The Burning House Young Writers Program is a six-month program dedicated to the development of the next generation of screenwriters and playwrights. The program focuses on young women and young people of colour.
The program is also founded on the belief that the mentor has as much to learn from the mentee as the other way around. In addition to being a professional development program, this is also an exchange of ideas and perspectives.
Mentors are founding members of BURNING HOUSE.
What is the structure?
The mentor and the mentee will meet once every 2 weeks at a semi-regular time, taking into account any personal conflicts. There will be a total of 12 sessions in a program. Each session will be 1 hour. Programs run January-June, and then June-December.
Session 1:
Discussion of creative goals
Project brainstorm and general outline
Reading of a screenplay/script as an example
Session 2:
Go through story beats of story from previous week
Talk about what makes a good story
Talk about what makes an interesting character
Start to brainstorm types of stories and characters
Mentee will begin writing first 2 pages of story
Session 3:
Mentor will receive the submitted 2 pages at least 24 hours prior to the session
Mentor and Mentee will go through notes of the first 2 pages
If Mentee struggled to write anything, that's okay! We'll work on it together.
Notes set for next session.
Session 4:
Mentee will submit their choice of either 2 now polished pages or 2 new pages
Mentor and mentee will go through notes from pages submitted
Mentor and mentee will discuss formatting and industry standards
Sessions 5-10:
Mentee will submit their choice of either 2 now polished pages or 2 new pages
Mentor and mentee will go through notes from pages submitted
Session 11:
Mentee will submit the entire screenplay/play in advance, incorporating all notes so far to create a cohesive story
Mentor will go through entire screenplay/play with mentee, polishing
Session 12:
Mentee and mentor will discuss next steps for the project
Mentee and mentor will go over all technical skills learned
Resources will be provided for further creative and professional development
Who is eligible?
Young people aged between 12-16 who are interested in developing professionally and creatively as a screenwriter/playwright. This program pays particular attention to young women and young people of color, although anyone may apply. Students may be based anywhere as all meetings are virtual.
How much does it cost?
Nothing. All we ask is for you to turn up prepared and excited every week.