HOW TO BREAK INTO TV!
With Brent Forrester

The number one question aspiring TV writers ask BRENT FORRESTER (The Office, Simpsons, King of the Hill, Space Force) is “How do I break in?” So he went out and asked a bunch of TV writers who have recently broken in, “How did you do it?” In this class he’ll show clips from his interviews with writers and the people who hire them, and talk about what he calls THE TOP FOUR WAYS IN: the Agency Route, the Studio Fellowship Route, the Improv Theater Route, and the MAKE SOMETHING Route.

SOLOSHOWSHOP! WITH DREW DROEGE

Create, discover and craft your solo show in this 4 class workshop

When you hear “one person show”, what does that conjure inside you? Excitement? Dread? Terror? “Oh lord I’ve sat through too many of these terrible things”? “If I did this for myself, what would I say and where would I begin?” These are all thoughts that I’ve had and continue to have, even after doing 5 solo shows myself. The process of creating, writing, producing, and performing alone is both daunting and thrilling. Only you can tell your story in your voice. This ShowShop! will help you find all of that magic and shed all your fears and self-doubt. We’ll explore different styles, discuss successful solo artists/projects and what made them so, and we’ll get you jump-started on your own piece. Also I’ll share my own experiences in creating my own work and the process of mounting my solo productions, finding the right space and director, and marketing. Sign up for Pupil’s Delight to pitch and get feedback on your material as it progresses!

Drew Droege has written and performed five solo shows, including Off-Broadway’s “Bright Colors And Bold Patterns” (Best Performance, Outfest 2018 & directed by Michael Urie) and “Happy Birthday Doug” (which premiered at Dynasty Typewriter in 2019), at Soho Playhouse NYC and both currently streaming on BroadwayHD. Prior to that, he developed “Bad Education” and “Drugs!” at Comedy Central Stage in Los Angeles, and “Good Evening America” (about life as the internet’s Chloe Sevigny impersonator) at Afterglow Festival in Provincetown, MA. He recently directed Tom DeTrinis’ solo show, “Making Friends”, for IAMA Theatre in Los Angeles.

IMPROV 106 WITH REGGIE WATTS

A class on improvisation. Your instructor Reggie Watts is an internationally renowned vocal artist/ beatboxer/ musician/ comedian who wows audiences with his live performances which are 100% improvised. On screen, Reggie can currently been seen on The Late Late Show with James Corden as well as in the IFC series Comedy Bang! Bang! He also has appeared multiple times on Conan, and on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live, John Oliver’s Stand-Up New York, UK’s Funny Or Die, and PBS’ Electric Company.

BRENT FORRESTER’S PILOT PITCH SEMINAR

BRENT FORRESTER (The Office, Simpsons, King of the Hill, Space Force) has been out there pitching a TV pilot this season to ABC, NBC, Peacock, Amazon and Netflix. He has never known more about the TV Comedy Pilot, how to create it, how to pitch it, and what the buyers want right now. On October 10th Brent will share everything he knows, from ELEMENTS OF THE INDUSTRY STANDARD PITCH to TIPS FOR PITCHING OVER ZOOM.

STAND DOWN, COMEDY WITH CAMERON ESPOSITO

Standup folks…wanna get serious about jokes? Well, so does Cameron. This class will cover joke theory (why do we laugh?), topic choice, pacing, timing, writing process & self-confidence. And if you have any business/industry questions, you can ask those, too. No, you can’t learn stage presence from a standup class—that comes from doing reps at open mics. But you can learn how to craft a strong set and why approaching your job like a standup comic is a freaking great idea, whatever your field.

Sample STAND-DOWN, COMEDY a la carte for $30/show. Or better yet do the whole course for $100. It’s a course! The lessons will build on each other.

WHAT’S YOUR STORY? WITH DAVE HOLMES

A four-week personal essay workshop to help you find your voice, conquer your doubts, hone your brand, write on the regular, and start the process toward getting yourself published. 

Inside of you, there is a story. A great one, one only you can tell. It’s funny, it’s honest, it’s from the heart, it’s perfectly yours, and if you don’t write it, the world will never get to read it. 

The trouble is, also inside of you, there are a hundred obstacles. Anxiety, self-doubt, procrastination, not knowing where or how to start, fear of failure, fear of success, fear of seeming self-indulgent, the idea that only good spellers can be good writers, Twitter. A lot stands in the way of you finding your voice and cultivating your talent as a writer, and too often, we back down. 

You’re tired of letting all that stuff get the best of you, right? Good. So was I. 

In What’s Your Story, we’ll work on finding the funny in your life, on pinpointing and developing your unique voice, on developing a writing practice, on quieting the voices that have held you back. We’ll read some of the world’s best humorous personal essays, we’ll do some writing exercises ourselves, and we’ll talk to some successful humorists (Joel Stein, R. Eric Thomas, Sara Schaefer, and more) to find out what works for them. And I’ll share my own stories, tips and tricks that moved me from being a fearful wannabe with a hazy dream of being a writer, to a guy with a memoir on the shelf and his name on the masthead of his favorite magazine. 

If I did it, you can too. So let’s get started. What’s your story?