Hollywood writer, director and coach John Hindman is coming to Australia in July and August for the first time to work with Australian actors and emerging screenwriters across Sydney, Melbourne and the Gold Coast.

He will present two full day acting workshops in Sydney (July 22-23), Melbourne (29-30) and the Gold Coast (August 5-6), plus three evening screenwriting/story structure classes July 24-26 in Sydney.

Over 20 years of teaching in Hollywood, Hindman has amassed a following of established and emerging actors. They include series regulars in shows like AppleTV+’s Physical and The Morning Show, Netflix’s You, Paramount+’s The Mayor of Kingstown and Tulsa King, SyFy’s The Magicians, History Channel’s Abraham Lincoln, BET+  Zatima, AMC’s Tales of the Walking Dead, NCIS: Hawaii, Fox’s Monarch, CW’s All-American. P

As a writer, Hindman has created for major studios, producers and network television. Hindman’s latest film as a writer is Unstoppable, produced by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon and starring Jennifer Lopez, Bobby Cannavale, Don Cheadle, Michael Pena and Jharrell Jerome. He is the writer and director 2009’s The Answer Man starring Jeff Daniels and Lauren Graham, and his film The Passing Parade was selected as the opening night film for the Boston Film Festival where it won Best Actress. He is in post-production on 8 Confessions in Los Angeles. His latest screenplay Savage is set to go into production in 2024. His script The Dream of the Romans was included on the Black List showcase.

Theatrically, Hindman has directed Our Fantasia by John Patrick Shanley, David Auburn’s Proof and Beth Henley’s Crimes of the Heart as well as Cyndy Lou Johnson’s Brilliant Traces, and Dusk Rings a Bell by Stephen Belber. His re-imagining of Rajiv Joseph’s Gruesome Playground Injuries was both a huge commercial and critical success. John was also one of the directors of the ground-breaking Noir Series which was the first Los Angeles theatrical production to be live streamed globally.

This workshop is an intense, directed, scene study class. You will be assigned a play and a partner. Long scenes are encouraged to create and sustain the life of the character over an extended period of time. You will have a minimum of one week with your scene and partner ahead of the workshop. You are expected to know your lines and to show up having made choices. Life is a felt experience and we are here to tell emotional stories. Your character’s emotional life is created by you and your talent lies in that choice. The goal of this class is to use great plays as a device to uncover the obstacles to your creative growth, an emotional exploration of the character and a deepening of your understanding of your own process. You will focus on emotional specificity in all aspects of this work. This class is designed to show you how to get to the deepest emotional truth; when you are functioning from that truth you are no longer acting, you are living as the character. You will leave with a new way of thinking and a set of tools that you can quickly apply to your work.

Class size is limited to just 16 participants. This is not a class for beginners. Actors will be considered based on application. Auditors are encouraged and welcomed. Applications close for Sydney July 9, Melbourne July 16, Gold Coast July 23. You can also be in the audience as an auditor to watch John work with his ensemble of actors.

SCREENWRITING/STORY STRUCTURE CLASS: 3 Evenings – SYDNEY ONLY JULY 24-26
ATYP Sydney

Many of us have had a great idea for a story only to have it die slowly once we try and turn it into a screenplay. Or worse, you’ve been unable to even begin due to a lack of understanding of how screenplays work. You’ll receive what every writer needs; a roadmap that breaks down the necessary elements that you need in order to tell your story. Whether you’re an actor, writer, or producer you will learn the essentials of storytelling required in this very specific form. This workshop explains the various schools of thought on screenwriting using popular films as a guide. All great films have the same story building elements in common. If you know what they are you can tell a story that works.

Night One:

• The Language of Screenplays
• Structure – you can’t live without it
• Breaking down the language of screenplays
• Writing great characters
• What makes dialogue work
• Heroes and opponents
• Narrative drive – what is it?
• Screenwriting template #1 and finding what works

Night Two:

• Theme- what is it and how to make it great
• Why people get stuck
• Breaking down the first act of a film
• Breaking down the second act of a film
• Screenwriting template #2

Night Three:

• Screenwriting template #3
• Breaking down the third act of a film
• Cards – what they are and how to use them
• Mining your life for ideas
• How to go from an idea to a finished script.
• Establishing a writing routine you can stick to

Sydney July 22-23 at 5 Eliza, Newtown

Melbourne July 29-30 at the Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne

Gold Coast August 5-6 at oneB Studio, Bundall