAFTING TENSION & CHARACTER (JUNE 22)
Homework ahead of week two: Watch season one of Grey's Anatomy, the rest of season one of Scandal, Queen Charlotte 1x01
WEEK THREE: BUILDING OUT YOUR ENSEMBLE (JULY 6)
Homework ahead of week three: Watch Grey's Anatomy 1x01-1x07
WEEK FOUR: EVENT TELEVISION (JULY 13)
Homework ahead of week three: Watch Grey's Anatomy 2x16-2x18, 2x24-2x27
(NOTE: THERE WILL BE A TWO-WEEK GAP BETWEEN SESSIONS FOUR AND FIVE TO ALLOW TIME TO WATCH THE EPISODES.)
WEEK FIVE: THE COMPLEX ROMANCE (AUGUST 3)
Homework ahead of week four: Watch season two of Bridgerton, season one of Queen Charlotte
WEEK SIX: AMPING UP THE TENSION (AUGUST 10)
Homework ahead of week five: Watch Grey's Anatomy 3x15 & 3x16 (season up til that point is optional viewing!), Scandal 2x01-2x09
Shonda Rhimes knows her storytelling. She's built an empire from it. From Grey's Anatomy all the way up through Bridgerton, Miss Shonda has built sprawling worlds, heartrending drama, meaningful characters, complex romance, and countless hours of iconic TV we'll be talking about for generations to come. Some of the best episodes of all time have come out of that brain. Whether you're a writer looking to learn from her or a TV lover looking to dissect your favorite shows, THE ART OF SHONDALAND is for you. This six-week seminar will deep-dive into how Miss Shonda keeps us on the edge of our seats, across genres and tone, breaking and making our hearts over and over (and over, and over) again. SIGN UP HERE OR BY CLICKING THE PHOTO ABOVE.
Sessions will take place every other week, with an extra gap between weeks four and five, to allow people time to watch the applicable episodes. SESSIONS WILL BE AT 5PM PST/8PM ET ON JUNE 10, JUNE 24, JULY 8, JULY 15, AUGUST 5, and AUGUST 12. All sessions will be recorded, in case you have to miss a session or can’t make the session time.
SHOWS IN THE SYLLABUS:
Grey's Anatomy
Scandal
Bridgerton
Queen Charlotte
SCHEDULE:
WEEK ONE: WORLDBUILDING (JUNE 10)
Homework ahead of week one: Watch Grey's Anatomy 1x01, Scandal 1x01-1x03, Bridgerton 1x01
WEEK TWO: CRAFTING TENSION & CHARACTER (JUNE 24)
Homework ahead of week two: Watch season one of Grey's Anatomy, the rest of season one of Scandal, Queen Charlotte 1x01
WEEK THREE: BUILDING OUT YOUR ENSEMBLE (JULY 8)
Homework ahead of week three: Watch Grey's Anatomy 1x01-1x07
WEEK FOUR: EVENT TELEVISION (JULY 15)
Homework ahead of week three: Watch Grey's Anatomy 2x16-2x18, 2x24-2x27
(NOTE: THERE WILL BE A TWO-WEEK GAP BETWEEN SESSIONS FOUR AND FIVE TO ALLOW TIME TO WATCH THE EPISODES.)
WEEK FIVE: THE COMPLEX ROMANCE (AUGUST 5)
Homework ahead of week four: Watch season two of Bridgerton, season one of Queen Charlotte
WEEK SIX: AMPING UP THE TENSION (AUGUST 12)
Homework ahead of week five: Watch Grey's Anatomy 3x15 & 3x16 (season up til that point is optional viewing!), Scandal 2x01-2x09
This is a four-week seminar with a small workshop component, designed for preparing you to write your first (or next!) pilot. We’ll meet via Zoom for approximately two hours starting at 5pm PST/8pm ET. Sessions will be TUESDAYS JUNE 4, 11, 18, and 25.
WEEK ONE: Introducing your character & world; we’ll watch Bridgerton & Queen Charlotte
WEEK TWO: Tension & engines; we’ll watch Grey’s Anatomy
WEEK THREE: Voice, tone, & making it memorable; we’ll watch Scandal
WEEK FOUR: Workshop your idea
Want to learn how to launch a series? Learn from studying the very best.
You’ll leave this class knowing exactly how to turn your pilot into the killer launching pad for a show you know it can be. You will gain a deeper knowledge of what elements make a pilot sing, and having already started applying that to your own work. How do keep someone reading/watching? How do you introduce characters? Conflict? What are the engines that will keep your show going for years and years? We’ll cover it all, looking to some of the best pilots of the past few decades as our guiding lights and then figuring out how we’d do it better.
This seminar/workshop is designed primarily for the use of beginning screenwriters, but those who have experience screenwriting are welcome as well if they think the class can be of use to sharpen their skills. As a screenwriter myself I am still learning a lot from all the pilots we watch!