Whether you’re an aspiring screenwriter or a fan of movies in general, the Williamstown Film Festival’s Project Screenplay invites you to take part in a live-action game show about the art of the pitch, hosted by screenwriter Andrew Osborne. You decide who gets the green light when aspiring screen scribes pitch the audience and act out scenes while industry pros offer tips and advice for bringing a script from page to projector. Project Screenplay takes place in MASS MoCA’s Club B-10 onWednesday, November 5, at 7pm.
Ever wonder what it’s like to wheel and deal with Hollywood’s bigwigs? Grab a cocktail and get ready to learn the ins and outs of the competitive world of screenwriting with industry veteran Andrew Osborne. An energetic mix of live competition, entertainment, and edification, Project Screenplay is Project Runway with a focus on film. With the help of the Williamstown Film Festival, we bring the studio system to MASS MoCA to teach the audience about a script’s journey to the big screen.
The presentation is divided into three rounds, during which the audience decides the fate of 16 scripts presented by their writers. Screenwriters can sign up to be part ofProject Screenplay at www.projectscreenplay.org. In round one, writers are given two minutes to pitch their film ideas. In round two, eight semi-finalists are selected to have the first page of their scripts acted out. In round three, three finalists have the first 10 pages of their scripts acted out, leading up to the moment when a winner and a runner-up are chosen. Osborne acts as the contestants’ “mentor,” offering advice to improve scenes and pitches. Film novices and cinema geeks alike will leave with an up-close understanding of the importance of hooking an audience within the first 10 pages of a spec script. Did Quentin Tarantino get his start like this?
For nearly two decades, Andrew Osborne has been on all sides of the film development process as a professional script-reader for production companies and talent agencies and as a screenwriter for Warner Bros., MTV, Orion, and indie features that have played at the Sundance, Berlin, and Tribeca Film Festivals. He won an Emmy as a staff writer for the Discovery Channel quiz show Cash Cab and has taught script-writing at Tufts University Experimental College, Quincy College, UCLA Extension, Boston Casting, The Burt Wood School of Performing Arts, The Cambridge Center for Adult Education, and Brookline Adult Education.
Project Screenplay plays out in Club B-10 at MASS MoCA on Wednesday, November 5, at 7pm. Fresh salads, hearty sandwiches, and tasty burritos – as well as thematic dinner specials – are available from Lickety Split before and during the show. A full bar serves Berkshire Brewing Company beers and Berkshire Mountain Distillery spirits. Tickets are $12 in advance, $18 day of, and $22 preferred seating. Members receive a 10% discount. The presentation will last approximately two hours (possible strong language).
Tickets for all events are available through the MASS MoCA box office located on Marshall Street in North Adams, open 11am – 5pm Wednesdays through Mondays; closed Tuesdays through spring 2015. Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling413.662.2111 during box office hours or purchased on-line at massmoca.org. All events are held rain or shine.
Sponsorship
This performance is sponsored by the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.
MASS MoCA is one of the world’s liveliest (and largest) centers for making and enjoying today’s most important art, music, dance, theater, film, and video. Hundreds of works of visual and performing art have been created on its 19th-century factory campus during fabrication and rehearsal residencies, making MASS MoCA among the most productive sites in the country for the creation and presentation of new art. More platform than box, MASS MoCA strives to bring to its audiences art experiences that are fresh, engaging, and transformative.
MASS MoCA’s galleries are open 11am to 5pm every day except Tuesdays. The Hall Art Foundation’s Anselm Kiefer exhibition is open seasonally, through November 2 or later. Gallery admission is $18 for adults, $16 for veterans and seniors, $12 for students, $8 for children 6 to 16, and free for children 5 and under. Members are admitted free year-round. For additional information, call 413.662.2111 x1 or visit massmoca.org.
The Williamstown Film Festival was founded in 1998 to fill a cultural gap in a part of Massachusetts known for its world-class museums, theater, music, and dance – the Berkshires. Because film seemed to be the missing link in an artistically rich region, some two dozen local residents and graduates of Williams College felt strongly that a film festival could bridge the gap. After many meetings, the Williamstown Film Festival was incorporated as a non-profit organization and began planning. The goal was tripartite: (a) to honor America’s film past in the shape of classics, (b) celebrate the present day through panels, seminars, and q-and-a’s between audiences and the actors, writers, directors, and producers of indie film, and (c) explore the new technologies which are carrying the art of film into the 21st century. (williamstownfilmfest.com)
massmoca.org
facebook.com/massmoca
twitter.com/mass_moca
massmoca.tumblr.com