by Sheila Seclearr
That's how the Screenwriting Conference in Santa Fe bills itself on the website. I won't argue because I'm one of the screenwriters who's busy preparing. There’s still time to get in on the workshop-oriented conference where writers not only meet and pitch to producers but participate in in-depth instruction and work-shopping of material.
Terry Borst who teaches one of the 3-day intensive mentor classes says, “I've taught at the Screenwriting Conference for a number of years: the attendees are top flight, and the camaraderie between the screenwriter-mentors is always a highlight.”
The Mentor Classes are limited to 30 students, keeping the classroom experience intimate and educational. Enrollment in a Mentor Class is included with registration for the Screenwriting Symposium, May 26-30.
Borst, who studied with screenwriting gurus Lew Hunter, Richard Walter and William Froug, calls his class ‘Getting Your Dream Onto the Page.’ Tailored for the beginning/emerging screenwriter “who needs a hand to hold while moving closer to a completed script,” Terry will show you how the power of the three-act structure can help drive your story to a conclusion. I like that he calls it a “nuts-and-bolts approach” and offers to get you from "'wanna-be" to “serious screenwriter…with a complete, professional-caliber feature screenplay.”
Borst will give a workshop on Friday of the conference titled 'Finding Your Own Voice.' He’ll cover recent breakthrough original screenplays such as HALF NELSON, LARS AND THE REAL GIRL, JUNO and more that Borst says are infused with an authentic and unique voice. He adds, “I'm excited to see the growth of film and media industries here in New Mexico, and it's a joy to be contributing to New Mexicans finding their own unique voices and telling their own stories.”
Borst has written feature films, TV shows, videogames and interactive TV implementations. His credits include many episodes of the BBC action-adventure series Bugs (syndicated in 30+ countries), the TV movie sequel Midnight Run Around and the independent feature Private War. He has written screenplays for Paramount Pictures, USA Network, the BBC, Electronic Arts, Microsoft, and various independent producers.
Terry Borst is co-author of Story and Simulations for Serious Games and is currently working on a second book for Focal Press. Also on his website is a decade worth of Borst’s trade publication and website column, *alt.screenwriters* focused on the collision of screenwriting and new media technologies. He's taught screenwriting at the College of Santa Fe, UCLA, USC, Moorpark College, Santa Fe Community College, and Canada's Banff Centre for the Arts, and his students have won film festival competitions and been accepted at top film schools around the country.
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