I’m an Alumnus of Robert McKee’s Story Seminar

On July 19, 2009 I had the honor of becoming a graduate of Robert McKee’s Story Seminiar. After three grueling days I am well-versed in the fundamental principles of story according to McKee. I’m fortunate to be able to attend the seminar; it helped that I have family that resides in San Francisco, the location of McKee’s Seminar. My family made turned it into a vacation while I was locked into the Holiday Inn conference room with a sold out class of 200 students that spanned various creative careers and professions: screenwriters, playwrights, directors, producers, editors.

The experience was one I will not forget for McKee is truly remarkable. He’s nearly 70 years old and has the stamina of Hercules. His days filled to the brim with his monologue. Don’t pity us poor students, for we don’t have to pace the stage, speaking brilliantly about the essential form of story for 11-hours each day. The agenda for the last day included a 6-hour screening and analysis of Casablanca, so he did have a downhill run toward the end since he was able to sit some of the time.

I prepared for the seminar by reading McKee’s book and by reading the screenplay for Casablanca in preparation for the six-hour “autopsy.” The seminar followed Story and so was familiar to me as I listened to McKee’s lecture.
This was the last seminar in the 3-day format. His upcoming sessions spread the material across four days and increased the cost to US$645-745.

The best part was networking with fellow alumni. We had a late dinner at the conclusion of the event at Modern Thai; the food wasn’t spectacular, but the conversation and camaraderie of fellow filmmakers was exciting and inspiring. Among our group are people from Japan, Australia and Canada, in addition to various cities across the United States. We’ve committed to stay in touch with one another, provide feedback on writing and share experiences. 

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