Writing to Attract Talent

Leader: Michael Davies
Location: live, on Zoom
Next session: November 22, 2024; 9am Pacific Time

About the Workshop

If you want to see your script get made into an actual film, you need to create characters actors will want to play… but what are actors—and before them their agents—really looking for in a script? Writers sometimes have limited experience of working with actors, meaning that beyond a well-structured screenplay, writing to attract talent is largely guesswork.

Working at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, directing rehearsed readings of new work, including film scripts, as well as theater productions with extensive rehearsal times of several weeks (compared to just minutes on a typical film or TV production) has given Michael valuable insight into approaching a script—and script writing—from an actor’s point of view.

The aim of this workshop is to encourage you see your script as an actor is likely to see it, and to provide you with practical tools, including essential ‘dos and don’ts,’ that will strengthen your writing. Ultimately the goal is encourage an actor to read your script all the way to the end… then call their agent and say, “YES!”

About Michael Davies

Michael Davies is a UK-based director and writer, currently in pre-production on The Captive Heart, a romantic adventure feature film shooting on Italy’s Amalfi Coast in 2025.

Michael began his career making a wide range of critically acclaimed, award-winning documentaries and drama-documentaries for the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and National Geographic (including seven films with legendary producer Beryl Vertue at Hartswood Films), as well as dramatized adventure films for Discovery Channel. Michael also directed fourteen episodes of the hit BBC drama series Tracy Beaker Returns, winning a BAFTA and two RTS awards.

Michael’s short film What’s Virgin Mean? screened at over sixty international festivals, winning eight awards and attracting more than ten million hits on YouTube; unusually for a short, it also made a profit. Another of his films, Love at First Sight, starring John Hurt and Phyllida Law, won fifteen awards, including an RTS, Rushes, Raindance, and Aspen, and was shortlisted for an Oscar.

Michael has a long association with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), working with writers and directing rehearsed readings and performances of new plays. Two of his feature scripts, The Captive Heart and Psychopomp, have been developed with the Academy—and PageCraft! Michael also teaches a screen acting masterclass in London, and works as a script consultant and screenwriting mentor.

Price: $39

Important Notes

• This workshop will not be recorded. If you would like to participate, you must join at the listed time.
  
• We will email registered participants 5 to 7 days before the workshop is scheduled to take place and a reminder the morning of the workshop.
  
• If you do not see the email (please check your spam folder), or if you would prefer that we email you at a different address from the one you use to make payment, get in touch with us at info@pagecraftwriting.com. After the cancellation deadline, we will not be able to accept a lost or overlooked email as a reason for a refund.
• Cancellation Policy: You are entitled to a refund of your registration price minus 5% if you cancel by noon PT the day of the workshop. We will not be able to provide refunds after that time.