Screenwriting
Intensives

With Graham Norris & Lee Arcuri

Presented by The Norris Studio

WRITE YOUR SHORT FILM (8 Weeks - $800)
WRITE YOUR PILOT (12 Weeks - $1600)
*Payment plans available.
**Discount for current and recent TNS ongoing clients.

Space is limited and by application only. Fill out the form below and we'll send you an application for our next session.

SCREENWRITING SIGN UP

Meet Graham and Lee

We’re working screenwriters and WGA members with a combined twenty years of professional experience.

Graham has been on television staffs for a decade, writing on shows for Warner Brothers and Universal Studios; most recently, he was a co-executive producer of NBC’s hit medical drama NEW AMSTERDAM, while developing films with Oscar-nominated producers.

Lee has worked on the hit CW show iZOMBIE, and has sold multiple shows to Amazon, Warner Bros., and ABC Studios. He's developed pilots with writers such as Max Borenstein (Winning Time) and Anthony Zuiker (CSI) .

Please note that as working writers, we can only take on a limited number of clients at a time. A waitlist and referrals to other coaches are available.

SAVE MY SPOT

WRITE YOUR SHORT FILM
An 8-Week Intensive Course

Week One
LOGLINES

Loglines aren’t just an ad for your idea. They’re an expression of your understanding of the nuts and bolts of how screenwriting works. We’ll dive into conflict, character, and a deeper understanding of story, screening successful shorts for context.

Week Two
BREAKING STORY + INDEX CARDS

After discussing your loglines, we turn to “breaking story,” aka the construction of your short’s plot, broken into scenes. This is the main activity of all TV writers rooms, and we’ll dig into how the pros do it, including how to “index card” each scene with its key information. We’ll dissect story structure and have you ready to build the plot of your own short.

Week Three
WRITING WEEK

Breaking story takes work. There’ll be no in-person class in Week 3. Instead, you’ll turn in your first draft of your Index Cards. We’ll give you detailed notes and guidance, with optional office hours for follow-ups.

Week Four
OUTLINE

Armed with the 2nd draft of your Index Cards, you have the basic x-ray of your short. The next step is to develop an outline, a key step in any for-hire writing project. We’ll discuss what an outline is, why it’s important, and how developing one can help you spot the elements of your script that need work.

Week Five
SCRIPT

At last, it’s your moment to take the leap: Time to write the script. We’ll delve into how to make a script “read professional,” along with a discussion of how to make character and dialogue come to life.

Week Six
WRITING WEEK

No in-person class. You’ll turn in the 1st draft of your script. We’ll give you notes and thoughts, bolstered by optional office hours, giving you what you need to achieve the famous “second draft jump.”

Week Seven
TABLE READ

Using actors from the studio’s professional classes, we’ll read aloud the second drafts in a closed-door workshop setting. You’ll leave with not just notes, but the irreplaceable experience of hearing your work read aloud by pros.

Week Eight
SHOWCASE

Your short will be presented with the studio’s professional actors. We’ll talk about some of the fun stuff – short film festivals, ways to make your short more “produce-able”. Then we’ll raise a glass to taking concrete steps to making dreams a reality.

THE DETAILS

Tuesday's from 12-3pm
Jan 16 - - Mar 12tth
On Zoom
THIS CLASS HAS HOMEWORK
Limited Availability
Enrollment By Application Only
Cost: $800
$700 for clients currently enrolled in TNS ongoing acting classes within last 3 months)

THE DETAILS

Tuesday's from 12-3pm
Starts January 16th, 2023
On Zoom
THIS CLASS HAS HOMEWORK
Limited Availability (6 Max)
Enrollment By Application Only
Cost: $800 (payment plans available)
$700 for clients enrolled in TNS ongoing acting classes within last 3 months

I Want A Spot!

WRITE YOUR PILOT
An 12-Week Intensive Course

Week One
LOGLINES

Loglines aren’t just an ad for your idea. They’re an expression of your understanding of the nuts and bolts of how screenwriting works. We’ll dive into conflict, character, and a deeper understanding of story, screening successful shorts for context.

Week Two
STORY DOCUMENTS

After discussing and noting the loglines, we turn to “story documents”. This is the first step in professional development, a summary your pilot, a powerful vision of your script’s big picture. We’ll use real Story Docs alongside the pilots they inspired to grasp this crucial early step.

Week Three
STORY DOC WORKSHOP

Share your Story Doc and receive notes from Graham, Lee, and your classmates.

Week Four
CHARACTERS

There’s no story without character. All the explosions and car chases in the world won’t help you if the reader doesn’t care about your leads. We’ll get you ready to make sure your own characters are ready for prime time.

Week Five
STORY BEATS & ACT BREAKS

“Breaking story,” aka the scene-by-scene construction of your plot, is the main activity of all writers rooms. With screened examples, we’ll dig into how the pros do it, including how to “index card” each scene, and how to build strong and propulsive “act breaks”.

Week Six
ACT BREAK WORKSHOP, WRITERS ROOM INTRO

Workshop day. Each writer presents their act breaks, for notes from us and the class.

Week Seven
WRITING WEEK

Breaking story takes work. There’ll be no in-person class in Week #7. Instead, you’ll turn in your first draft of your Story Beats. We’ll give you detailed notes and guidance, with optional office hours for follow-ups

Week Eight
SCRIPT

At last, it’s your moment to take the leap: Time to write the script. We’ll delve into how to make a script “read professional,” along with a discussion of how to make character and dialogue come to life.

Week Nine
ACT ONE READINGS

Workshop. Act Ones are the hardest and most important in any pilot. We’ll read aloud each writer’s Act One, casting the roles amongst ourselves, and give notes.

Week Ten
WRITING WEEK

Use the week to implement notes and develop the 2nd draft of your script.

Week Eleven
OFFICE HOURS

Each writer gets one-on-one time with us. Use this as you see fit – email us your whole draft, or a problem area or two, and we’ll work with you on it.

WEEK 12
SCENE WORKSHOP

In our final meeting, we’ll work with the studio’s professional actors to put 10-15 minutes of your script up on its feet. We’ll talk about some of the fun stuff – contests, reps, how to use this script to break in. Then we’ll raise a glass to taking concrete steps to making dreams a reality.

POST-COURSE: RECEIVE FINAL NOTES ON 2ND DRAFT OF SCRIPT.

THE DETAILS

Thursday's from 12-3pm
Starts January 25th
On Zoom
THIS CLASS HAS A LOT OF HOMEWORK
Limited Availability (4 Max)
Enrollment By Application Only
Cost: $1600 (payment plans available)
$1600 for clients enrolled in TNS ongoing acting classes within last 3 months

I Want A Spot!

Screenwriting Intensives

WRITE YOUR SHORT FILM (8 Weeks - $800*) WRITE YOUR PILOT (12 Weeks - $1600*) *Payment plans available. **Discount for current and recent TNS ongoing clients.

Meet Graham and Lee​

WRITE YOUR SHORT FILM An 8-Week Intensive Course

Week One LOGLINES

Week Two BREAKING STORY + INDEX CARDS

Week Three WRITING WEEK

Week Four OUTLINE

Week Five SCRIPT

Week Six WRITING WEEK

Week Seven TABLE READ

Week Eight SHOWCASE

THE DETAILS

THE DETAILS

WRITE YOUR PILOT An 12-Week Intensive Course

Week One LOGLINES

Week Two STORY DOCUMENTS

Week Three STORY DOC WORKSHOP

Week Four CHARACTERS

Week Five STORY BEATS & ACT BREAKS

Week Six ACT BREAK WORKSHOP, WRITERS ROOM INTRO

Week Seven WRITING WEEK

Week Eight SCRIPT

Week Nine ACT ONE READINGS

Week Ten WRITING WEEK

Week Eleven OFFICE HOURS

WEEK 12 SCENE WORKSHOP

THE DETAILS

Screenwriting
Intensives

WRITE YOUR SHORT FILM (8 Weeks - $800)
WRITE YOUR PILOT (12 Weeks - $1600)
*Payment plans available.
**Discount for current and recent TNS ongoing clients.

Meet Graham and Lee

WRITE YOUR SHORT FILM
An 8-Week Intensive Course

Week One
LOGLINES

Week Two
BREAKING STORY + INDEX CARDS

Week Three
WRITING WEEK

Week Four
OUTLINE

Week Five
SCRIPT

Week Six
WRITING WEEK

Week Seven
TABLE READ

Week Eight
SHOWCASE

WRITE YOUR PILOT
An 12-Week Intensive Course

Week One
LOGLINES

Week Two
STORY DOCUMENTS

Week Three
STORY DOC WORKSHOP

Week Four
CHARACTERS

Week Five
STORY BEATS & ACT BREAKS

Week Six
ACT BREAK WORKSHOP, WRITERS ROOM INTRO

Week Seven
WRITING WEEK

Week Eight
SCRIPT

Week Nine
ACT ONE READINGS

Week Ten
WRITING WEEK

Week Eleven
OFFICE HOURS

WEEK 12
SCENE WORKSHOP