Here's a hard truth: most scripts don't fall apart on page 40 — they were never going to work, and the cracks were there from page one. If you've ever sunk months into a draft only to feel it stall out, the real problem was probably the idea itself, not the pages.
That's what Stage 32's new 6-Part Script Development Lab: Create Your Outline is built to fix. You'll work with Christopher Lockhart, Hollywood's foremost story professional, who has read over 60,000 screenplays as Story Editor at WME, to pressure-test your ideas before you write a single page, including two private one-on-one sessions to dig into your material. By the end, you'll walk away with a full structural outline ready to become your next script. Spots are limited, so if you've got an idea you're not sure is "the one," this is where you find out.
Email edu@stage32.com with any questions!
To learn more about the class and to register, click here:
https://www.stage32.com/education/products/stage-32-6-part-series-script...
Payment plans are available, email the Education team at edu@stage32.com.
1 person likes this
Chris is the BEST!
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So excited for this lab, 2 spots remain, grab the final 2!
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The idea can always be expanded. A collapse at 40 means it needs more, I disagree if it means it should be dismissed. But there are scripts with pretty thin ideas which could not fly even if the wright brothers helped.
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Hey! Excited to get this underway!
This lab is about starting with a concept that gives the project a fighting chance, both dramatically and in the Hollywood maze. Most scripts fail at the concept stage. That means a rep or producer may never even read it to find out if it’s well written.
As for “expanding” a concept, I disagree. You can expand the story. But the concept is the concept. If you have to keep adding things to make the concept compelling, that's empirical evidence that the concept isn’t working. Adding to it often creates a jumbled, inorganic concept. Do the advance work rather than some ramshackle, retroactive attempt to fix something that likely will never "fly."
We're gonna get our hands dirty and pull apart concepts to make sure they have all the right stuff to get your screenplay off to a strong start.
Even if it's a neo-noir thriller, write in some drunk Teletubbies crossing the street in the rain. You can always take it out later when you think of something better... although I doubt many people would ever think to add Teletubbies into a scene.
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This is such a great way to frame it, Chris! I love the idea of starting with the concept and making sure it has a real fighting chance before writers spend months developing the script.
I think the hands-on approach of pulling concepts apart and really pressure-testing them is going to be incredibly valuable for the group. Excited to get this underway with you this week!
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Make sure to send your questionnaire into Chris before the first day!
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See you soon!
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Looking forward to this lab!