Feature-Length Screenplay Workshop

It’s time to write the movie you’ve been wanting to see!

A hands-on weekly workshop to generate a structurally sound screenplay targeted for producing and festival success

Our NJPL Collective Dramaturgs with expertise in writing and producing for the screen lead a small group of screenwriters through the process of devising, adapting, and generating a feature-length screenplay. Each participating screenwriter is encouraged to bring a strong, developed idea or draft of a screenplay that they’d like to work on throughout the course.

Through a structure of accountability, encouragement, and guidance, screenwriters in this cohort will learn how to map out a strong narrative while infusing every page with their personal voice and style. With the support of our NJPL team, the writer will acquire dramaturgical techniques to vitalize the creative process and reinforce industry-recognized structure to amplify their storytelling.

We recommend this program for:

• Writers who are considering a story that’s larger than a short film
• Writers who have a literary/theatrical reference they’d like to see on film
• Writers who are curious about the process of transferring their brainstorming to tangible pages
• Writers who have had some formal training, and desire more of a dramaturgical lens from which to work
• Writers who have written a feature length screenplay and are looking to start their next
• Writers who have not yet written a feature length screenplay but need a helping hand to begin

Upon completion of this course, participants will have:

• One [1] dramaturgically-guided “feature film” script
• A list of distribution options
• Festival strategies and intel
• The insight to offer value to a filmmaking community and give actionable feedback on their work. You will be the most cherished member of your cohort!

Prerequisite: Participating screenwriters must have prior screenwriting education/experience or have completed NJPL’s Film Fundamentals Workshop.

Led by NJPL Collective Dramaturgs/Screenplay Gardeners 

Darin F. Earl II and James Kenna