Verso University: Writing Compelling Characters with Hollywood Screenwriter Roger Schulman

Thursday, June 4, 11, & 25, (NO class on June 18)

6:30-8:30 pm  (Board Room)

Course Details

In screenwriting, just like in politics, show business, and getting the best table in a restaurant, it’s all about who you know. And knowing your characters makes every part of your work easier — and better.

In shaping screen personalities from Shrek to Balto to Mulan, Hollywood screenwriter Roger S.H. Schulman has learned a couple of tricks for creating characters who do the heavy lifting of telling your story while effortlessly entertaining your audience.

Here's the first: a character is not a human being.

And here's the second: build them from the inside out.

People’s true natures are hidden, even from themselves. It's like an iceberg. What you see above the waterline is just the tip of the you-know-what. Down deep is what really drives your character, and you're the only one who knows everything about it. You even get to invent it.

So what is a movie, TV or book character, if not a person? How do you trick an audience into believing they're real, all while they push the plot, grow, change, succeed, fail, and make it all look unplanned?

Let's talk about it. You may find the answers, well, compelling. And you'll leave seeing characters — and maybe even people — in a new way.

And if you're interested in getting an exclusive look behind the scenes of Hollywood screenwriting, join Roger for his talk on May 19 before the course starts!

About the Instructor

Roger S.H. Schulman co-wrote the animated feature Shrek, for which he won a British Academy Award (BAFTA) and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. He previously co-wrote the animated feature Balto for executive producer Steven Spielberg, and wrote Mulan II and The Jungle Book II for Disney.

Roger has also worked extensively as a producer and writer for television, including the Disney show Bizaardvark starring Olivia Rodrigo. He also co-created the Disney Channel series JONAS; was executive producer of 2Gether for MTV, as well as for Living Single with Queen Latifah, for which he won the NAACP Image Award. He co-wrote a pilot for HBO with Tom Hanks.

Roger started out as a journalist for such outlets as Newsweek and BusinessWeek. He earned an MS in Journalism at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Roger teaches screenwriting at schools including the University of Southern California and The New School in New York City. He’s currently Artist in Residence at the graduate FTMA program at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield.

He’s fortunate to live with his beautiful and talented wife Elizabeth Vienneau, along with three disparate dogs, a wayward dove and a six-pound tortoise.

Important Information About Verso University Classes

• Classes are usually structured as a consecutive series.
• Class size is often limited.
• Each series has a one-time fee registration fee covering all classes in the series.
• Registration is mandatory.
• The Westport Library wants to ensure that all interested students are able to participate in Verso University courses. If the registration fee is a barrier to entry for you, please contact [email protected].

Verso University is the Library’s lifelong learning and education initiative, serving up year-round offerings of classes, workshops, and lectures designed to further education and learning. Offerings run the gamut of educational opportunities, ranging from one-time lectures to ongoing courses to classes that meet weekly or perhaps monthly.

Verso University programs are made possible by the generous support of the Nancy J. Beard Lifelong Learning and Education Fund.