Uniqueness is what the School of Communication’s Masters of Fine Arts in Writing for the Screen and Stage program prides itself on.
The two-year program, slated to begin next fall, wants its graduates to be well-versed as not only a playwright, screenwriter and television writer, but also as an artist who can tell the best story possible, exploring different writing media.
“In a world in which screenplays are written by playwrights, television shows are developed by screenwriters and theater is created by television writers, writers are being asked to demonstrate versatility in a variety of media,” says producer, screenwriter and RTVF associate professor Dave Tolchinsky, director of the new MFA program, which has already received 103 applications vying for just 12 slots.
The Writing for the Media program and the RTVF department are sponsoring an interdisciplinary writing panel March 31 at the Block Museum’s Pick/Laudati Auditorium, 40 Arts Circle Dr., at 4 p.m.
The panel of Greg Berlanti (Dawson’s Creek, Everwood, Jack and Bobby), Eric Bernt (Romeo Must Die), Hank Chilton (Nip/Tuck), and Wendy Macleod (House of Yes), among others, will show their television episodes, films and excerpts from their plays, and discuss the similarities and differences in screenwriting, television writing and playwriting from both creative and business perspectives.
In the program, six genre-specific media writing courses will form each student’s extensive portfolio, which will include a short screenplay, a play, a television episode and a full-length thesis project of the student’s choice. Students can explore courses designed to aid them in developing a pilot, writing a teen film, experimenting with adaptation and creating an interactive narrative.
Students will also practice pitching ideas, writing query letters, taking meetings and understanding contracts, and must complete a high-profile internship in New York, Los Angeles or Chicago, and a teaching assistant position before graduating.
“Ultimately, this program is a strong balance of art and business,” Tolchinsky says. “Art as in what it is that you want to express and in what form, and business as in being armed with tangible skills – to thrive in TV, screenwriting, playwriting and so on.”
The production opportunities are also unique: They range from a $5,000 grant to make a play, teleplay or screenplay a reality, to an opportunity to work with acclaimed Chicago theater company Remy Bumppo to perform a directed reading of a student-produced piece.
According to Tolchinsky, Northwestern’s prime location is another unique feature of the program.
“Being situated in Chicago is also different from most media programs,” he says. “It’s not New York City or L.A., but Chicago, a distinct middle median of the two, a great city where lots of media opportunities are readily available.”
Tolchinsky also credits Northwestern’s unique alumni pool as a source of the program’s future success.
“We’re building off of the success our students have achieved so far,” he says. “Some of our famous alumni include The Aviator and Gladiator screenwriter John Logan and Garden State screenwriter and actor Zach Braff.”
Core program faculty will include Bill Bleich, a screenwriter with more than one dozen produced network television movies, mini-series, features and pilots to his credit; Jay Bonansinga, the author of seven acclaimed suspense novels with three original screenplays currently in development in Hollywood; Northwestern RTVF professor Michelle Citron, an award-winning media artist whose work has been featured at the New York and Chicago Museums of Modern Art and Whitney Museum; and Shawn Douglass, an artistic associate with the Remy Bumppo Theatre Company.
Bernt and J.T. Rogers,whose play Madagascar won the 2005 Pinter Review Prize, will be visiting faculty members. Both are Communication alumni.
“In my opinion, there is no better place to study writing for film and television than Northwestern,” Bernt says on the School of Communication Web site. “The environment is creative, supportive and ideally removed from the insular worlds of Los Angeles and New York.”
Graduates will also be eligible for membership in the Northwestern University Entertainment Alliance, an organization dedicated to helping promote the careers of Northwestern RTVF alumni.
“We’ve talked to colleagues around the country and they’ve all agreed that it is a dream program,” Tolchinsky says. “We want (the students) to trek together through the courses, learn and grow from each other and eventually when they graduate help each other out: hire each other, offer each other a place to stay and, based on continuing experience, be able to aid each other throughout their careers.”
For more information on the MFA in Writing for Screen and Stage, visit www.write.northwestern.edu, send an to e-mail [email protected] or call (847) 467-1157.
Medill freshman Taren Fujimoto is a PLAY writer. She can be reached at [email protected].
