Drafting Your Feature Screenplay in Five Days
Session: November 2026
About this Intensive
Crafting a stellar screenplay takes months—if not years—to complete; writing a first draft doesn’t. Challenge yourself to move your next screenplay from a seed of an idea to words on the page in under a week. Step out of the mindset of writing the perfect pages in order to birth a solid foundation for your screenplay into existence.
In this five-day intensive workshop, award-winning screenwriter, producer, and story consultant Kat O’Brien will help you unlock the cinematic potential in your storytelling and kickstart your next feature draft. Each rigorous class session is designed to teach you the beauty of the writing sprint, incorporating writing exercises, peer breakout sessions, and table reads of your initial pages. Whether you’re an experienced screenwriter or seeking to expand your writing toolkit, this intensive will help you conceptualize, outline, and draft a viable feature-length screenplay.
What you bring to the course:
- A curiosity for writing a screenplay from ideation to first draft in a short amount of time or an idea for a feature screenplay
- Familiarity with industry-standard screenplay formatting and access to screenwriting software
What you’ll get from the course:
- How to pitch as a story development tool
- Understanding of what to look for in a story’s viability
- Outline and drafting strategies to generate writing
- Guidance on setting writing goals that work within your schedule and creative bandwidth
- Robust story development through take-home assignments
- Small group feedback based on writing produced in class
- An opportunity to table read a selection of pages for group workshop (space limited)
This course will:
- provide tools and techniques to apply to any project
- build a creative community of writers to support each other to reach page count benchmarks
- empower you with resources and strategies needed to draft a screenplay that is artistically and commercially viable
1-on-1 Session:
For an additional fee of $150, you may elect to meet with your Instructor for a 60-minute 1-on-1 session after the course term to receive feedback on pages from your script and guidance as you move forward in your screenplay development.
IntensiveAccessibility
Sundance Collab provides accommodations and support services to participants with disabilities. Accommodations and services are designed to meet the needs of each participant. Please email us at accessibility@sundance.org to arrange for services.
Scholarships
Sundance Collab offers a limited number of need-based, partial and full scholarships. Scholarship applications can be submitted until one week before the registration deadline and do not stack with discounts or promotions, including early registration. Due to the volume of applicants, we are not always able to provide a scholarship, but we may still offer a spot in the course.
Outline
- Monday, November 16, 1–4 p.m. PT
- Tuesday, November 17, 1–4 p.m. PT
- Wednesday, November 18, 1–4 p.m. PT
- Thursday, November 19, 1–4 p.m. PT
- Friday, November 20, 1–4 p.m. PT
Instructor
Kat O'Brien
Kat O'Brien is a writer, producer, director, actor, and professor of interdisciplinary cinematic and theater arts. For over 20 years, Kat O’Brien has worked as a screenwriter, executive, producer, and consultant developing film and television for Universal Pictures, Warner Bros., Sony, Anonymous Content, Focus Features, Rogue Pictures, Alcon Entertainment, Morgan Creek Productions, Blue Star Entertainment, and numerous internationally renowned and critically acclaimed independent filmmakers and television producers.
During the pandemic, Kat executive produced the We Still Teach TV series, for which she was awarded the Chicago Teachers’ Union LEAD award as a champion for education justice. As a world-renowned expert in story development and the founder of KOB Magic story coaching, Kat has consulted for the Doha Film Institute and Film Al-Ula, and her clientele includes internationally acclaimed filmmakers, as well as Oscar, Emmy, Golden Globe, and Tony winners and nominees. Currently, she is writing and producing projects for film, television, and stage, while authoring her debut novel and upcoming comedic solo show. Her academic appointments include teaching and course development at The University of Chicago and DePaul University, The Second City Film School, the Iowa Summer Writing Festival, Columbia College Chicago, and guest lectures at The University of Southern California and The University of San Diego. She holds a BFA in Writing for Film and Television from the University of Southern California, and resides in Chicago with her husband and children.
FAQ
In Sundance Collab’s Intensives, participants attend live, virtual class sessions in a condensed time period. These sessions are led by an instructor and supported by the Sundance Collab courses team.
All members of the Sundance Collab community are welcome to register for Sundance Collab Intensives. Some Intensives require an application. Please review the description and any eligibility requirements to ensure the Intensive is a good fit. If you have any questions, please email collab_courses@sundance.org.
For application-based Intensives, note that space is limited. Applications are considered as they are received and applicants are accepted on a rolling basis until the Intensive is full or the deadline has passed, whichever comes first. If the application window is open, you will see an “Apply” button on the course page.
We send our application acceptance notifications on a rolling basis, starting after the application deadline. You will be notified of your acceptance status no later than three days before the first session. At any point, you can check the status of a course that you have applied to by logging into Sundance Collab and visiting the course page. You’ll see a purple bar there indicating your status.
When reviewing applications for an Intensive, the Sundance Collab team evaluates the needs and expectations of each applicant. We are also looking to convene a diverse group of participants who will work well together and support each other throughout the Intensive. Finally, we will confirm that the applicant can meet the time commitment necessary and has a strong interest and readiness to complete the Intensive and meaningfully contribute to the group process.
We do not offer any combined applications or discounts for Sundance Collab Intensives.
We often offer a limited number of need-based, full or partial scholarships. Check the course description to see if that course currently has scholarships available. Scholarships are prioritized for one per person per year (from the date of issue). Scholarship applications are available up to one week before the registration deadline. To apply for a scholarship, complete the registration form by clicking the REGISTER button and selecting the option to apply for a scholarship, if available.
Applicants will be notified about their scholarship decision prior to the first day of the course. Due to the volume of applicants, we are not always able to provide a scholarship, but we may still offer a spot in the course. In this case, depending on the course, payment plans may be available and can be selected at checkout.
We may offer the option of either a two or three-part payment plan for Intensives. If offered, the first payment will be due at the time of registration and the last payment will be due before the halfway point of the Intensive. Due to the length of Intensives, a payment plan option may not be available closer to the registration deadline. For specific payment plan dates, please reach out to our team at: collab_courses@sundance.org.
Yes, you are welcome to take a live, online Intensive even if you can’t make the live sessions. Recordings of each session are available online within two business days.
All sessions are recorded and usually made available within two business days. The videos will also contain the chat and transcript from the session, viewable in the video playbar.
Participants will have access to the recordings for one year following the last session.
All participants will receive a Certificate of Completion. The certificate will include the name associated with your Sundance Collab account.
You can join a course via a computer or mobile device. All of our Intensives are conducted via Zoom.
Download and set up the Zoom software and make sure you have the latest update. Here are some great resources from Zoom’s Knowledge Base to take a deeper dive into using Zoom:
- Watch Zoom's Video Tutorials or review training materials on the Getting Started page.
- Join a Live Training from Zoom.
If you have any further questions, please email collab_courses@sundance.org.
Sundance Collab provides accommodations and support services to participants with disabilities. Please contact us at (435) 776-7790 or email us at accessibility@sundance.org to ask any questions or to discuss your specific needs after you have been accepted into the course.