FILMMAKING: Screenwriting & Creative Writing
Age group: Juniors (Grades 3-6)
Class Size: 12 max
Every great story starts with a single idea.
In this fun and imaginative two-day storytelling workshop, award-winning writer, actor and director Ra Chapman will help young creatives discover how to turn their ideas into exciting stories filled with memorable characters, interesting worlds and unexpected adventures.
Through a series of playful writing activities and creative exercises, students will explore where story ideas come from, learn how to create characters audiences care about, and discover what makes a story engaging from beginning to end. They'll also learn how writers improve their work through editing, sharing ideas and bringing stories to life together.
Designed to inspire confidence, creativity and a love of storytelling, this workshop encourages students to trust their imagination while developing the foundations of great creative writing.
By the end of the workshop, each student will leave with their own original story or scene, along with new skills and inspiration to continue creating long after the holidays.
Teacher: Ra Chapman
Ra Chapman is a multidisciplinary writer, actor and filmmaker whose work spans film, television, documentary and theatre. Informed by her Korean adoptee background, she creates cross-cultural work that challenges existing narratives around identity and explores underrepresented perspectives.
Having recently been selected for Screen Australia’s Talent USA: NY and recognised as one of IF Magazine’s 2024 Rising Talents, Ra garnered a 2025 Australian Writers’ Guild (AWGIE) Award nomination and was shortlisted for the prestigious Betty Roland Prize for Scriptwriting for her TV comedy series White Fever, which she created, wrote and starred in. Ra was Artist in Residence at Malthouse Theatre, and her play K-Box debuted on the main stage in 2022 to critical acclaim.
Ra’s other notable work includes the SBS digital horror anthology Night Bloomers and the documentary series Adoptee Voices: Women of Melbourne. She recently secured a Director’s Attachment with Nina Buxton on the ABC Series Separated at Birth.
Ra’s acting career began on stage in London, playing Celia in the Jacobean classic Volpone. Since then, she has won Best Actress at the 2011 Newport Beach Film Festival for her role as Therese in David Williamson’s film adaptation of Face to Face, and was nominated for an IF Award for the same performance. Ra has filmed five seasons of Wentworth as prisoner Kim Chang, stars alongside D’Arcy Carden and Will Forte in the recent Stan series Sunny Nights (Stan), and can also be seen in Dear Life (Stan).
Dates: Thursday 1 & Friday 2 October (2-day workshop)
Time: 10am-2pm both days
Age Group: Juniors (Grades 3-6)
Cost: $250 (incl GST)
What to bring: Please bring some lunch, snacks, a water bottle, as well as a notebook and laptop/tablet to write (if you have one).