Attend from anywhere! Comedy expert Steve Kaplan takes you through this five-part class live and in real time on Zoom. Have to miss one? You’ll be able to stream the video on your own time as well.
An interactive workshop that helps you create a great premise, and then develop that premise, by focusing on character and theme, into a winning comic narrative. Class includes a private, one-on-one Zoom consultation on your own treatment.
- Class 1: The Comic Hero’s Journey
- Class 2: Comic Premise Workshop
- Class 3: Developing the Premise, Characters and Theme
- Class 4: Revisions and Comic Dialogue
- Class 5: Premise into Treatment
OK, you have a great idea for a comedy. Now what? This is a class that explores narrative and story structure from a comedic point of view. Building on paradigms such as The Hero’s Journey, we find that characters in a comic narrative journey down somewhat similar paths, but they take the trip in their own unique fashion, with several surprising detours. And by the end of our journey, you’ll be able to apply that comic paradigm to your own comic concepts. In this interactive online workshop, we’ll cruise on down that road together, examining the Comic Hero’s Journey through films like Groundhog Day, 40-Year-Old Virgin, This Is The End, and others. Finally, we'll apply that knowledge, culminating in a full treatment of your comic premise.
Whether you’re writing a comedy screenplay, working on a sitcom script, or producing or directing a comedy film or television series, Steve Kaplan’s Comedy Intensive is a must for any serious professional. Find out why the top writers, producers, and directors from companies such as ABC, Disney, BBC, Dreamworks, Aardman Animation, NBC, Touchstone Television, and others regularly attend his famed class.
Course Overview:
In this live online four-part workshop, we’ll explore the structure of comedic story and develop fully realized comic treatments.
The Intensive includes interactive exercises, weekly assignments, Q & A time, plus the class includes a private one-on-one consultation with Steve as part of the course.
Course Outline:
Class One: THE COMIC HERO’S JOURNEY
- The comic narrative paradigm
- The one indispensable comic character
- The 8 essential story beats.
Class Two: COMIC PREMISE WORKSHOP
- How to create your strongest comic idea
- Review and analysis of student’s comic premises.
Class Three: PREMISE INTO TREATMENT
- Developing your premise into a full narrative
- Character-centered development
- Authentic decision points
- Private one-on-one consultations begin with the submission of your treatment.
Class Four: TREATMENT INTO SCRIPT
- Comic dialogue
- Rewrites and revisions
- One-on-one consultations continue.
This course is available for "remote" learning and will be available to anyone with access to an internet device with a microphone (this includes most models of computers, tablets). Classes will take place with a "Live" instructor at the date/times listed below.
Upon registration, the instructor will send along additional information about how to log-on and participate in the class.