Kat O'Brien

Lecturer

Kat O'Brien is a writer, producer, director, performer and professor of interdisciplinary cinematic and theater arts. For over 20 years, Kat O’Brien has worked as a screenwriter, executive, producer, and consultant developing film and television for Universal Pictures, Warner Bros., Sony, Anonymous Content, Focus Features, Rogue Pictures, Alcon Entertainment, Morgan Creek Productions, Blue Star Entertainment, and numerous internationally renowned and critically acclaimed independent filmmakers and television producers. During the pandemic, Kat executive produced We Still Teach TV, for which she was awarded the Chicago Teachers’ Union LEAD award as a champion for education justice. As a world-renowned expert in story development, Kat has consulted for the Doha Film Institute and Film Al-Ula. Currently, she is working on projects for film, television, stage, and print at the intersection of comedy and social justice. She holds a BFA in Writing for Film and Television from the University of Southern California, and she also teaches at DePaul University, University of Iowa, Columbia College Chicago, and The Second City Film School.

Courses

TAPS 25450 Writing the Feature Film

(MAAD 25450)

This course is designed to help the emerging writer focus their creativity into a viable feature film project and screenplay. This includes structure, format, exposition, characterization, dialogue, voice-over, and other aspects of visual storytelling for the screen. Weekly meetings include a brief lecture period, screenings of scenes from selected films, extended discussion, assorted readings and writing assignments. Because this is primarily a writing class, students should expect to deliver four to five pages of written material—including story development materials or screenplay pages—each week.

Kat O'Brien, Kat O'Brien

2024-2025 Autumn

TAPS 25550 Writing the TV Pilot

The creation of a TV Pilot is a unique, exciting, and demanding task for a writer. In addition to the responsibility of telling a compelling story, writers are also charged with setting up a “world” and establishing characters and plotlines that will sustain the show over multiple episodes and seasons. In this class, we will delve into the processes required to succeed in this challenging endeavor. This includes creation of pitch materials, plot and character development, outlining, creation of a show bible, and ultimately, writing the pilot episode of an original TV series.

The classroom will function as part development workshop and part informal TV writer’s room. Through weekly reading and writing assignments we will dissect successful entries into the TV space and tap into our artistic inspirations to evolve our show concepts. From there, we would collaborate as a class by actively brainstorming and workshopping our scripts and series. By the end of the quarter, each student will complete a draft of an original pilot script, as well as a short “Series Bible” detailing the broader scope of the show.

Kat O'Brien

2024-2025 Spring