Stage 32 Screenwriting Lab: Write Your Female-Driven Feature Film Script In 8 Weeks
Other education that may be of interest to you:
Stage 32 Screenwriting Class: How to Better Approach and Sign With a Literary Manager to Advance Your Screenwriting Career - With a Query and Writing Sample Workshop
Learn how to approach managers the right way to get the representation you need to further your career from a literary manager at The Cartel, with clients on IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA, THE UPSHAWS, LUCIFER, and more! All writers think they have the next great screenplay or series. And maybe you do! But to get the proper feedback, get the script into market shape, and have a confidant on the business side of your pursuits to get your work out there, having a great manager who's plugged in can make all the difference. It’s your manager who often is the key to getting in front of execs, getting staffed on a TV show, and building your career to writing full-time. But as most writers can attest, finding a manager can be HARD. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible, though. It’s more in your power than you may think. Most managers will tell you that most newer writers make the same mistakes when looking for a manager that can prevent them from ultimately finding representation. The good news is that these mistakes are easily avoidable and can be replaced with effective strategies and actions that can greatly help your chances. It’s time to hear from a successful literary manager herself on how she finds clients and what you can do to find the representation you need for your own career. Audrey Knox is a TV literary manager at The Cartel, a premiere management company with clients on shows including the Emmy-nominated IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA, Golden Globe winning CALIFORNICATION, THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, BONES, LUCIFER, HAPPY!, BLACK LIGHTNING, STAR TREK: DISCOVERY, and more. For years, Audrey has been helping clients get their work in front of execs and networks and most recently staffed one of her clients on THE UPSHAWS for Netflix. As an established and successful literary manager, Audrey has seen more than her fair share of queries and writing samples and has met her fair share of hungry writers. She knows very well what mistakes most writers make and how the writers she ends up working with find success. And now she’s going to lay it all out for the Stage 32 community. In a special and exclusive 2-part on-demand class, Audrey will give you the tools you need and the strategies you’ve been lacking to put your best foot forward and better your chances of getting a great literary manager for your own screenwriting or TV writing career. In the first session, Audrey will walk you through how to approach managers the right way and explain the proper approach to query letters, writing samples, bios, and loglines. She even dissects brave volunteers’ own query letters and writing samples. After laying out this approach, Audrey will leave you to put these skills to use and actually reach out to managers on your own! The second session will discuss how the new approach worked and then dive into next steps you can take as a writer once you have an interested manager, including signing, how to be a good client that your manager will want to keep on board, and the other members of your team you may or may not need, like agents and lawyers. If you’ve been struggling to find representation, there are likely things you can be doing differently to better your chances. here’s no one better than Audrey to help you adjust your approach and ultimately get the representation you’re looking for. Praise for Audrey's Teaching: "I can't say enough good things about Audrey. She cares about helping her students and provides very valuable information. I wish she was MY manager!" --Sam R. "I didn't realize how much should go into reaching out to reps until I took this class from Audrey. I was doing it all wrong!" -- Morgan B. "Audrey is one of the best teachers on Stage 32. I can't recommend learning from her enough." -- Sydney M.
How To Write A Query Letter That Gets You Past The Gatekeepers
Learn how to write a query letter that makes people take notice of you and your script so that you can make connections, get repped, and launch your career! Your script is ready. You have a killer logline and an impressive bio. So, why isn’t anyone responding to your query letter? The truth is managers and agents are inundated with daily emails from hopeful writers looking to get their scripts into the right hands. These are “cold queries,” where writers reach out to industry professionals or "gatekeepers," hoping the executive will want to read their script or even meet. Most of the time, these queries are dismissed or ignored, and sometimes can harm your ability to build a relationship with an executive. However, a select few will cut through the clutter and gain attention. So how do you break through? In this exclusive Stage 32 on-demand webinar, you’ll learn what managers are looking for from your query letter, how to find the people to contact, and how to ultimately grab their attention so you can move your career forward. Showing you exactly what representatives want to see in your query letter is Audrey Knox of The Cartel, a full-service management and production company. Audrey has built a successful roster of screenwriting clients who have written for shows including SINGLE DRUNK FEMALE, GINNY & GEORGIA, P-VALLEY, and THE GOLDBERGS, and are writing projects for Netflix, Nickelodeon, Apple TV+, and more. She recently found her client, Heidi Lux, through Stage 32 and produced Heidi’s feature film CRUSHED, which premiered on Tubi this year. Audrey will also show you examples of successful query letters and will provide you with the best format and formula in a handout to keep and use in your future query letters. Don’t miss out on your chance to learn exactly what literary managers are looking for from one of the best in the business! Praise for Audrey's Teaching: "I can't say enough good things about Audrey. She cares about helping her students and provides very valuable information. I wish she was MY manager!" --Sam R. "I didn't realize how much should go into reaching out to reps until I took this class from Audrey. I was doing it all wrong!" -- Morgan B. "Audrey is one of the best teachers on Stage 32. I can't recommend learning from her enough." -- Sydney M.
TV Writing 101
Learn The Fundamentals Of Writing For Television With A Literary Manager Who Recently Staffed Clients On SINGLE DRUNK FEMALE, GINNY & GEORGIA, P-VALLEY, GROWN-ISH, HACKS, UPSHAWS, and more! Last year, a record number of 559 original scripted shows aired on broadcast, cable, and streaming television. From Succession and The Morning Show to Ted Lasso and Abbott Elementary, the most successful TV shows can capture a generation of fans and generate cultural conversations. And every show started with a great pilot script that launched the series. Television pilot structure can be complex but there are several principles that should always be followed. Writers who dream of that coveted “Created By” credit must first develop a sellable concept and compelling characters, then tell a self-contained story in either thirty or sixty minutes that sets up a larger story with an engine strong enough to carry it for multiple seasons. In this exclusive 4-part Stage 32 on-demand class, Audrey Knox, a literary manager at The Cartel, will teach you all of the basic steps required to write a strong TV pilot script so that you can flourish as a TV writer. Audrey has recently staffed her writers on series such as SINGLE DRUNK FEMALE, GINNY & GEORGIA, P-VALLEY, GROWN-ISH, HACKS, UPSHAWS, and more. Whether your goal is to write a pilot script that sells or to write a sample that gets you staffed in the writers’ room of a TV show, the first step is to learn the basics of writing a TV pilot. Many showrunners only give your script five pages before deciding whether you’re worth hiring, and thousands of writers attempt to get their foot in the door in Hollywood every year. Knowing the challenges new television writers face when starting out in TV is essential for building a writing process and knowledge base that helps you overcome them. This class is ideal for feature or novel writers that are looking to write their first TV pilot, TV writers who are looking to take their pilot writing skills to the next level, and new writers who are looking for how to start writing for TV. Praise for Audrey's Teaching: "I can't say enough good things about Audrey. She cares about helping her students and provides very valuable information. I wish she was MY manager!" --Sam R. "I didn't realize how much should go into reaching out to reps until I took this class from Audrey. I was doing it all wrong!" -- Morgan B. "Audrey is one of the best teachers on Stage 32. I can't recommend learning from her enough." -- Sydney M.
How to Hire Experienced Crew for Your Micro-Budget Feature Film on the Cheap
So you want to shoot a micro-budget film. You've got your idea. You're excited as hell. You can't wait to get going. There's just one problem. You have little to no money, need to shoot this film on the cheap, and you can't do it without an experienced crew. So how can you get quality, talented people to work for you for little to no money? It happens every day. If you know how to navigate. The old saying goes, a filmmaker is only as good as his or her crew. Making sure that everything is buttoned up on set, from your script supervisor to your sound engineer to your DP and gaffer, the more quality you throw at your film in pre-production and during production, the less headaches and "let's try to fix it in post" problems (which are also painfully expensive) you'll face in post-production. The thing is, regardless of your budget, and in this case we're talking ultra low to $250,000, you can find passionate, creative, and qualified people to work for you well below their normal rate. Barry Andersson is an award-winning director and cinematographer. He has directed 5 feature films (time and time again with some of the best crews imaginable) and has had his features theatrically released in theaters with his latest film distributed by Lionsgate. Barry's has also shot several television pilots, acclaimed short films, numerous commercials, and countless commercials and corporate videos. As if that wasn't enough, Barry is also the author of the hugely successful and revered DSLR Filmmakers Handbook. Barry will teach you how to secure top level, Hollywood quality, crew members for cheap no matter where you live in the world. He will instill in you the confidence to identify and then go in for the proper "ask". He will show you why sometimes a positive and visionary attitude is everything. He will even teach you how to be flexible with your story and locations in an effort to give yourself the best chance of finding and securing a crew that can take your film from OK to masterpiece. PRAISE FOR BARRY'S TEAHCINGS: Barry is an excellent teacher. He never fails to inspire and make you understand that what you always believed to be impossible, or at least ridiculously daunting, is not only possible, but absolutely attainable if you follow his methods. I wouldn't be where I'm at without him. - Julia V.
Cutaways - Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Family Guy, The Princess Bride, Narcos, The Big Short
We take a look at how writers use cutaways to drive home punchlines in Family Guy and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, explain big ideas in The Big Short, give historical context in Narcos, and frame stories in The Princess Bride.
Introducing a Major Character
A great story starts with great characters and every great character starts with a great introduction. We challenged you to create or rewrite a scene where a major character is introduced.
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