Story to Screen: with Shahrukh Husain and Shonaleigh online course

Have you ever listened to a story that's captured your imagination, and seen it playing out in the theatre of your mind like a film?

Have you ever thought, 'I wish somebody would make a film of that'?

Well, now's your chance to write the script for that film.

House of the West Wind is excited to announce "Story To Screen with Shah and Shonaleigh".

This is a unique 10-week course giving you practical ways to explore narrative, and turn a story into a script for film, radio or other platforms.

Storyteller and tradition-bearer Shonaleigh will be teaching alongside Shahrukh Husain, psychotherapist, folklorist, storyteller and writer, in a unique and exclusive opportunity to explore the magic of storytelling.

Why did we decide to offer this course? It seemed foolish not to - since nobody else seemed to be offering anything like this!

There are limited places, so we hope you can join us and create something both magical and practical - an investment in your creativity for the future.

Join author and screenwriter Shahrukh Husain and storyteller Shonaleigh for three months of exploring how to turn stories into scripts. We welcome storytellers, authors, puppeteers, krankie makers, and creative artists of all types to this course. Develop your writing skills to create robust plots, compelling characters and excellent dialogue.

Sessions will happen on Zoom on Wednesday nights 7.30-9.30pm on June 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th, July 1st, 8th, 15th, 29th, August 5th, 12th (no session on July 22nd). Ideally attend live, but we will record sessions so you can catch up before the next session if you miss one or two.

Bring along a story you want to turn into a screenplay or stage play.

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Shahrukh Husain is a screenwriter, author, and mentor whose work spans film, television, and literature. Her screenwriting credits include the feature film In Custody, produced by Merchant Ivory Productions, which won the President of India’s Gold Award and submitted for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. She also wrote Lyla for Buena Vista, establishing her reputation in character-driven storytelling for major studios.

She is the creator of the acclaimed television drama series Beecham House, bringing complex South Asian narratives to a global audience, which was aired on ITV, PBS and Netflix. Alongside her professional writing career, Shahrukh has worked for many years as a screenwriting mentor, supporting both emerging and established writers. In addition to her screen work, she is the author of more than thirty books for children and adults and much of her writing is rooted in folklore and mythology. Husain’s work also reflects a strong engagement with Jungian ideas, especially archetypes and the collective unconscious.

Shonaleigh is one of Europe’s leading storytellers. Having learned the Drut’syla tradition from the age of four, she carries thousands of oral stories from the Jewish tradition and shares their magic, mystery and wisdom with audiences around the world. She is an experienced and highly skilled performer, and a passionate advocate for the development of storytelling as a cultural and educational tool. 

She is probably the last carrier of the Drut’syla Midrash: a powerful set of tools and techniques for developing and telling stories. For many years, Shonaleigh has shared the techniques of this tradition with students from across the globe both in-person and online through the House of the West Wind: College of Storytelling.  She has also taught as associate lecturer in the University of Derby’s Creative Writing programme.