Spring break for Minneapolis/St. Paul Public Schools is April 3-7, 2023. Come spend the week at FilmNorth and learn screenwriting or on-camera acting!
Screenwriting Boot Camp
Ages 14-17
Instructor: David Grant
April 3-7, 1:00-5:00 pm
Reg. deadline: March 27
Tuition: $240
Enrollment limit: 8
Learn the nuts and bolts of screenwriting. A portion of each day will be devoted to watching and discussing portions of great films that have a lot to teach about structure and what it means to write memorable and compelling stories for the screen. We’ll also spend time sharing our own freshly-written script pages with one another. We’ll have much fun, and by the end of the week, you’ll know the basics of screenwriting and lots about film and television. Best of all, you’ll have the opportunity to complete a short script, or get off to a good, running start on the script for a feature film.
David Grant is a Twin Cities-based screenwriter and playwright. As a playwright, he has been commissioned to write new work for the Minnesota Science Museum, the Minnesota Historical Society, Mixed Blood Theater, VocalEssence, The Playwrights’ Center, and Great American History Theatre. As a screenwriter, he has written drama for Twin Cities Public Television, Russell Simmons’ Def Pictures, HBO New York, Davis Entertainment, and the Showtime Network. Grant has been a recipient of screenwriting fellowships from the Minnesota State Arts Board and the McKnight Foundation.
Please print, complete and return the two PDF forms below by: 1) emailing them to Youth Programs Director Robert Ndondo-Lay; or 2) mailing them to Youth Programs, FilmNorth, 550 Vandalia Street #120, Saint Paul, MN 55114. You may also bring completed forms with you when you check your child in the first camp session. Students are not permitted to attend camps without signed forms.
FILMNORTH APPEARANCE RELEASE FORM
On-Camera Acting
Ages 14-18
Instructor: Bill Cooper
April 3-7, 1:00-5:00 pm
Reg. deadline: March 27
Tuition: $240
Enrollment limit: 10
This intensive and fun acting camp includes the selection, casting, rehearsal, performance, recording, and screening of comedic and dramatic scenes. Preparations for the scene performances include lecture, improvisation, and emotional exercises. Each participant will focus on two scenes (one comedic and one dramatic) that will be recorded by production staff with quality equipment and shown during a public screening the last day of the camp. Students will have access to the edited scenes after the camp has concluded. All exercises and scripts will be age appropriate. No prior acting experience required!
Bill Cooper has been involved with the video, television, and film business primarily as an actor for over 35 years. He has a degree in Mass Communications from St. Cloud (MN) State University and studied acting at The Actors Studio in Minneapolis. Bill’s acting credits include 25 short and feature films, over 200 television commercials and hundreds of industrial, corporate, print, and voice-over projects.
Along with acting, Bill is a producer/director of commercials, corporate presentations, educational videos, documentaries and narrative films. His latest feature film Betta Fish is in post-production and will be released in 2019. His first feature Hunting Buddies was distributed by FilmWorks Entertainment in California and can be purchased in a variety of places including amazon.com.
Bill began conducting acting workshops and coaching 15 years ago and has found it extremely rewarding and a natural extension of his creative and technical connection to storytelling.
Please print, complete and return the two PDF forms below by: 1) emailing them to Youth Programs Director Robert Ndondo-Lay; or 2) mailing them to Youth Programs, FilmNorth, 550 Vandalia Street #120, Saint Paul, MN 55114. You may also bring completed forms with you when you check your child in the first camp session. Students are not permitted to attend camps without signed forms.
FILMNORTH APPEARANCE RELEASE FORM
Camp enrollment is limited to 8-10 participants in order to promote collaboration and engagement. A limited number of scholarships are available to cover camp tuition for students from low-income households that qualify for free and reduced-price lunch under the National School Lunch Program. For more information, contact Youth Programs Director Robert Ndondo-Lay.
Camp Registration Guidelines & Cancellation Policy
- Registration deadlines are listed with camp descriptions (click on camp title). Space is assigned on a first-come basis.
- Registrations must include payment in full. Registrations are accepted after registration deadlines if space is available.
- The FILMNORTH CAMP PARENT/GUARDIAN RELEASE FORM and FILMNORTH CAMP APPEARANCE RELEASE FORM must be completed and submitted prior to the start of the first camp session. A new set of forms must be completed for each camp. Please print, complete and return the two PDF forms below by: 1) emailing them to Youth Programs Director Robert Ndondo-Lay; or 2) mailing them to Youth Programs, FilmNorth, 550 Vandalia Street #120, Saint Paul, MN 55114. You may also bring completed forms with you when you check your child in the first camp session. Students are not permitted to attend camps without signed forms.
- If minimum enrollment has not been reached by 5 days prior to the start date of a camp, FilmNorth may cancel it, in which case registrants will immediately be notified and receive a full refund within 5 business days. A check will be issued for registrations that were paid in cash. In lieu of a refund, students have the option of applying their tuition to another camp if scheduled in the same calendar year.
- For those wishing to cancel a registration prior to the registration deadline, 100% of the tuition will be refunded minus a $25 administrative fee. For registration cancellations received after the registration deadline but prior to the first camp session, 50% of the tuition will be refunded minus a $25 administrative fee. As of a camp start date, no refunds or credits/exchanges will be given.
- Tuition is not prorated for missed camp sessions.
- If a camp is full and you’d like to be placed on a wait list, or if you have any questions, please contact Youth Programs Director Robert Ndondo-Lay.
Covid Safety Policy
FilmNorth is following CDC’s current COVID-19 variant guidance for Ramsey County:
- People may choose to mask at any time. Masks are recommended for those who are unvaccinated, immunocompromised, or at high-risk for complications associated with COVID-19 variants.
- People with any COVID-19 symptoms, a positive test, or exposure to someone with COVID-19 should stay home.
- Masks are available for students who need them (one mask per student per class).
