Tutor information
Shaun McCarthy
Shaun McCarthy has had over a dozen stage plays professionally produced and a range of radio dramas broadcast. His adaptations include JM Synge’s ‘The Aran Islands’ (BBC R4 Classic Serial), a stage version of ‘A Christmas Carol’ that was a critique of David Cameron’s ‘big society’ and had a happy, unexpected ending; and a re-set of Strindberg’s ‘Miss Julie’ to Oxford 1963. Shaun teaches a range of creative writing courses for OUDCE, runs Hooligan Theatre Productions to develop his new plays and co-runs the writing events and residential writers’ retreats company ‘Stage and Page' in the UK and Italy.
Courses
A day school on writing dialogue between characters on stage, screen and page. For writers of any experience wishing to develop the way their characters speak – how they reveal thoughts and motives and advance the story through what they say.
What do TV drama producers look for in a well-written pitch and pilot for a TV drama series? This intensive screenwriting weekend explores how to shape your creative ideas to their expectations, and how to write a successful pilot episode.
A day school on how stories are told in musical theatre and screen musicals. Approaching examples of the genre primarily from the perspective of a writer, we will explore the key techniques used to create musicals, and how to write, or just enjoy, them.
A workshop-based course exploring the key skills required to create an original and compelling stage drama, with reference to current creative practice in new writing in professional theatres.