From Punchline to the Laugh Track: Television Sitcom Writing and Directing Workshop

This workshop will provide students with a possibility to acquire practical knowledge in creation of television fiction, in particular sitcoms. A course will begin with concise theoretical introduction, tackling notions of the way television articulate its contents, the importance of humor in our societies, psychology of humor, genres of TV fiction, narrative structures and formulas of different sitcom sub-types. The course will later develop through two stages: writing and directing of a brief sitcom scene. Students will form small teams, the aim of each group will be to come up with one complete sitcom scene at the end of the workshop. The writing segment of the workshop will take place in a classroom: under a supervision of a professor each student team should develop scripts for their sitcom scene. During this process students will gain basic insights to screenwriting for television, character and plot development and comedy writing. The directing section will take place in TV studio. Students will work with multi-camera system and shoot their written exercises. Under a supervision of a professor they will learn how to operate in a TV studio, manage cameras and other equipment, and direct actors. This workshop will foster creative expression, collective creativity, communication and collaboration on the common project, as well as critical thinking about television programs and the structure of TV industry. Through the workshop students will also learn about/acquire practical knowledge of creative work division in television production systems.