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WAUKESHA - Bill Vought has rubbed
shoulders with Hollywood’s elite and had a taste of working with
major production studios and even directorial legend Steven
Spielberg. Now he is trying on a different hat as the newest
faculty member of Allwriters’ Workplace & Workshop.
"I’ve always enjoyed the
process of teaching," Vought said. "Allwriters appealed
to me because they had opposite opinions of college; all of their
teachers are writers and all of them are still are working in
their line of work. If you’re going to teach people writing,
that’s the way to do it."
Vought is a graduate of the
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and spent his first 15 years
out of school in Hollywood trying to break in the business with
screenwriting.
"I didn’t earn a dime any of
those years," he said.
Vought said he eventually got his
break in 1997 when he met Spielberg to discuss Vought’s script
entitled "When Trumpets Fade." One year later Vought’s
script became an HBO original movie.
"My true strength is really
war stories," he said.
Since Vought’s meeting with
Spielberg, he has worked for numerous studios including
DreamWorks, Fox, Warner Brothers, Sony, Disney and Universal
Studios.
"My wife and I decided to move
back to Wisconsin because both of our mothers are getting up there
in age and we wanted to be closer to them," he said.
Vought will be teaching a building
series of four classes on screenwriting. The classes will be
offered on site and online.
"Teaching becomes exciting to
me when it becomes exciting for the student," he said.
"I think my students will realize after taking my class that
it may not be as hard as they think it is."
Kathie Giorgio, director of
AllWriters’ Workplace & Workshop, said Vought is a wonderful
addition to the faculty.
"He’s experienced all there
is to experience as a screenwriter. He had many years of failure
before success. So he knows what it takes to break into this often
difficult business," she said. "He will provide our
students with solid experience. That’s what AllWriters insists
upon in their faculty, the knowledge and the experience."
AT A GLANCE
The first class, "Basic
Screenwriting," will run from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursdays,
June 19 to Aug. 14 (no class July 3). Students will learn the
importance of the opening scene, protagonist and antagonist,
supporting characters, subject matter, plot points, research,
conflict and the chemistry of characters. Students will develop
ideas for scripts, and will complete character examinations of the
protagonist, antagonist and key supporting characters. By the end
of the session, students will have a detailed treatment of their
story, and will begin the first draft of their script. The cost of
the class is $125. You can register by calling (262) 446-0284 or
going to www.allwriters.org.
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