Screenwriting Info-Pack

David Lynch Graduate
School of Cinematic
Arts
Maharishi University of
Management
MFA in
Screenwriting
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Table of
Contents
Enrollment is now open for the
Spring 2017 MFA in Screenwriting
Track!
04
Overview
06
How it Works
08
The Online Curriculum
10
Advanced Study of Topics
in Screenwriting
12
Guest Speakers
14
Entrance Requirements
16
Application Dates
16
Scholarship Competition
16
Portfolio Submission
Guidelines
04
Maharishi University of Management
David Lynch MFA in Screenwriting
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Catch the Big Fish
What makes a great storyteller? Where do good ideas come from? It’s time to approach
screenwriting with consciousness.
MUM’s two-year, low-residency MFA track in Screenwriting offers the unique
opportunity to learn the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique while acquiring all the
knowledge you need to become a professional screenwriter. The practice of TM will help
you access the deeper levels of creativity required to imagine profound and meaningful
stories, discovering how – as David Lynch says – to “catch the big fish.”
In the photo above, Dara Marks, author of Inside Story, speaks to a class of DLMFA screenwriting students.
Screenwriting
With
Consciousness
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Maharishi University of Management
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David Lynch MFA in Screenwriting
More Details
How it Works
No Need to Move
to Iowa
Nine-day intensive
residency
Unable to relocate to Iowa?
No problem. Our program is
structured so that students
can complete the requirements
of a high-quality MFA, while
also balancing the life/work
commitments they have in their
home communities.
Each semester will begin with a
nine-day intensive residency on
campus at MUM, in the charming
university town of Fairfield, Iowa.
The residencies are a perfect chance to get away
from the distractions of home in order to dive within
and focus on the creative process. During each
residency, you will interact with fellow students as
you attend lectures, panel discussions, master classes,
staged readings and workshops led by a combination
of university faculty members and internationallyrecognized entertainment industry leaders.
Los Angeles Trip
Meet David Lynch and other
industry professionals during the
final residency in Los Angeles.
Scheduled residency instructors and expert guests
include award-winning screenwriter/
director/producer Peter Farrelly (There’s Something
About Mary; Dumb and Dumber; Me, Myself and Irene;
Shallow Hal); renowned industry script doctor, author
and expert on transformational narrative Dara Marks
(Inside Story); veteran film and television producer Bill
Borden (End of Days, Get on the Bus, An Officer and a
Gentleman, La Bamba, the High School Musical series of
films, and more); expert on meditation and the
creative process Dr. Fred Travis (Chair of the
Department of Maharishi Vedic Science at M.U.M. and
Director of the Center for Brain, Consciousness, and
Cognition.)
At the conclusion of each residency, you will return
home to continue your coursework online through
distance education, under the guidance of a dedicated
Mentor, an industry professional and educator who
will monitor your progress.
There will be a fifth and final residency held in Los
Angeles at the end of the program designed to
introduce students into the film industry. With your
finished screenplay in hand, you will learn to market
your work to agents, producers, studio executives and
others. In addition, students will have the opportunity
to meet in Hollywood with Peter Farrelly and David
Lynch.
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Maharishi University of Management
David Lynch MFA in Screenwriting
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All four online semesters include six core
credits of Advanced Writing for Visual Media,
in addition to four credits of Advanced Study of
Topics in Screenwriting.
The
Online
Curriculum
In Advanced Writing for Visual Media students
will delve deeper into the craft of writing for
the screen, with the goal of developing their
own projects. Continuing the exploration of
narrative principles introduced during each
residency, they will study more advanced
techniques of storytelling focused on scene
development, alternative structuring and
sequence design. Through analysis of published
scripts, screenings, guided exercises and
group workshops, each student will attain the
tools needed to develop their concepts into a
marketable final project.
Students complete writing assignments given
to them by their Mentors during the in-person
residency at the beginning of each semester.
While writing assignments will differ each
semester, the methodology for dealing with
them will be the same. Students will submit
written work on a pre-determined schedule,
receive personal feedback/criticism/grading
from their mentor during online meetings, and
participate in a workshop environment with the
other students in the course.
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Maharishi University of Management
Advanced Study of
Topics in Screenwriting
Include:
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David Lynch MFA in Screenwriting
Advanced Script Analysis:
A Creative Approach to
Uncovering Deeper Levels
of Meaning in Storytelling.
Through the careful study and
analysis of award-winning
screenplays, students will
discover the keys to crafting their
own successful scenarios, with an
eye to works that tell
transformational stories of
personal meaning to their authors.
The Science and
Technology of
Consciousness
STC delves deeper into the study
of consciousness as the unifying
basis of all branches of knowledge. Taught with an emphasis on
exploring the links between meditation and the creative process,
this course is the basis of all study
at M.U.M.
Diving Deep into the Art
of David Lynch: A Study in
Freedom and Craft
In this unique course, taught by
film scholar Martha Nochimson
(author of The Passion of the David
Lynch and David Lynch Swerves),
we will work with the releases
involved in meditation in order to
explore how they lead to freedom
of expression. By closely studying
selected work by Lynch as
inspiration for our own creative
processes, we will look deeply
into the way Lynch crafts his films
once his ideas have come to him.
Advanced Business and
Marketing for the
Entertainment Industry
This course will take place at the
conclusion of the program and
will focus on current best industry
practices for pitching, publicizing
and selling one’s projects. It connects directly to the final residency in Los Angeles, during which
students will have the opportunity
to put into practice concepts covered in this course.
Enrollment is now open for Spring 2017! Deadline for
applications is October 15, 2016. Don’t miss this exciting
opportunity to start on the track to becoming a professional
screenwriter.
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Guest
Speakers
Maharishi University of Management
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David Lynch MFA in Screenwriting
The David Lynch MFA draws on industry
experts, academics, and professionals from
all areas of screenwriting, film production
and distribution. Speakers from past years
have included the following:
Roger Wolfson, writer of Law and Order
SVU, The Closer, Saving Grace, has
written and sold nine original scripts
for film and televison.
Jim Carrey, four-time Golden Globe
Award nominee, actor.
Leigh Badgley, award-winning
documentary filmmaker for A&E, CBC,
Canada’s National Film.
Déjà Bernhardt, documentary and
narrative director/producer/editor,
student Academy Award nominee.
Note: We are always adding new guest
speakers. Please check our guest speaker
page for updates.
Hollywood’s #1 rated
script doctor, author
of Inside Story.
Lisa Wilson, international film
distributor of Academy Award winners
On Golden Pond, Crash, and Hugo, and
many other films.
Bill Borden, Producer of Mission
Impossible 3, High School Musical, An
Officer and a Gentleman, and many
others.
Jeremy Kagen, director of Heroes
(film), The Big Fix, The Chosen, and
many others.
John Raatz, marketing and
promotional expert, has represented
Jim Carrey, Donovan, Madonna, and
many others.
Anthony Meindl, founder of Anthony
Meindl’s Actor’s Lab, named the #1
acting studio in L.A. four times by
Backstage Magazine.
Antonia Ellis, Writer and Producer
on Royal Pains, Mozart in the Jungle
and Sex and the City.
Kate Purdy, Writer on Joe and Kate,
MADtv, and Cougar Town.
Dara Marks
David Lynch is an awardwinning director, writer,
and producer. His work
includes Eraserhead,
Elephant Man, Wild at
Heart, Twin Peaks, Blue
Velvet, Lost Highway,
Straight Story, Mulholland
Drive and Inland Empire.
David Lynch
Phyllis Khare, social media expert,
author of Social Media Marketing
eLearning Kit For Dummies.
The DLMFA in Screenwriting
is pleased to announce that
acclaimed screenwriter,
producer and director Peter
Farrelly will be joining our
team as a program advisor
and featured guest speaker.
Known for such hits as Dumb
& Dumber, There’s Something
About Mary and Shallow Hal,
he will provide invaluable
insight into the writing process
and the business of film. Peter
enjoys the personal benefits
and enhanced creativity of TM
practice.
Peter Farrelly
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David Lynch MFA in Screenwriting
Entrance
Requirments
How to Apply
Click on the “apply now” button at the top or
bottom of any web page on www.mum.edu
to start the application process. You must also
submit your portfolio directly to the
department, as described on Page 16.
Bachelor's Degree
Applicants must hold a
Bachelor’s degree and
demonstrate skill in
screenwriting.
Portfolio
Applicants must submit
a creative portfolio for
evaluation. See Portfolio
Submission Guidelines on
Page 16.
Interview
Visitors Weekend
Please Note
Applicants will be interviewed by the MFA Admissions
Committee, in person or via Skype. MFA candidates
should prepare for this interview and be able to speak in
a detailed manner about the work in their portfolio, their
present project interests, and career goals.
MFA candidates are strongly
encouraged to visit the
University during their application
process. For information:
www.mum.edu/visitorsweekend.
Students who are not yet
practicing the Transcendental
Meditation program will receive
instruction in the technique during
the first residency.
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Maharishi University of Management
More Info
Application Dates
Submissions must be received by October 15th, 2016.
Students who are accepted to the MFA program must be on campus to register for classes on February 8th (US)
and February 6th-7th (International), 2017.
Scholarship Competition
The DLMFA is pleased to offer four Peter Farrelly “Excellence in Screenwriting” scholarships. Peter will be judging
the finalists in this competition. Each of these scholarships will be worth $2,500 towards tuition.
To be eligible for these scholarships, applications and portfolio work must be submitted by August 31st, 2016.
Portfolio Submission Guidelines
To upload your portfolio items, create an account at Slideroom here. You will upload the following the items:
1. Writing Sample: A fictional screenwriting sample that you believe best represents your talent,
plus a one page synopsis of that script.
2. Statement of Purpose: (500 words maximum) explaining why you are interested in joining the David Lynch MFA
program in Screenwriting.
3. Your Résumé.
4. Script: A 5 to 7 page script based on the writing prompt below. Please write a complete story with a beginning,
middle, and an end that begins with the following scene:
Prompt:
INT. SHERIFF’S OFFICE - NIGHT
SHERIFF PETER BALL is on late duty in the small sheriff’s office. He hears a noise outside. He opens the front
door of the office and discovers a box on the doorstep. He opens the box and inside is…
Cost of Program
For most students*, we estimate the cost of tuition to be $17,670, plus fees for both residencies $1,560, totaling
$19,230 for the first year of the program. (Since the second year of the program includes an additional, fifth,
residency in Los Angeles, the cost of that year will be slightly higher.)
Residency costs include all housing (private room with bath), meals and ground transportation in Iowa. (Additional
expenses for travel to and from residencies, books, personal expenses, etc. are not included, but are eligible for
financial aid assistance.)
*Assumes student meets financial aid eligibility requirements.
For more information, including details on financial aid eligibility, please click here.
Maharishi University of Management
David Lynch Graduate School of Cinematic Arts
www.mum.edu/david-lynch-mfa-in-film/
1-800-369-6480