Run The Room for…
Business
Master the culture and cadence of a working Hollywood writers’ room
What is
Run the Room for Business?
Run the Room is a simulated TV writers’ room. Here, you build the real skills of the job: pitching, breaking a story, taking notes that blow up your favorite scene, and putting it all back up on its feet.
You can only get so far writing on your own. In the room, you’ll learn from everyone around you and watch a story come together with notes and opinions flying everywhere. There’s nothing like it, and it’s the best practice there is for breaking into television!
Zach Dodes
Writer and Executive Producer
What you’ll learn
Run The Room covers all the skills you need to be a great TV writer, including:
- How to pitch
- Storybreaking
- Character journeys
- How to listen and be heard
- How to give and take notes
- Co-writing and collaboration
- Navigating the hierarchy
- How to pivot like a pro
- How to earn fast title bumps
- How to get out of your head
- How to be valuable on Day One
How it works
Run The Room meets twice weekly for four weeks.
Once you enter this program, you are a working writer in the room.
This is your chance to jump inside the culture and cadence of an actual running show.
Hybrid Course
4 Weeks
$499 per person
- 1-hour Zoom session on Thursday evenings
- 2-hour in-person writers’ room on Saturday afternoons
Zoom sessions cover each week’s topic (think: how to pitch, how to break stories).
In-person sessions are run exactly like a real writers’ room. We’ll break a TV season together, based on sample IP.
Applications must be submitted by
11:59PT on Sept 27th for the October Room.
Online Course
4 Weeks
$399 per person
- 2x 90-minute Zoom sessions in the evenings every week
Each week we’ll cover the same topics as the Hybrid course from the comfort of your desk.
All sessions are run exactly like a real writers’ room, except over Zoom!
Online Course dates will be announced shortly.
Apply to Online CourseOther offerings
Team Building
Build culture and community through collaborative storytelling. Core modules focus on.
Storytelling Seminar
A crash course in creativity under pressure. Learn how Hollywood showrunners inspire their teams to build something greater than any one person could imagine on their own.
Speaking engagements
Zach Dodes, screenwriter and executive producer, demystifies the art and science of collaborative
storytelling. Learn why it just might be the most powerful team-building technique known to behavioral science.
Advanced Scriptwriting
For graduates of our core bootcamps. We’ll put hand-to-keyboard and generate actual script pages for notes and revisions. Learn everything you need to know about episodic scriptwriting on a TV season.”
Who would love this simulation?
Solo Writers
Writers who are great at writing scripts alone but have never experienced a group dynamic. They will love practicing live pitching, storybreaking, and room etiquette without the pressure of writing pages.
Industry Assistants
Script coordinators, PAs, or assistant-level creatives aiming for a promotion. They will love learning how to navigate the Hollywood hierarchy, pivot like a pro, and be valuable on Day One to earn fast title bumps.
LA Creatives
Local writers or writing partners looking for real, high-caliber connections. They will love the intimate, vetted 10-person cap and the rare chance to collaborate in person with a two-time Emmy-nominated showrunner.
About your guide
Zach Dodes
Writer and Executive Producer
Two-time Emmy-nominated writer and Executive Producer Zach Dodes (High School Musical: The Musical: The Series; School Spirits; Disney’s upcoming Coven Academy) has sold pilots to Fox and Disney, run multiple rooms, and spent several full seasons on set covering everything from prep through post-production. Zach is a proud mentor with the Writers Guild Foundation, and has held every job in the writers’ room from script coordinator through EP.
FAQs
This is a 'rooming' class. The program is designed to help you master the many skills required to be great in a writers' room. That said, you will undoubtedly pick up useful writing tools through learning how to break a season of television like the pros.
We're going to build a dramedy together. We'll be breaking 30-min episodes.
Currently we are open to current and aspiring writers only. Future courses may expand to include other creatives, as well as folks who are just Hollywood-curious.
Yes, every applicant will be asked to submit a brief sample of no more than 5 pages. This is to help us get a sense of your voice.
Nope! The only thing you will be asked to do outside of class is watch a movie before the course begins.
Rooms are capped at 10 writers.
Currently there are no plans to record the Zoom sessions. Members are strongly encouraged to commit to attending the full course, as the live energy of the room is a big part of the program.
Yes, teams are welcome. Note that all writers must pay individually for the course.
No. We'll be breaking stories down to the scene level, but currently we do not require scripted pages within the course.
Nope.
Yes! This course is designed to help everyone deepen their skills in the room, and can be applied to any experience level.
Writers are strongly encouraged to attend all of the sessions. If illness or emergency keeps you out of class, we will do our best to catch you up.
A partial refund will be offered if you must drop out in the first half of the course. Past the midpoint there will be no refunds.
Yes, just click the button below to join our mailing list.
What even is a writers' room without snacks? The answer is yes.
Questions?
contact us
Ask us anything!
Not sure if Run the Room is right for you, or just want to know more before you apply?
Send us a note and we’ll get back to you, no pressure, no sales pitch.
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