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“Screenwriting The Write Way”An Eight-Session Class at the Actors Loft
Every compelling film begins with a screenplay. Before performances, cinematography, music, and editing can bring a story to life, the screenplay provides its vision, structure, characters, and emotional foundation. Screenwriting The Write Way offers writers the tools to transform an idea onto the page and into a story that can live on the screen.
The Actors Loft is pleased to present a new hybrid, in-person and Zoom edition of Charles Cirgenski’s eight-session Screenwriting The Write Way course. Classes will meet via Zoom or in person at the Actors Loft studio in Royal Oak, Michigan, beginning Sunday, November 15, 2026, and continuing for eight weeks through Sunday, January 3, 2026.
Class time: Sundays, 7:00–10:00 p.m. Eastern Time, beginning November 15, 2026.
You do not need to live in the Detroit area to participate. Writers anywhere in the world may join the class live via Zoom; please account for the applicable time difference in your location.
Tuition and Registration
Tuition for the course is $400. To reserve a place, submit a $200 deposit by Friday, November 6, 2026. You may instead pay the full tuition at registration. The remaining $200 balance is due at the first class on Sunday, November 15, 2026.
Electronic payment is available. Preferred methods are Zelle, Cash App, Venmo, and Apple Pay. Facebook Messenger Pay, credit card, check, money order, and cash are also accepted.
Payment policy: Enrollment commits you to paying full tuition, whether or not you complete the course. Payment arrangements may be available upon request.
Space is limited to 15 participants. Reserve your place by submitting the $200 deposit no later than Friday, November 6, 2026.
Flexible Attendance and Recorded Classes
If personal circumstances or inclement weather prevent you from attending in person, you may join by Zoom at any time. Every Zoom session is recorded, so you will not miss the material if you are unable to attend live. Recordings of missed classes will be forwarded within a few days.
What You Will Learn
Drawing on the traditional 12-beat story paradigm and his own extensive writing experience, Charles Cirgenski guides participants through the hero’s journey and the foundational elements of storytelling. The course examines the enduring ways people have communicated stories—oral, visual, written, and printed—since the beginning of human history.
The class is conducted in a nurturing environment where every storyteller and story is respected. Writers will explore theme, character, structure, dialogue, plot, and industry format in a positive, practical setting. Whether you are an experienced writer or beginning with an empty page, the course will help you develop a personal story and commit it to the page as a first-draft screenplay or a strong outline/treatment.
Some participants bring existing first-draft screenplays to revise and strengthen; others begin a new original project. At a minimum, writers can expect to develop a beat sheet, treatment, or first act. In the group setting, Charles continuously emphasizes proper screenplay format, celebrates what is working, and offers creative, constructive approaches to resolving what is not.
Over the past 35 years, Charles has taught this process to more than 1,400 aspiring writers. Many have earned awards or produced scripts that they wrote or revised during the eight-week course.
About Screenwriting Instructor Charles Cirgenski
With more than 45 years of screenwriting and film-production experience, Charles Cirgenski is an Emmy Award–winning producer and director, as well as a screenwriter with multiple produced credits. He has written or co-written 30 screenplays: 25 originals, three play adaptations, and three novel adaptations.
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