Advanced Scriptwriting Workshop

Ready to work with professional actors to bring your script to life? Want to get your script produced, get an agent, or apply for an MFA program? In this intensive forum, you will polish and complete a full-length screenplay or television pilot. The course will combine peer workshops with lectures, writing exercises, and in-depth analysis of several classic screenplays and television shows. The last half of the course offers each writer the opportunity to workshop their script with professional actors. You will be in the company of other serious writers and an experienced instructor dedicated to giving comprehensive and insightful feedback.

At the end of the class, writers will participate in a staged reading of a scene from their completed script. The reading will use professional actors and will be performed in front of a live audience. Writers are welcome to invite friends and family to the event. Only students who have taken previous screenwriting workshops at GrubStreet or elsewhere should apply. Space is limited to 9 students in order to foster a closer, more intense, and more rigorous learning experience.

Applicants should have at least one act or thirty pages of a screenplay or television pilot completed. Submissions of prose are discouraged as this class is focused on screenplay writing.

Important dates:

This application deadline has been extended to January 23rd. Applications submitted after January 9th will not be reviewed.

The payment deadline for admitted students is Monday, January 16th.

To apply, please click the red "SEE DIRECTIONS TO APPLY" button in the top right corner of this page. This application will ask you to detail your workshop experience. It will also ask you to upload a 5-10 page writing sample. Please make sure this writing sample is a PDF file, double-spaced, and in 12-point font. For tracking purposes, your name should appear in the file name (e.g. Smith.Novel Title.Submission). Please note that the application itself will ask for a Word document or PDF, but for this class you should upload a PDF version of your sample. You can also track the status of your application in your Grubstreet profile. Please make sure your application is complete before you finally click "APPLY." If you have any technical difficulties filling out this application, please email [email protected]. You will receive a confirmation email once our system has received your submission.

Class Format

This class will take place in-person at our Center for Creative Writing in Boston's Seaport neighborhood.

Covid-19 Update:

GrubStreet's space will be mask optional when Boston's Covid-19 Community Level is low or medium. When the Covid-19 Community Level is high, our space will require masks. Please check GrubStreet's Covid-19 page for the latest info on masking and Community Levels before visiting in-person.

Scholarship Information

Thanks to the excellent literary citizenship of our donors, scholarships are available for all GrubStreet classes. To apply, click the gray "APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIP" button. In order to be considered for a scholarship, you must complete your application at least one week before the start date of a class. Please await our scholarship committee's decision before registering for the class. We cannot hold spots in classes, so the sooner you apply, the better. Scholarships cannot be applied retroactively.

For more more detailed information about GrubStreet scholarships, including how to contribute to scholarship funds for other students, click here.