Come join us for one week of Continuing Education classes on writing. The series includes practical courses exploring “the Art of Storytelling,” screenwriting, and TV writing. You’ll learn all about screenwriting basics, story development, and what a writer’s room is like through creative exercises taught by professionals. A guest writer will answer questions about their work and share insights into how you can enhance your storytelling skills.
Below you can briefly meet each of our instructors for the writing sessions. You can register to attend the series here.
INSTRUCTOR BIOs
Katya Lidsky
Class: Storytelling Workshop: Before Page One (July 14); Breathe, Flow, Write: Accessing Your Creative Truth Through Breathwork (July 15)
Katya Lidsky is a writer, a trauma-informed, certified breathwork facilitator, and a creative coach. She writes screenplays and books, has written for television, and has sold TV pilots. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Parents, Texas Monthly, and many other publications. Her one-woman play, I’m Sorry, which she wrote and performed to sold-out audiences across Los Angeles and New York City, was part of the New York Fringe Festival. After graduating from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, Katya obtained a master’s degree from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. She is obsessed with stories, spirituality, and shelter dogs. Her first book, Be Your Dog’s Best Friend: The Benefits of Mutual Bonding and Relationship Building, comes out this fall. Follow her on Instagram @KatyaLidsky
Stephen Ohl
Class: Principles of Screenwriting (July 16)
Stephen Ohl is an award-winning writer/director with over 15 years of professional experience. He received an MFA in directing from the AFI Conservatory. He made his feature debut with the hilarious USELESS HUMANS, which was released on Showtime in 2020. Most recently, he directed an eight-episode comedy series called Sales are Dope, which was originally released in early 2023 but has been re-released as a feature film on Amazon Prime this year.
Alejandra Gracia
Class: Demystifying the TV Writer’s Room (July 18)
Alejandra enjoys writing characters working through the multiple aspects of their identity, pero like, funny. She was born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley and received her BA in theatre management at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, before realizing (on her last day of undergrad) she wanted to work in television. Four years later, Alejandra moved to Chicago to get her MFA in screenwriting at DePaul University. Alejandra was most recently staffed on an unannounced Disney Channel show, and she previously supported showrunner Debby Wolfe through the successful pilot and first season of Lopez Vs. Lopez for NBC. Prior to her work on multi-camera sitcoms, she served as the writer’s assistant for the first season of the critically acclaimed HBO Max comedy The Gordita Chronicles.
