Our “Medium Inspired” Short Script Mini-Challenge Deadline Is Extended Until November 27 at Midnight
Screenwriters’ Workshop is extending the deadline for the November Mini-Challenge until Saturday, November 27 at midnight. We figure this won’t leave you so stressed before the holidays, give you a long weekend to work on a script while you’re relaxing in the post-turkey haze. The Medium Inspiration Mini-Challenge Reading and Voting will still be on Sunday the 28 at 6:30 PM on the Zoom link below.
By the way… If you haven’t had a chance to enter a short script mini-challenge yet, this is your last opportunity to win before the $250 prize is awarded to one of our monthly winners from throughout the pandemic. In addition to following the rules for our short script contests, this month’s “Medium Inspired Challenge” asks entrants to write a script based on the famous works of art Nighthawks by Edward Hopper, The Thinker by August Rodin, or The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh.
The SWW Shorts Showcase will be next Saturday, July 17th from 7 PM-10 PM outside at the Gremlin Theater, near the Annex Building at 550 Vandalia Street in St. Paul (near Film North and Lake Monster Brewery).
The event will showcase films in which Screenwriters’ Workshop members served as writers, directors, or producers. The films that will be featured are as follows in alphabetical order:
“After I Kill Mrs. Pritchett, I Am Coming After You” by member Zach Jansen
“Black Hole” by member Oussama “Sam” Lamharzi Alaoui
“Dactylo” by member Oussama “Sam” Lamharzi Alaoui
“Kyle Goes to Mars” by member David Erickson
“Richfield Institute for Modest Jobs – PSA” by member Daniel Polsfuss
“Song Without Words” by member Andy Froemke
“The Deft” by member Ruth Maramis
“The Tour” by member John Gigrich
“You Are Here” by members Kelly Lamphear-Dash and Karen Frank
Sequence of the films is still in process. Filmmakers will share their stories about how they took their ideas from script to screen. The showcase will also include a social hour with food, fun, games, and prizes.
Buy Your Tickets Now to Support Your Fellow Screenwriters!
Tickets are $5 for members and $10 for non-members. Price includes food, entertainment, admission, and fun prizes. Purchase tickets online through Eventbrite. The site will also allow you to order a Screenwriters’ Workshop t-shirt or renew your membership.
Some chairs will be provided the night of the event, but bring your own, if you can, to kick back in style and comfort. Throw on some bug spray while you’re at it, because it’s outside in Minnesota. Cash will not be taken at the door, but tickets will be available for purchase online until sold out.
Join us under the stars to see how dreams come to life.
Watch here on the Screenwriters’ Workshop website for any updates.
June 20, 2021: Big Events Coming Up–Submit NOW to SWW Shorts Showcase 2021
Join Us for the SWW Shorts Showcase—Outside at Gremlin Theater, St. Paul on Saturday, July 17th, 2021 from 7-10 PM.
Come to a fun evening of eats and cinematic treats showcasing our talented Minnesotan filmmakers at the Gremlin Theater (across from FilmNorth at 550 Vandalia in St. Paul). Our SWW members will be showing their produced short films. The goal of the showcase is to celebrate SWW members’ writing transformed into film.
Be entertained and reconnect with real people for real (and reel) fun! The showcase will include a social hour, comedy, trivia, prizes/swag, and, of course, short films. See below for information on how to submit.
Tickets are $5 for members and $10 for non-members. Price includes food, entertainment, admission, and fun prizes. Purchase tickets online through Eventbrite. Sorry, no cash taken at the door. Order soon, as spaces are limited!
Some seating is provided, but for true comfort, BYOC (Bring Your Own Chair)!
Join us under the stars to see how dreams come to life. Stay tuned for details.
Submit Your Completed Short Film for Our SWW Shorts Showcase ASAP—deadline is June 30th
If you are a member of Screenwriters Workshop and have written, directed, or produced a short film and can get rights to have it shown, submit it to our SWW Shorts Showcase (see above) no later than June 30th at midnight. There is no charge to submit, but non-members must join in order to be eligible to have their films shown.
To enter, send us an email with a link for viewing and download, completed and in .mp4 format. Eligibility requirements and guidelines:
Writer, producer, or director must be a current, dues-paying member of SWW.
Film can be in any genre and be 20 minutes or less.
Certain offensive language is never acceptable, such as racial slurs, homophobic language, etc. Any profanity which is included for the sole purpose of being shocking and making the audience feel uncomfortable will not be allowed.
Number of shorts will be determined by submissions and time available for showing. Slots are limited. Organizers will try to fit in as many films as time will allow.
Entrants must provide copyright/sign-off for permission for one-time use showing.
Film must be available for download thorough link (Vimeo, Dropbox, YouTube, etc…).
Priority will be given to more recently completed films.
Members may submit multiple entries.
Deadline for entry is June 30th.
Need a Getaway in the Fall? Go to the Catalyst Festival in Duluth for September 29th – October 3rd
Mark your calendars now. The Catalyst Content Festival is a 5-day annual event in Duluth, Minnesota where selected pitches, scripts, and produced pilots/series are showcased to the general public & industry audiences. The festival also includes live panel discussions, industry social events, and an awards ceremony. Screenwriters’ Workshop is working with the Catalyst Story Institute and Content Festival in Duluth to announce special promotions in the coming months just for our members. Watch the SWW newsletter, website, and social media for details.
There is deadline of July 5th to submit a pilot script, series pitch, filmed episode, etc., for the festival. For details, go to: https://www.catalystories.org/submit.
Note: This festival is limited to narrative/episodic/serialized content of any genre, style, and type: comedy, drama, thriller, scripted, unscripted, documentary, social media, influencer, short form, “half-hour”, “hour-long”, radio, podcast, reality, talk show, game show, animation, kids, gaming, VR, mobile, etc. Feature films are NOT accepted for pitching.
Second Sunday on Summer Slack—Submit for September!
Okay, we’re not really slacking (we’re writers and we need a little alliteration in our lives), but Second Sunday is taking a break over the summer. If you have a completed script and want a full table read to assist with plot, structure, and character development, sign up for Second Sunday to think through those bigger questions that you can’t handle in the weekly script group. Shoot us an email with a name and description of the script, and we will work it into the lineup as availability permits. Second Sunday works best for scripts that are on their second draft and have already gone through script groups for dialogue and page level analysis. Note: Complete screenplays receive first priority, but we are now accepting “stuck scripts.”
UPDATE: Our Mini-Challenge Winner, Our Next Reading, and Our Next Challenge…
Congratulations to Karen Frank who won our March Short Script Mini-Challenge with her script “The Driving Lesson.” She will have the choice of either an SWW t-shirt or $20 and be eligible to compete with other mini-challenge winners for $250 at the end of the year.
Our Stitch-in-Time Challenge Mini-Challenge Entries will be read online at Zoom (see link below) at 6:30 PM on Sunday, June 27th. The deadline for members was on June 15th at midnight. Non-members may attend the public online reading and voting events.
Our NEXT mini-challenge deadline will be September 15th for the “Twisting Tropes Mini-Challenge” that requires writers to write against (contrary to) a common movie troupe. In your entry, you must identify which trope you are writing against. Here are some, and there are many more if you just google. In addition to following the general rules of our short script contest, each entry must follow the parameters of the particular challenge.
Voting for each of these will be done in a public, online reading. Winners of each mini-challenge will choose between an SWW t-shirt and $20. They will also be entered into the final juried award at the end of the year for a chance to win $250. Members only are eligible to enter.
Wednesday Writers’ Workout
Kick start your writing with our quarterly exercises to test your skill. Our next Wednesday Writers’ Workout will be on Wednesday, July 7th at 8:00 PM. Take some time on hump day after the kids are tucked in and the cat is curled up at your feet to relax with some writing to stretch your skills. Our next workout will practice coming in late and leaving early. You won’t have to share what you wrote (so don’t feel you need to come late and leave early). After the exercise, we will talk about what we’ve learned in the process. Join us at the Zoom link below.
Calendar Through 2021
In addition to Saturday Script Groups, Sunday Script Group, and 2nd Sunday Script Readings, see below for a list of SWW events through the end of the year:
June 27th –A Stitch in Time Mini-Challenge Reading and Voting at 6:30 PM
July 7th—Wednesday Writers’ Workout on Coming in Late, Leaving Early at 8:00 PM
July 11th—Second Sunday at 6:30 PM
August 8th –Second Sunday at 6:30 PM
September 12th—Second Sunday at 6:30 PM
September 15th –Twisting Tropes Mini-Challenge Deadline at Midnight
September 26th—Twisting Tropes Mini-Challenge Reading and Voting at 6:30 PM
October 10th –Second Sunday at 6:30 PM
November 14th—Second Sunday at 6:30 PM
November 15th –Medium Inspiration Mini-Challenge Deadline at Midnight
November 28th—Medium Inspiration Mini-Challenge Reading and Voting at 6:30 PM
December 12th –Second Sunday at 6:30 PM
Except for the Saturday morning script group, all online events are available at:
Super Second Sunday and Short Script Mini-Challenges Through the Year
We’ve loaded up the calendar for the rest of the year to get you thinking ahead. Mark your calendar for a full year of screenwriting.
Rebel Against Valentine’s Day! Join Us on February 14th at 6:30 PM for a Fabulous Second Sunday Master Class Reading There’s a pandemic going on and, let’s face it, Valentine’s Day spreads germs. Join our Second Sunday table reading instead which will explore Alvin Easter’s virtuoso screenplay Czechoslovakia. It’s a feature script about the lone survivor of a notorious, terminally ill serial killer who takes him on a road trip with the promise of revealing the buried bodies of his many victims. Not for the faint of heart, this master work grips its readers from page one. See below for link to session.
Have a Stuck Script? Let Us Help You Set It Free. We’ve all been there, right around the second act, and the script… just… won’t… go…. If you have one of those scripts that is a good idea but just won’t write itself, please let us know. We will be offering occasional space at Second Sunday to think through those bigger plot puzzles. Shoot us an email with a name and description of the script, number of pages written, and concerns that are keeping you stuck. We will work it into the lineup as availability permits. Note: Complete screenplays receive first priority.
Congratulations to Our Procrastination Short Script Challenge Winner in January The results are in for our Procrastination Short Script Challenge. Charlton Metcalf was the runner up with his script Let’s All Go Out to Eat, and Jeff Holman won the challenge with his script Breaking Up Is Hard to Do. He wins an SWW t-shirt or $20 and will compete with our other challenge winners for a juried award of $250 at the end of the year. Way to go Charlton and Jeff!
…And Here are the Rest of Our Mini-Challenges Through 2021! If you missed the January mini-challenge, there are more opportunities to come. In addition to following the general rules of our short script contest, each entry must follow the parameters by the deadlines below:
March 15th—The “5 Senses Mini-Challenge,” where the script must evoke each of the five senses.
June 15th—“A Stitch in Time Mini-Challenge” in which the entry must have time jumps, either flash backs or a flash forward.
September 15th –The “Twisting Tropes Mini-Challenge” that requires writers to write against (contrary to) a common movie troupe. In your entry, you must identify which trope you are writing against. Here are some, and there are many more if you just google.
November 15th—“Medium Inspiration Mini-Challenge” in which you can write a script inspired by another medium—specifically, the famous works of art Nighthawks by Edward Hopper, The Thinker by August Rodin, or The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gough.
Voting for each of these will be done in a public, online reading according to the dates below. Winners of each mini-challenge will choose between a SWW t-shirt and $20. They will also be entered into the final juried award at the end of the year for a chance to win $250. Please do not submit your entry prior to the deadline of the previous contest. Members only are eligible to enter, but non-members may attend the public online reading and voting events.
Post-Pandemic Dreamin’ Everyone is looking for that time when vaccinations are plentiful, and we can all roam free. Here at SWW we would love to get everyone together with an expo of the short films written by our members. If you have a short film produced and can get rights to have it shown, send us an email with a link for viewing. We’ll consider it for our showing… hopefully outside. In the summer or Fall? (Like we said, we’re dreamin’!)
Congratulations to Russ Meyer! Longtime SWW member Russ Meyer has published his sci-fi thriller feature script A LITTLE FAVOR in both paperback and e-book at IndyPlanet. Illustrated by Minnesotan Hugh Bennewitz, the book is about a washed-out fighter pilot, now a wild west show fast-draw gunfighter, who is asked to do a little favor: use his quick reflexes to save the earth by flying to the sun, reaching in and plucking out 2 off-course, discarded doomsday bombs before 7 PM next Wednesday evening before they explode, nudging the sun, causing major global warming. Send Russ your congratulations—or, better yet, buy a copy of his book!
Extended Calendar Through 2021 In addition to Saturday Script Groups, Sunday Script Group, and 2nd Sunday Script Readings, see below for a list of SWW events through the end of January:
February 14th—Second Sunday Featuring Script by Al Easter at 6:30 PM
March 3rd—Wednesday Writers’ Workout on Subtext at 8:00 PM
March 14th—Second Sunday (open at present) at 6:30 PM
March 15th—5 Senses Mini-Challenge Deadline at Midnight
March 28th—5 Senses Mini-Challenge Reading and Voting at 6:30 PM
April 4th –Easter Sunday, No Script Group
April 11th –Second Sunday at 6:30 PM
May 5th—Wednesday Writers’ Workout on Writers’ Block at 8:00 PM
May 9th–Mother’s Day, No Second Sunday
June 13th –Second Sunday at 6:30 PM
June 15th—A Stitch in Time Mini-Challenge Deadline at Midnight
June 27th –A Stitch in Time Mini-Challenge Reading and Voting at 6:30 PM
July 7th—Wednesday Writers’ Workout on Coming in Late, Leaving Early at 8:00 PM
July 11th—Second Sunday at 6:30 PM
August 8th –Second Sunday at 6:30 PM
September 12th—Second Sunday at 6:30 PM
September 15th –Twisting Tropes Mini-Challenge Deadline at Midnight
September 26th—Twisting Tropes Mini-Challenge Reading and Voting at 6:30 PM
October 10th –Second Sunday at 6:30 PM
November 14th—Second Sunday at 6:30 PM
November 15th –Medium Inspiration Mini-Challenge Deadline at Midnight
November 28th—Medium Inspiration Mini-Challenge Reading and Voting at 6:30 PM
December 12th –Second Sunday at 6:30 PM
Except for the Saturday morning script group, all online events are available at:
Annual Meeting, Procrastination Short Script Challenge, Planning for the Year
January 5th is National Screenwriters’ Day. That’s where family and friends are obliged to make you a drink before sit down at the laptop and tirelessly tap out the next Queen’s Gambit. Here at Screenwriters’ Workshop, we are extending that to a whole month with events and activities. Why not make 2021 the year to kickstart your writing. After all, we’re still in quarantine and you know you’ve always wanted to do it!
Online for Annual Meeting on Saturday, January 9, 2021 at 3:00 PM Featuring Panel Discussion “How to Have a Career in Film While Still Living in the Twin Cities” The Screenwriters’ Workshop Annual meeting will be on Saturday, January 9th at 3:00 PM online. In addition to a few SWW announcement and business details, this online event will feature three professionals in the film to discuss “How to Have a Career in Film While Still Living in the Twin Cities.”
SWW Board Member Kelly Lamphear-Dash will facilitate a discussion between:
Alison Guessou, writer/director/producer of two short films “911” and “Happily Married After” and producer of indie feature film “Black in Minneapolis.”
Andy Froemke, who has sold scripts to production companies, written for a local TV show, and was the writer of two short films “Strike” and “Nighthawks.”
Aleshia Mueller, who is an accomplished script supervisor for numerous Hollywood film and TV productions.
The event will also feature trivia and prize drawings. To attend, access this through the link at the end of this newsletter. Newcomers and non-members are welcome!
Don’t Procrastinate on Our Procrastination Short Script Challenge for January For all out there who have made “write more” part of your New Year’s resolution, this short script challenge is for you! The topic for our January challenge is on procrastination. Scripts are due on January 15th at midnight. Please follow the rules of our contest as outlined on the website (10 page, 4 character maximum, must be a member of SWW, etc…), writing a short film on the subject of procrastination. DEADLINE EXTENDED! Scripts must be received no later than midnight on Saturday, January 23, 2021 and will be read and voted on online on Sunday, January 24, 2021 at 6:30 PM.
Winner of this challenge will win a Screenwriter’s Workshop t-shirt or $20 and the opportunity to compete with other challenge winners at the end of 2021 for a larger cash prize. More details will be announced at the annual meeting.
A Tribute to Al Milgrom The Twin Cities film community lost a giant on December 20, 2020 with the death of 98-year-old legend Al Milgrom.
Founder of the U Film Society and the Rivertown Film Festival (which later became the Film Society of Minneapolis-St. Paul and the Minneapolis -St. Paul International Film Festival), Milgrom worked tirelessly to bring independent and international films to Minnesota while supporting local filmmakers. He even made an appearance at the SWW “Future of Story” event in July 2019 at Playwright’s Center.
SWW Board Member and longtime friend and documentary collaborator of Milgrom’s, Kelly Lamphear-Dash said of Al, “The outpouring of admiration and loss in the community has been overwhelming. His absence at the festivals and DocuClub will be a palpable void. I have always been in great admiration of his being a prime example of being a true lifelong learner. He is a wonderful example of ‘it’s never too late’ by changing careers in his 80s from being in charge of a film festival to creating documentary films seen at film festivals all over the country.” Screenwriters’ Workshop offers our condolences to family and friends of this local legend.
Help Us Plan in 2021 If you love planning events and activities but have been COVID-frustrated in 2020, become involved with the board in planning for 2021 in one of our open meetings. Our next meeting will be online on Saturday, January 16th at 3:00 PM. Though only board members are allowed to vote, any member is encouraged to participate and support SWW through committee membership. See below for access details.
Mini Calendar Through January
In addition to Saturday Script Groups, Sunday Script Group, and 2nd Sunday Script Readings, see below for a list of SWW events through the end of January:
