Grant Supports Budding Screenwriters, Film Makers

The new “Script to Film” afterschool program at Heights High will teach students how to write professional-quality film scripts and then turn their scripts into films.  The program is funded by a grant from Reaching Heights and will be taught by Jeff Glass, the Media Production Teacher, and Bill Kramer, a freelance writer and frequent substitute teacher at Heights High.

During the first semester, students will meet once a week to learn scriptwriting from Mr. Kramer.  The goal will be for each student to write, revise, and polish a short film script that will be submitted to the Scenarios program (http://www.scenariosusa.org/) – a nationwide scriptwriting contest that asks for submissions in mid-December.

During the second semester – regardless of the outcome of the contest – student scriptwriters will join with members of Jeff Glass’s Video Production Club to film as many of these scripts as possible.  In the course of filming these scripts, additional students – and some adults – will be enlisted to act and help with costume and set design.  The finished movies will be shown during a “film festival” evening for Heights High students, faculty, and interested members of the community.  The films will also be submitted to the local public access television station.

This past year, Mr. Kramer conducted scriptwriting workshops to multiple English classes in conjunction with the Scenarios program.  A significant number of students submitted to the contest, and Heights High had six students named semi-finalists in the contest – more than any other school in the Cleveland area.  In addition, one of those semi-finalists went on to be named a finalist – competing with students in New York City and Texas.

English teacher Kathleen Scully said that she’d rarely seen students as enthusiastic about writing as they were after taking part in the scriptwriting workshop.  Scriptwriting is not generally taught at the high school level; still, it is a wonderful way to allow students self-expression. Students are not bound by conventional writing requirements.  For instance, dialogue does not have to be written in sentences.  Slang can be used when appropriate and descriptive passages are minimal.  Instead, students are taught to see the world in terms of action and dialogue.  Students who are perplexed by having to write long, descriptive paragraphs find that kind of requirement to be virtually nonexistent.  The result, for many students, is liberating. Parents or students who would like further information about the program should contact Mr. Glass at 371-7101, ext. 81116.