Not Just a Getaway. A Creative Ignition Point.
Imagine yourself at sea, surrounded by fellow storytellers, industry mentors, and the cinematic coastline of the Pacific. For seven days, you’ll immerse yourself in a program designed to accelerate your writing career:
- The Screenplay Blueprint Intensive — six tightly structured craft sessions and by week’s end, you’ll have a polished 8-page plan and a 60-second pitch.
- The Power of Film — Viewing, a live lecture and Q&A with legendary UCLA professor Howard Suber, expanding on his acclaimed TCM/HBO Max series.
- Story Break Live — watch industry pros and lucky audience members break a raw concept into a pitchable pilot or feature in real time, guided by Brian Patrick Fagan.
- Group Writing Labs — collaborative simulations where peers red-team your premise, run writers’ room drills, workshop loglines, perform scene surgery, stress-test dialogue, and rehearse pitches.
- The Finale: Live Pitch Showcase — your two-minute pitch delivered to a panel of producers, showrunners, and executives. This festival-style capstone is designed to prove your story and your voice are ready for the spotlight.
This is not a writing retreat where you go off to be alone. This is where you break stories, sharpen pitches, and leave with a battle-ready outline and a plan to carry it to market.
In the evenings — an optional playful narrative mystery that turns the whole ship into a story you're part of.
"Leave with a battle-ready outline and a plan to carry it to market."
There is limited space on this voyage.
Writers who hesitate miss their chance.
Writers who commit change their trajectory.
Writers who hesitate miss their chance.
Writers who commit change their trajectory.
Guests and Instructors
Howard Suber, Ph.D.
Howard Suber is Professor Emeritus Recall at UCLA TFT, where during his 50 years on the faculty, he helped establish and chaired the Critical Studies and Ph.D. programs, the UCLA Film & Television Archive, and the UCLA TFT Producers Program. He is a former associate dean, recipient of UCLA’s Distinguished Teaching Award and the prestigious Dickson Emeriti Professorship Award—the highest honor for a retired UCLA faculty member. Suber continues to teach “Film Structure” and “Strategic Thinking in the Film and Television Industries.” He is the author of The Power of Film and Letters to Young Filmmakers.
Wendall Thomas
Wendall Thomas teaches in the Graduate Film School at UCLA and has worked as an entertainment reporter, development executive, script consultant, and film and television writer for companies including Disney, Warner Brothers, Paramount, Universal, Showtime, PBS, RKO, A&E, NBC, Scottish Screen, and Australia’s Tojohage Productions. Her Cyd Redondo mystery novels have garnered multiple award nominations, including Best First Mystery and Best Paperback Original Mystery. Wendall is in her twenty-eighth year as Adjunct Professor of Screenwriting in the UCLA Professional Program and lectures internationally on screenwriting. She has consulted and taught for film organizations in the UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the US.
Bryan Cogman
Bryan Cogman is an Emmy-winning American television writer and producer renowned for his significant contributions to the fantasy genre. Brian was a staff writer and producer on HBO’s Game of Thrones. Cogman penned eleven episodes and was instrumental to the show’s creative direction, earning four Primetime Emmy Awards as part of the producing team.
Cogman has written for and contributed to major projects including a live-action adaptation of Disney’s The Sword in the Stone, a feature film version of Magic: The Gathering, and served as a consulting producer for Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. He is also the showrunner for an upcoming TBA series. Bryan authored Inside HBO’s Game of Thrones, an official companion book for the series.
With a reputation for elevating fantasy storytelling on television, Bryan remains one of the most influential writers and producers in the industry today.
Jon Fitzgerald
Jon has twenty-five years of experience in the independent film, internet and film festival communities, a rare leader with a unique combination of skills. As a filmmaker, he has produced a number of award winning documentaries; and as a consultant, he has guided many independent film projects through the maze of festivals and hybrid distribution models.
As a co-founder of the Slamdance Film Festival (1995), he led the event the next two seasons before being named the Festival Director for the prestigious AFI Film Festival in 1997. After running AFI Fest for three years (1997-1999), he created a consulting business, guiding the launch of numerous film festivals, directing several others and consulting to dozens more, while sharing insights, articles and videos through On the Circuit.
Author, Filmmaking for Change.
Shauna Hoffman M.A. MFT, CMC
Shauna Hoffman is an Author, Relationship Specialist, Therapist, Speaker, Podcaster and Coach currently in private practice in Santa Clarita, CA. Shauna is a member of the prestigious International Coaching Council, a Co-Founder of Speaker’s Studio. and CIO of VOW Media, Voices of Women. In addition to having a Masters Degree in Marriage Family Therapy, she holds a BA in Theater and is a certified Corporate Coach. Shauna began doing Seminars for Corporations combining her performance and speaking skills with her therapy experience.
Brian Patrick Fagan
Brian Patrick Fagan is the Director of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television's Professional Programs in Screenwriting, Producing, Writing for Television (program co-creator), Acting for the Camera (program co-creator), and Directing (program creator). He previously wrote and directed in NYC and Chicago. Brian holds an M.F.A. in Screenwriting from UCLA, was the researcher for 74 episodes of Law & Order: SVU, and produced The Room Actors: Where Are They Now? (available on Amazon Prime). Before becoming Director, he taught writing for one-hour drama and screenwriting. In his spare time, Brian writes fantasy novels.
Rachel Wagner
Worked at Jerry Bruckheimer Films, and on the series About a Boy. Was a staff writer on the hit TV series Preacher.
Christin Finch
Christin Finch is a producer, director, screenwriter, and entrepreneur, and the founder of Wolftent Films.
Christin is an alum of UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television’s graduate-level Professional Program in Screenwriting, and an alum of UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television’s graduate-level Professional Program in Writing for Television and Producing, for which Christin served as Television Assistant and Producing Assistant, and where Christin continues to moderate film and television special event seminars.
Christin’s work centers on themes of danger, disorientation, and disillusionment.
Christin loves dogs, writing, photography, storytelling, cinema, music, reading, the great outdoors, mountain forests, evergreen trees, travel, hiking, camping, stargazing, and telling campfire stories.
TBA
TBA
Disclaimer:
While every effort will be made to ensure the scheduled instructors appear as advertised, unforeseen circumstances (including, but not limited to, work, illness, travel delays, or emergencies) may require substitutions, rescheduling, or adjustments to the program. The organizers reserve the right to replace instructors or modify the event schedule as necessary. Any such changes will be made with the intent of preserving the quality and integrity of the experience.
While every effort will be made to ensure the scheduled instructors appear as advertised, unforeseen circumstances (including, but not limited to, work, illness, travel delays, or emergencies) may require substitutions, rescheduling, or adjustments to the program. The organizers reserve the right to replace instructors or modify the event schedule as necessary. Any such changes will be made with the intent of preserving the quality and integrity of the experience.
Life Onboard
- All-inclusive dining and amenities on an award winning cruise line.*
- Evening salons, cocktail parties, and surprise mystery beats.
- Port calls in Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlán, and Puerto Vallarta — fuel for both your soul and your scripts.
"By day, you're sharpening your craft. By night, you're living inside a story."
We built this for writers who want outcomes: pages, polish, and a plan. Days are structured for deep craft work; afternoons for incredible inspiration and evenings open for salons, scene work, and a playful mystery thread that keeps your storyteller brain sparking.
- Focus: protected writing windows + guided checkpoints.
- Feedback: premise red‑teaming, live table reads, and writers’ room drills.
- Access: curated mentors, industry Q&As, and pitch sharpening.
Can I Bring Someone?
Whether you're seeking deep solo focus, dynamic collaboration, or a balanced retreat with a loved one, the Screenwriting Cruise offers flexible options for every writer.
Come Solo
Maximize your focus and productivity. Join an instant community of fellow writers for labs, table reads, and pitch drills.
- Single occupancy
Bring Another Writer or Industry Partner
Travel as a creative team. Share a cabin, split and reduce costs, and push both your projects forward with your collaborator.
- Book double occupancy for best value
Bring a Significant Other
Balance intense work days with relaxing evenings. Your partner can enjoy all the ship's amenities and port excursions, joining you for dinners and the captivating mystery beats.
- Book double occupancy for best value
Ready to Reserve?
Secure your place with a $500 deposit. Choose your preferred occupancy: solo, writer+writer, or writer+guest.
Video and Photos
Session Details
The Screenplay Blueprint Intensive
“Six sessions. One week. Your story, architected.”
The Screenplay Blueprint Intensive is the core creative engine of the retreat: a focused, 18-hour curriculum spread across six sessions that guides you from spark to structure. Led by industry-grade instructors, you’ll transform your premise into a logline, map your character web, build your story spine, and shape sequences that escalate with momentum. Each session delivers a concrete milestone, culminating in a complete, pitch-ready 8-page outline — your screenplay’s architectural plan.
This is not theory for theory’s sake. You’ll be working hands-on with proven methodologies drawn from the greats — adapted for screenwriters aiming to break through. By the end of the week, you’ll disembark with more than inspiration: you’ll carry a tested, professional framework for your next screenplay and the confidence to move it forward.
Session 1 — Premise Alchemy - Concept → Premise → Logline (foundation)
→ From raw idea to logline, theme, and the story’s “why now.”
- Mini‑lectures: “Premise stress‑tests”, controlling idea, genre/promise of the premise.
- Exercises:
- Logline Ladder—write 3 variants that state who wants what, why now, what’s in the way.
- You/Need to declare inner/outer engines.
- Deliverable (≈1 page): Title & comps, logline, premise paragraph, controlling idea/theme, core genre.
Session 2 — The Character Web - opposition; inner/outer journey
→ Mapping protagonist, opponents, allies, and inner need vs. outer want.
- Mini‑lectures: Truby’s character web and four‑point opposition; Hauge’s six stages (identity→essence); Seger’s plot vs. subplots.
- Exercises:
- Antagonism Map—opponent’s plan that directly attacks the protagonist’s weakness.
- B‑Story seed—choose a subplot that tests theme rather than drifts.
- Deliverable (≈1 page): Character web one‑pager (protagonist want/need/ghost; opponent; ally; B‑story), plus inner‑journey promise.
Session 3 — The Spine & the Beats - Choose your macro spine & beat it out
→ Choosing your framework (Save the Cat, Story Circle, Hero’s Journey) and locking the big turns.
- Pick a skeleton that fits the project: BS2 (15 beats), Vogler 12, or Harmon 8.
- Beat pass: Fill the beats with verbs (choices/actions), not backstory.
- Check with Story Grid: Ensure each act’s outline has Inciting Incident → TP/PC → Crisis → Climax → Resolution.
- Deliverable (≈2 pages): A beat sheet that reads top‑to‑bottom as a story.
Session 4 — The Midpoint Engine - Sequences & act architecture; the midpoint problem
→ Designing sequences, reversals, and the fulcrum that flips the story.
- Mini‑lectures: Yorke’s 5‑act “girders”; Weiland’s Pinch Points; Snyder’s Fun & Games / Bad Guys Close In; McKee on the Obligatory Scene/Crisis.
- Exercises:
- Five‑Sequence pass—turn acts into 5–6 titled sequences with a clear sequence question each.
- Midpoint redesign—force a revelation or reversal that flips the protagonist from reaction→action. (Weiland)
- Deliverable (≈2 pages): Sequence outline with a specific Midpoint beat and two Pinch Points.
Session 5 — The Weave - Scene weave & subplot cadence; stakes & escalation
→ Building act rhythm, subplot cadence, and scene-to-scene escalation.
- Mini‑lectures: Seger on sequences and subplot weaving; Hauge’s Major Setback; Snyder’s All Is Lost / Dark Night of the Soul; Story Grid commandments at scene level.
- Exercises:
- 40‑card board (STC) or a 2‑column scene list (A‑plot vs. B‑story) to check rhythm.
- Stake ladder—document what worsens at each major turn (external & internal).
- Deliverable (≈1 page): Prioritized scene list (10–15 tentpoles + 10–15 connecting scenes) with where subplots land.
Session 6 — Crisis to Climax - Crisis → Climax → Resolution; outline polish & pitch
→ Crafting the irreconcilable choice, delivering payoff, and polishing the outline into a pitchable 8 pages.
- Mini‑lectures: McKee’s Crisis question and Climax; Hauge’s Aftermath; Vogler’s Resurrection/Return.
- Exercises:
- Crisis Choice test—is the decision irreconcilable (no perfect option) and born from the protagonist’s arc? (Story Grid/McKee)
- 60‑second pitch—logline + premise + three tentpoles.
- Deliverables:
- Final 8‑page outline (template below).
- 60‑second pitch + 1‑sentence logline.
The Power of Film
A live 12 hour lecture series. You have the chance to join Howard for a live Q&A and lecture series as he expands on all six episodes of his Turner Classic Movies/HBO MAX series The Power of Film.
THE POWER OF FILM is about the inner workings of America’s most popular and memorable films. It’s hosted by legendary UCLA Film School Professor Emeritus Howard Suber, Ph.D., whose insights are interwoven with dramatic clips from an incredible array of powerful and beloved movies from the last century through today. For over fifty years, Professor Suber taught directors, screenwriters, producers, and scholars the defining principles and hidden patterns of great films.
THE POWER OF FILM distills these teachings into six episodes with clarity, humor, and an understanding of the history of storytelling from Aristotle to Shakespeare to Coppola and beyond. Neither a technical analysis nor a review, this series reveals the psychological underpinnings of why certain films affect viewers so deeply and can impact viewers for generations beyond their release. Using dramatic film scenes, Suber uncovers mysteries, dispels myths, and explains powerful themes that have impacted us for millennia.
Part One — Popular and Memorable
Many of the most commercially successful American films are quickly forgotten. A tiny fraction are truly memorable, lasting from one generation to another. Why? Movies discussed include: The Godfather, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Star Wars, Bambi, A Place In The Sun and others.
Part Two — Trapped
Most memorable stories, whether told in movies or in real life, are about traps. The most memorable are generally about the loss, sacrifice, and ultimate triumph the central character must engage in to escape their trap. Movies discussed include: Casablanca, Lawrence of Arabia,
Part Three — Character Relationships
There’s no such thing as an interesting character; there are only interesting character relationships. But, like religions, myths, and the most durable dramas, most memorable plots center on a single individual, around whom the most important action and characters revolve. Movies discussed include: Sideways, E.T., Do The Right Thing, Thelma and Louise, Schindler's List and others.
Part Four — Heroes & Villians
Memorable films are often a compensation for what we don’t see in the real world—justice, commitment, and altruism. Movies frequently treat the central characters as if they were heroes or villains, but sometimes the two are more similar than they seem. Movies discussed include: Vertigo, High Noon, Wonder Woman, The Exorcist, Dr.Strangelove and others.
Part Five — The Power of Paradox
In almost every memorable film, things are not what they seem, and learning the truth creates much of the tension in the film. Often, the truth of the film is quite paradoxical, which is what makes us want to keep watching. Movies discussed include: Get Out, The Social Network, Citizen Kane, Tootsie, The Big Lebowski and others.
Part Six — Love & Meaning
It’s often said that Hollywood films have to have a happy ending, but when you consider the most memorable love stories it’s astonishing how many of them end with the separation or death of one or both lovers. Often, the paradox underlying the film helps explain why they last in our memories. Movies discussed include: Whiplash, Harold and Maude, Toy Story, A Star Is Born, The Wizard of Oz and others.
Praise for The Power of Film
“Howard Suber’s understanding of film storytelling is surprisingly contrary to what 'everyone knows.' A remarkable work.”
—Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather, Apocalypse Now
“By connecting us to what makes our stories powerful, Howard Suber connects us to who we are as human beings. An extraordinary and essential series.”
—Alexander Payne, Director/Screenwriter, The Holdovers, Sideways, Downsizing, Nebraska, About Schmidt
"What Aristotle did for drama, Howard Suber has now done for film."
--David Koepp, Screenwriter, Mission Impossible, Jurassic Park, Spiderman, Indiana Jones series
"A one-of-a-kind odyssey into the soul of cinema and why it matters.”
—Wade Major, LAist, FilmWeek
"Suber genuinely helps us understand 'the power of film'—why it has been the predominant art form for more than a century, and why it continues to have such power over the lives we all lead."
—Geoffrey Gilmore, former Director, Sundance Film Festival
"Put this on the shelf between Aristotle’s Poetics and your Oxford English Dictionary; Professor Suber knows more about what’s important about film storytelling than anyone I’ve ever encountered, and he presents it here in an
incredibly clear, useful, and provocative way."
incredibly clear, useful, and provocative way."
—Daniel Pyne, Screenwriter, The Sum of All Fears,
Any Given Sunday, The Manchurian Candidate, Bosch
Any Given Sunday, The Manchurian Candidate, Bosch
“The Power of Film is destined to become a classic. People will return to it again and again because it is useful-- not just for those learning their craft, but for seasoned veterans.”
—Gil Cates, former President, Directors Guild of America;
Producer, Academy Awards
Producer, Academy Awards
“Howard Suber brings decades of filmic and life experience to questions that everyone working in film, whether beginner or professional, must deal with.”
—Laeta Kalogridis, screenwriter/executive producer Avatar, Shutter Island, Altered Carbon, Alita: Battle Angel
“This is a fun watch, the kind of academic lecture where people applaud at the end... it's THAT level of entertaining.”
—Alonso Duralde, Linoleum Knife
Though THE POWER OF FILM is about movies, it’s really about ourselves. By examining the psyche of the audience, Suber ultimately inspires us— as the heroes of our own stories— to realize that we can seize our own destinies, “that we CAN change our world.”
Story Breaks — Live
Hosted by Brian Patrick Fagan
Step inside the writers’ room like never before. Story Break Live is a high-stakes, high-energy session where the audience becomes part of the creative experiment. Guided by Brian Patrick Fagan, you’ll watch a panel of prominent industry guests tackle the blank page with nothing but instinct, craft, and collaboration. With no advance prep, they’ll be handed a raw idea — a logline, a premise, or even just a provocative “what if?” — and tasked with breaking it into the beats of a pilot or feature film in real time.
The room pulses with the controlled chaos of professional story development: arguments over act breaks, fierce debates about character motivation, sudden sparks of brilliance that change the whole trajectory. By the end of the evening, what started as an unformed concept is hammered into a pitchable framework — a spine that could actually be taken out into the industry.
And here’s the twist: in keeping with tradition, one audience member will be invited to join the table and throw ideas alongside the pros. It’s a rare chance to experience the raw electricity of storybreaking at the highest level, where pressure, creativity, and collaboration collide.
Whether you’re on stage or in the audience, you’ll leave with a front-row understanding of how stories are really built — messy, exhilarating, and always in motion.
Overcoming Self-Doubt & Imposter Syndrome
Mindset • 90 minutes
Every writer hears the fraud alarm. Whether it’s staring at a blank page or pitching to a room full of strangers, self-doubt can derail even the most talented voices. This session uses evidence-based tools drawn from cognitive psychology and performance science to help you quiet that inner critic, build healthier feedback habits, and step into your work with steadier nerves. You’ll leave with practical scripts, a structured plan for sharing your work, and a record of wins that reminds you why you belong in the room.
You’ll Learn To:
- Identify your personal cognitive distortions — and install counter-scripts to shut them down.
- Build a sustainable “share ladder” that expands how you circulate your work without spiking anxiety.
- Reframe rejection into actionable next steps instead of creative paralysis.
You’ll Walk Away With:
- A Wins Ledger to track achievements big and small.
- Three Counter-Scripts to answer recurring self-doubt patterns.
- A three-rung Share Ladder for progressively wider feedback.
- Tools: Cognitive Distortions Cheat-Sheet, Wins Ledger Template, Hold-Harmless Pact.
Inside the Room:
- Breathing Cue + Opener Scripts — calming tools to start pitches, table reads, or meetings.
- Rejection Reframes — techniques to turn “no” into a plan for next action.
- Perfection Paradox Breakers — time-boxed sprints that reward “C-minus drafts” as the fastest route to revision.
Common Questions We’ll Address:
- What if I freeze mid-pitch? → Script three opening lines and pair them with a breathing cue; rehearse aloud twice daily for a week before.
Pitfalls to Avoid (and Fix):
- Perfection Paralysis — Counter with time-boxed sprints and “done, not perfect” drafts.
- All-or-Nothing Thinking — Use counter-scripts to anchor nuance and progress.
Filmmaking for Change
Impact & Industry • 90 minutes
Led by Jon Fitzgerald, author of Filmmaking for Change
Led by Jon Fitzgerald, author of Filmmaking for Change
Stories can shift culture. This session explores how writers and filmmakers can build projects that both succeed in the marketplace and drive real-world impact. Jon Fitzgerald — filmmaker, festival director, and author of Filmmaking for Change — will walk you through the strategies behind cause-driven storytelling, from shaping theme into narrative to positioning projects for festivals, distributors, and audiences hungry for meaning. You’ll leave understanding how to create work that entertains and sparks conversation, activism, or change.
You’ll Learn To:
- Define the social impact goals of your project without losing story momentum.
- Weave theme and message into character-driven narratives that avoid preachiness.
- Map the right impact pathway — festivals, NGOs, schools, streaming platforms — for your project.
- Position your film as both entertainment and catalyst for dialogue/action.
You’ll Walk Away With:
- A one-page Impact Map aligning theme, target audience, and distribution pathway.
- A strategy for identifying collaborators, partners, and festivals aligned with your message.
- Practical tools drawn from Filmmaking for Change that you can adapt to any genre.
Inside the Room:
- Case studies of films that moved the needle (from indie docs to narrative features).
- Exercises to clarify: What conversation do you want your film to start?
- Distribution and outreach tactics unique to issue-driven projects.
Group Writing Sessions
Collaborative Labs • 60 minutes each
Beyond the masterclasses, writers will step into collaborative sessions that simulate professional environments — a space where peer critique, performance, and creative problem-solving bring your pages to life. These sessions are designed to sharpen your instincts, test your material, and show you how ideas land in real time.
1. Red Team Your Premise
Every concept has weak spots — and it’s better to find them here than in a studio notes call. In this session, your peers act as the “red team,” stress-testing your premise from every angle: marketability, originality, emotional stakes, and logic holes. You’ll walk away with a stronger, battle-tested foundation for your story.
What you get: A revised premise sheet annotated with risks and opportunities.
2. Writers’ Room Simulation
Step into the collaborative engine of television. In small groups, you’ll break an episode of your own series idea with peers acting as staff writers. Together, you’ll build beat sheets, assign A/B/C storylines, and argue constructively until the puzzle fits. It’s practice in pitching on your feet, defending ideas, and shaping consensus — skills every professional TV writer needs.
What you get: A rough beat sheet for one “episode” of your concept.
3. Ask the Actors
What happens when your words leave the page and hit a performer’s tongue? In this Q&A-style lab, professional actors read short excerpts, then give candid feedback on dialogue, rhythm, and what “lands.” You’ll hear where performers stumble and where they lean in — an invaluable window into the actor’s process.
What you get: A revised dialogue sample or monologue, tuned with actor input.
4. Actors Perform
See your work brought to life. Actors cold-read scenes from your script in front of the group, followed by a moderated discussion on what worked, what surprised, and what fell flat. Few experiences sharpen dialogue and pacing like watching a live table read.
What you get: Notes from a live read that reveal clarity, pacing, and emotional truth.
5. Logline & Hook Clinic
In this fast-paced session, writers pitch their loglines aloud. The group scores clarity, hook, and market signal, then helps refine each into a tighter, sharper version. This is a safe but rigorous test run for the moment you’re in front of an exec.
What you get: A polished logline with peer-tested hook strength.
6. High-Stakes Pitch Gauntlet
Each writer has 2 minutes to pitch their project to the room. Peers respond as if they were execs, giving both instant “pass/consider” reactions and constructive notes. A great rehearsal for nerves and timing.
What you get: A faster, tighter short-form pitch + notes on first impressions.
7. The Final Table: Showcase & Feedback
In this capstone group session, selected scenes or pitches are performed/read aloud for the full cohort, with instructors and peers offering feedback in festival-style scoring. This is a safe rehearsal for real-world showcases, and a celebration of the week’s work.
What you get: A scored performance or pitch, plus next-step notes from peers and faculty.
👉 Together, these nine group sessions balance rigor, play, and professional simulation. They ensure that every writer walks away with sharpened skills, tested material, and a clearer sense of how their work performs in the room, on the page, and on the stage.
The Finale: Live Pitch Session
Industry Showcase • 120 minutes
Everything you’ve built this week has led to this moment. From the structural spine you mapped in Session 1, to the authentic characters of Session 2, the pitch tools from Session 3, and the festival framing of Session 6 — every exercise has sharpened your project and your presence. Now it all comes together in the capstone event: a live pitch before industry professionals.
Each writer will deliver a two-minute pitch to a panel of producers, showrunners, agents, and executives — the very people who know what it takes to break into the marketplace. Pitches are followed by quick reactions and questions, giving you real-world insight into how your story is heard and evaluated. This is the closest you’ll get to a festival or studio pitch room at sea, and it’s the showcase that proves you can not only craft a project but sell it.
You’ll Learn To:
- Deliver a polished, high-impact pitch under authentic industry time limits.
- Hit hook, tone, and stakes with precision.
- Handle live Q&A without losing control of your pitch.
- Recognize what excites professionals — and how to refine for your next meeting.
You’ll Walk Away With:
- A recorded pitch you can review, refine, and use as a rehearsal tool.
- Direct feedback from working industry professionals.
- The confidence of having pitched your project in a professional, high-stakes setting.
- A sense of completion: your screenplay journey from spark to showcase.
Atmosphere: High stakes, high energy, and fully professional — but within the supportive circle of the peers and mentors you’ve grown with all week. This is the finale of your creative odyssey: a proof point that you’re not just a writer, but a storyteller ready for the industry stage.
A Mystery Woven Through the Voyage
By day, you’ll be breaking stories, sharpening pitches, and workshopping with top industry mentors. By night, the ship itself becomes a stage.
In partnership with Whodunit Productions, we’ve layered an optional, week-long immersive murder mystery into the cruise experience. Think of it as live theatre you’re inside, a wedding gone awry, secrets whispered across dinner tables, suspects hiding in plain sight. Clues drop between courses, twists unfold after port calls, and the story builds toward a grand “Super Sleuth” finale.
This is more than entertainment. It’s a living masterclass in storytelling:
- Watch character archetypes collide in real time.
- See red herrings, reversals, and rising stakes in action.
- Bond with your fellow writers as you trade theories and hunt the truth together.
The Whodunit Mystery is designed to seamlessly complement the writing retreat, adding narrative electricity at night without ever pulling you away from workshops, mentorship, or excursions during the day.
It's run by veteran Los Angeles entertainers that have delighted countless audiences with next level immersive entertainment.
The result: a screenwriting retreat like no other. You won’t just leave with a finished outline and a pitch-ready package. You’ll disembark with a story you lived through, and a community that solved it by your side.
About
Screenwriting Cruise is produced by Roroco. LLC a family-owned company in Los Angeles, CA. We are an entertainment family that has been in the business over a combined century. Momma Shauna is a licensed travel agent and has been putting entertainment cruises together for over 20 years. After producing many cruises including writing cruises we put our heads together and said let's do a screenwriting cruise in the industry we all know and love.
Shauna Hoffman
Shauna Hoffman, M.A., MFT, CMC, is an author, relationship specialist, and communication coach who runs a Santa Clarita private practice, leads corporate presentation seminars, hosts the “A Journey to Awareness” podcast, and owns Whodunit Productions, a cruise-themed event company.
Juliet Duncan
Juliet is an actress and talent manager, known for A Mom for Christmas, Baywatch, Quantum Leap, and How I Got Into College. She is a member of SAG and is a Lifetime member of The Actors Network.
Ian James Duncan
Ian has worked in production and postproduction for over 20 years and currently is the VP of AI and operations at Trailer Park Group in Los Angeles.
Advisor:
Jon Fitzgerald
Founder of Slam Dance Film Festival. Director of the AFI International Festival. Author, Filmmaking for Change.
Jon brings his vast network and experience running epic scale industry events all over the world.
Website
Website
Advisor:
Brian Patrick Fagan
Wrote for Law & Order: SVU, and was the researcher for seventy-four episodes, Author or several fantasy novels.
Director Professional Programs at UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television for 13 years.
Brian brings his immense experience teaching at UCLA for 14 years.