Stage or Screen: Finding a Story's Home

online course

This six-week online evening course at Guildhall School of Music & Drama is ideal if you have an urgency to write and find your voice, but are unsure if a particular idea is suited for stage or screen. Using an idea that you will develop during the sessions, the course will explore the basic differences in writing for stage or screen, with the aim of writing a brand new short screen or stage play. You will read the work of contemporary writers and use practical exercises to hone a short script.

Ages 18+
Tuesday evenings on 27 April, 4, 11, 18, 25 May and 1 June 2021

Course leader

Stef Smith is a multi-award-winning stage and screenwriter. In 2012 she won an Olivier for RoadKill, is an Associate Artist and the Traverse Theatre and Leeds Playhouse, and in 2020 was a finalist for the world's biggest prize for female playwrights.

Target group

- Anyone aged 18 and over with an urgency to write and an openness and willingness to experiment and receive feedback on your work.
- No previous experience is needed, but an interest in storytelling is critical.

Course aim

The course will be practical and discussion-led, responding to extracts of work by contemporary stage and screenwriters. There will be practical exercises so that you can create a new idea and explore these for stage and screen. The exercises will follow the process of writing from idea creation through to editing.

You can expect to:

- Gain a basic understanding of story structure
- Gain a basic understanding of the differences of screen and stage writing
- Be introduced to some texts you might not have encountered
- Create a 5-10 minutes script for either stage or screen (or maybe both)

There will be some homework between each session (approximately 30 minutes to one hour).

Fee info

GBP 250: £250