Aspiring screenwriters in the Cowichan Valley have a rare chance to sharpen their storytelling skills this month under the guidance of two seasoned industry professionals.
A two-evening screenwriting workshop led by Brian Paisley and Keith Digby of Westcoast Screenwriting will be held in Crofton on Aug. 19 and 20. The workshop will offer hands-on, small-group instruction to help writers craft compelling screenplays from first page to final draft.
The sessions will run from 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. each evening and are timed to allow Salt Spring Island participants to catch the ferry home afterward.
The workshop is open to a maximum of nine participants and is designed for both beginners and experienced writers. According to Digby, the sessions have seen an “overwhelmingly popular reception from beginners to seasoned, successful local writers, directors and producers.”
Participants will dive into story structure, character development and screenwriting fundamentals through discussion, film clips and guided writing exercises. The workshops are guided by Paisley and Digby, two longtime collaborators whose credits span theatre, television and feature film.
Digby and Paisley have been leading these workshops for nearly two decades. The two met in Edmonton, where Paisley was creating the now-legendary Edmonton Fringe Festival and Digby was associate director at Citadel Theatre. Since then, they’ve built a strong collaborative partnership. Digby has served as an artistic director and educator and writes for film and television. Paisley has earned national recognition, including being named a member of the Order of Canada in 2010, for his transformative contributions to Canadian theatre. He later moved into writing for screen, script development and film production.
Can you really learn to write a screenplay in two days?
Digby said it’s a fair question, and one they hear often.
“We can teach the structure and how to create a compelling central character to people who enjoy writing and want to learn how to take a story idea or adapt an already written prose or stage-play piece and craft it into the lean, rich machine that is a successful screenplay,” Digby said.
Tuition for the Crofton workshop is $250. For details, curriculum and registration, visit www.westcoastscreenwriting.com.
