Contact
.jpg)
With the responsibilities of our adult lives, and our inner critics constantly telling us we're not good enough, it's no wonder we lose our sense of play!
However, it's there, inside each and every one of us, just waiting for us to embrace it like we once did as kids. We just need to give ourselves permission to access that part of our silly, authentic selves again to fully connect with our creativity.
In this one-of-a-kind 4-week online intensive for adult writers in any medium, you'll learn how to get out of your head, overcome writer's block, find your flow, and write from your heart through the art of play! ✨
In this one-of-a-kind live 4-week online intensive for adult writers in any medium, you'll learn how to get out of your head, overcome writer's block, find your flow, and write from your heart through the art of play!
-
Writing Through Play is a 4-week intensive taught live via Zoom
-
Class will be TBA
-
Learn and play alongside other students from all over the world
-
Minimum 2 hour weekly commitment, plus self-guided assignments each week (the more you put into the assignments, the more you'll get out of the course!)
-
You must be 18 years or older at the time of registration due to the high possibility of strong language and mature subject matter
$395 CAD
$295 CAD
Please note that any work done for the class will not be critiqued.
We believe play isn't something to be critiqued, but rather something to be explored without constraints.
We do, however, strongly encourage students to share their work throughout each class, as well as share what they loved about other student's work!
HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
Through timed writing exercises, prompts, assignments, arts and crafts, movement, sharing your work, and play, you will learn how to:
GET OUT OF YOUR HEAD
Leave that inner critic behind and give yourself the permission to just write and play
FIND YOUR FLOW
Find and practice your creative flow state during live Zoom sessions amongst fellow writers
OVERCOME WRITER'S BLOCK
Explore and discover a variety of techniques to work through writer’s block, and find inspiration
WRITE FROM THE HEART
Express your authentic voice and get to know yourself better as a person and as an artist
HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL GET
PAGES OF WRITING
Just for fun and/or to inspire your current or future projects
MORE FUN
In your writing process and in your life
SUPPORT
From your facilitator and from your fellow writers as you rediscover yourself and your sense of play
CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION
Upon successfully completing the Writing Through Play intensive
GET SAVING!
With your Script & Story course registration, you get 10% off our script coverage services!
HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL NEED
CRAFT SUPPLIES & WRITING UTENSILS
You will need to make a mask for the class. Feel free to get as creative as you'd like by using any materials you have at home! The only requirements are it must go over your face, be securely attached, and have a costume associated with it.
CLOTHES/
COSTUMES
Not only is it a requirement to wear clothes to class(!), you will be required to go through your wardrobe and belongings to create costumes at a few points during the course. Use anything you can find. Clothes, accessories, towels, curtains(!?), even things that aren't traditionally supposed to be worn as clothing! Don't be afraid to get creative!
A SPACE
TO MOVE
You will need at least a meter or two of space to move around for the movement portions. We also suggest wearing comfortable clothing that you can move easily in.
We ask that your space stays free of noise, disruptions, and distractions.
A WILLINGNESS
TO BE SILLY
This class requires a willingness to take that first step towards allowing yourself to let go and play, which in turn will require vulnerability. It's scary, we know. Trust us when we say it'll be worth it!
You will need a device that can access Zoom and provide writing software in order to participate in the class.
LAPTOP, TABLET, OR PHONE
As the intensive will be delivered live via Zoom, you will need access to the platform in order to participate in the class. You can do so via your internet browser, or the app.
Note that you do not need a Zoom account in order to access the platform.
In order to participate in the writing exercises and take notes, you will need access to writing software such as Microsoft Word, Pages, Notes, or Google Docs.
You can also use a notebook if you prefer to hand-write notes and ideas, through we recommend using your device for the timed writing exercises as you'll be able to write more content.
WRITING SOFTWARE
We will be doing everything in our power to ensure the class will not be recorded as we have a strict no photos/videos/audio recordings policy* so that the space stays as safe as possible.
*Photos may be taken by the facilitator for promotional materials but only with advanced notice and explicit permission from all class participants.
OR YOUR MONEY BACK
We wanted to put "no questions asked" after "or your money back", however we value your thoughts and opinions! After all, we created Script & Story for you!
If you're not satisfied with our courses/intensives and you'd like to share why, we will do everything in our power to ensure you feel you've gotten the most out of your Script & Story experience. If you still feel unsatisfied even after we've addressed your concern, we will refund 100% of your money back—no more questions asked!
MEET YOUR INSTRUCTOR
Hi! I'm Mandi. I'm a queer screenwriter, script consultant, story editor, director, and educator with a specialty in Pochinko clown. With now over 20 years of experience in the film industry, I'm currently contracted as a screenwriter for an LGBTQ+ feature with a Canadian production company, plus writing the short film version funded by the Canada Council for the Arts. I'm also the story editor for a dark comedy web series funded by Telefilm/WIDC, a script consultant for YN Films, plus worked as a script analyst for the 2022 Female Eye Film Festival.(You can read my full screenwriting and directing bio here!)
Whether it’s on stage, on screen, or in my grandma’s living room, I have dedicated my life to the art of storytelling. That presented itself in many different ways over the last 20 years of being in the performing arts/film industry, be it training or opportunities. While the majority of my training and opportunities were insightful and rewarding, the most beneficial, the most impactful were the ones that focused on the root of creation: play!
In 2014, I took my first Pochinko clown intensive at the University of Alberta with Jan Henderson, one of Canada's leading clown and mask teachers, and it completely changed my life.
Contrary to popular belief, we did not learn birthday party clowning--no, we learned performance clown which focuses on the fine art of letting go and following your flow. In that class, we discovered our clown/inner fool for the first time--our 100% authentic selves--and it was in that class that I truly discovered myself as an artist, and as a person.
Naturally, I was hooked on this fun, liberating thing called play that I almost completely forgot how to do. So, in 2015, I jumped at the chance to take Advanced Clown which consisted of an in-depth exploration of not only our inner fool, but also our inner Joey (powerful; high status) and our inner Auguste (eager to serve their Joey; low status). Then, in 2017, I returned to the U of A to take Baby Clown & Mask, rediscovering myself and my inner fool once again, but most importantly, rediscovering play after an extremely traumatic time in my life.
After completing the 3 clown intensives, I continued my training in play in a variety of workshops and courses, most recently Virtual Playground: A Clown Class with Shannan Calcutt and Overcoming Creative Doubt at The Making-Box. Previous to that, I studied improv at the Second City Hollywood, as well as took a Pochinko clown Chekov workshop with Christopher Brauer at the University of Winnipeg. To this day, I continue to train in play whenever I can, as well as try and incorporate play into to my everyday life as much as possible.
Both writing and play have gotten me through many creative and personal ruts, from daily "blahs" and writers block, all the way to playing a part in my trauma recovery. Having had such an impactful part in my own life, I designed this one-of-a-kind course to provide writers with a transformational training experience in hopes that the art of play can enrich their work and their lives just as it did for mine.
To learn more about me, you can check out my personal website, or my IMDb! 💗 🌻
WRITING THROUGH PLAY
TESTIMONIALS
I found this was the exact class that I was looking for in order to gain some confidence in writing as well as finding the fun that I have loved in the past while writing.
Mandi leads the class in such an encouraging light while taking into the consideration of personal life struggles wholeheartedly allowing for the feelings of guilt that so often plague me (and I'm sure lots of writers) when the inability to get something done sinks me below sea level. I am overjoyed by the amount of writing I was able to achieve just DURING class while also letting me feel less weight on my daily writing.
I would recommend this class to anyone who may be feeling a bit down, or like they aren't good enough - because by the end of it you'll forget those thoughts even plagued you. Thanks Mandi!
