Screenwriting

---

At Spalding, we offer an individual track in Screenwriting, with an opportunity for optional interdisciplinary study for the student interested in acquiring a mastery of writing for both screen and stage. Guest lecturers, screenings, group discussions, workshops and one-on-one mentor correspondence focus on issues of craft and the wider professional arena. Basic fundamentals of dramatic writing are emphasized along with highly individualized courses of study.

Screenwriting students are expected to write three feature length screenplays over the course of their MFA experience. Screenwriting faculty impart their real-life experiences working in both the studio system and as independent filmmakers, helping students balance the artistic and commercial considerations of the business. During their study with us, screenwriting students are encouraged to intern with production companies in their region, and to take part in local film and television production if at all possible.

Screenwriting Overview

The unique Spalding University Master of Fine Arts degree combines traditional on-campus classes with nontraditional distance learning. The on-campus experience initiating each semester lasts ten days; after returning home (where the real writing is always done by real writers) students use long-distance delivery techniques to work with their mentors in a way that is intense, individually tailored, and one-on-one with their expert teacher. In a brief-residency program, students write more scripts and those scripts receive more individual attention from the instructor than in any traditional MFA program such as those located in Los Angeles or New York.

For film professionals who wish to earn a terminal degree, the Spalding MFA offers the perfect course of study. Those who have had a film produced may wish to inquire about acceleration.

During the Spalding residency, screenwriters attend workshop discussions offering both peer and faculty feedback on scripts by workshop members. Students also attend lectures on the craft of screenwriting, view films and filmclips as the basis for discussion, hear readings by professional actors of student scripts, plan their future writing and reading/viewing in consultation with their mentor, and attend plenary lectures about principles that apply to all forms of creative writing. Residencies include a production component that gives students hands-on experience moving short scripts into actual films as they take turns assuming roles directing, acting, filming, and editing.

While residing at home, students send their mentors five installments of their work at regular intervals. An installment typically consists of a student’s original scripts—new and revised versions—and short critical essays focusing on their reading/viewing of professional scripts. Both the student’s writing and films selected for
study may vary in length and mode, from very short to feature length, from thrillers to art films, from fantasy to documentaries, from comedies to tragedies. Students are encouraged to experiment in different modes.

Designing a Course of Study

Students may enter the program in any of our three semesters: fall, spring, or summer. The fall and spring semesters begin with a residency at Spalding in Louisville; the summer semester begins in a variety of locations abroad. Students may choose from any of the semesters for a total of four semesters, plus a fifth residency for graduation, to complete the MFA degree. Students can graduate in as little as two years or extend their studies over a longer period.

The at-home portion of the semester may extend over a five month or a nine-month period. The same amount of writing is expected in either case, and the tuition is the same. What varies is the pace at which the work at home with the student’s individual mentor proceeds. For students who attend the fall residency (always in Louisville on the Spalding University campus), the mentored portion of the semester always extends over five writing months. For students who attend the summer residency (always located in a variety of locations abroad), the mentored semester always extends nine months. Students attending the spring residency (always in Louisville) may chose a mentored semester extending either five or nine months. Students may mix and mingle these options; however, no two semesters can overlap.

Whether the student chooses to initiate a semester in Louisville or abroad, all residencies provide an exciting learning environment and a nurturing community. Students form important friendships and professional connections among writers not only pursuing screenwriting but in our many other areas of concentration—fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, writing for children and young adults, and playwriting. All students participate in cross-genre reading and writing opportunities and in experiencing the interrelatedness of all the arts. All residencies provide the added stimulation of interacting with the local culture.

Designed for mature people who wish to obtain the MFA (a terminal degree, like the PhD), the Spalding program features intellectual stimulation, emotional support, and the opportunity to do a great deal of writing with individualized instruction from a professional teacher-writer. Our students and faculty come from all parts of the U.S. as well as some foreign countries. Our youngest entering student was twenty-two; our oldest graduate was eighty-two.

Intended summer residencies include Barcelona, 2009; Buenos Aires, 2010; Northern Italy, 2011; Paris, 2012; and Dublin, 2013.

In addition to features discussed above, all the Spalding MFA semesters include

• the opportunity to apply for screenwriting scholarships/assistantships or federal student loans

• low student-faculty ratio

• a choice of housing accommodations

What Our Graduates Say

David B. Carren (UTPA Associate Professor, University of Texas-Pan American): "The program was a joy for me. I worked on five projects, two of which I eventually sold or optioned. The environment created at Spalding is incredibly supportive and productive."

Wayne Crawford (Faculty, University of North Carolina, School for the Arts): "I was a writer when I started. Now, after the Spalding experience, I'm a much better writer. If you want an intellectual and artistic workout—Spalding is the place. The program is rigorous and exciting. It's a terrific program that has informed my teaching."

Keith Nixon (Script Analyst, Hart/Lunsford Pictures) :"The MFA in Screenwriting program at Spalding University is both rigorous and exciting. I believe that working with qualified mentors, who care about my critical and creative work, has made all the difference in the world."

Recent Guests

• Archie Borders (Paper Cut)
• Sabrina Dhawan (Monsoon Wedding)
• Jonas Goodman (We Don't Live Here Anymore)
• Ed Hart (Diminished Capacity)
• Elliot Greenbaum (Assisted Living)
• Gil Holland (The War Boys)
• Helena Kriel (Skin)
• Bobby Moresco (Crash, Million Dollar Baby)
• Marsha Norman (’night Mother)
• Kevin Willmott (C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America)

Faculty, current and recent

• Charles Gaines (Edith Wharton’s Summer, Pumping Iron, Pumping Iron II: The Women, Stay Hungry)
• Brad Riddell (American Pie Presents Band Camp, Slap Shot Three: The Junior League, sequels to franchise films such as Josie and the Pussycats and Road Trip)
• Charles Schulman (The Apollo Comedy Hour)
• Sam Zalutsky (You Belong to Me, SuperStore Stefan's Silver Bell, Boy's Briefs, Smear)

last updated 2-12-09

Spalding University MFA

mfa@spalding.edu