Chris Murray, script writer for well-known shows such as Casualty, Holby City, Waterloo Road and Wild at Heart provided the girls with an in depth insight into the world of script writing.

The lesson kicked off with Chris presenting the girls with an example of a script he’d written for Wild at Heart, which he used to model the layout and the characterisation of a scene: separate lines for different characters, stage directions in brackets etc.

As a script writer he is given the synopsis of the plot from producers and has the role of creating the spoken words for the scene. The process is lengthy and involves many drafts and re-drafts, even after a read-through with the actors. To help the girls with tips on creating a dramatic scene, Chris stressed that the main characters have “a want” and tension is created in a scene when different characters have conflicting wants.

He illustrated this with relevant films that the girls had seen and challenged them to give examples.

Chris further extended the girls’ understanding of scene development by teasing out the need for action to move the plot on.

These tips will be put to good use when the budding script writers have a go at their own writing.