New Script Lab Will Foster Emerging Screenwriters

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Middlebury has announced a new program aimed at cultivating the talents of promising screenwriters. The first Middlebury Script Lab will take place at the Bread Loaf Inn during the 2018 winter term. Six emerging writers, selected competitively, will participate in the weeklong fellowship program, which covers travel, food, and lodging. Additionally, Middlebury students enrolled in the winter-term course “Script Development” will have the opportunity to participate in workshop activities and interact with the workshop fellows.

The workshop, which received support from the College’s Fund for Innovation, will offer screenwriters in the early stages of their careers mentorship and guidance from Middlebury faculty and alumni who have had successful careers in writing for film and television.

Assistant Professor of Film and Media Culture Ioana Uricaru, who created and will direct the lab, says the new program responds to shifting trends in the film and media industry in which organizations such as Sundance and Film Independent’s Screenwriting Lab are taking a more active role in nurturing talented young writers.

“Middlebury College already enjoys a leadership position among our peer institutions in media education,” said Uricaru. “With the Middlebury Script Lab, we can also take a leadership position as curators and decision makers.”

David Miranda Hardy, assistant professor of film and media culture, whose screenwriting credits include the acclaimed political thriller “Bala Loca,” will also serve as a faculty mentor for the program.

“We think this workshop has a high probability of discovering fresh talent and putting Middlebury on the national map as a member of the very small circuit of “talent farms” that are becoming the gateway to the film and television entertainment world,” said Miranda Hardy.

The workshop will run from January 11-17 at the Middlebury Bread Loaf campus in Ripton, Vermont, home to the Bread Loaf Writers Conference and Middlebury’s Bread Loaf School of English. Participants will spend their time in one-on-one mentoring sessions, group workshops, and master classes, with plenty of time built into the schedule for individual writing and editing.

Candidates for the program will have completed a first draft of a screenplay–their first or second feature–with no more than one other screenplay produced or sold.

“Writers who find brainstorming and discussion helpful will get the most out of the Script Lab,” said Uricaru.

For more information and application instructions, visit the Middlebury Bread Loaf Script Lab online.

The Ron and Jessica Liebowitz Fund for Innovation was established in honor of Middlebury’s 16th President and his wife in 2015 by a group of donors who believe that a distinctive culture of creative thinking is essential to the Middlebury community. The FFI is committed to the idea that creative work should serve the institution’s needs.