Winter 2023 Frank Sinatra Chair Residency

Mark Duplass Winter Visit

Mark Duplass met and worked closely with dozens of SCU students in fields across the creative arts during his visit to campus this February.

Much of that activity took place through a new, interdisciplinary course developed around Mark's residency as the Sinatra Chair. In that course, eight teams of four students each--including short story writers, screenplay writers, film directors, and musical composers--are collaborating to create and adapt student work across multiple genres and forms of media. This Winter, they are adapting a student-authored story or play into a screenplay. In the Spring, they will adapt that screenplay into a short film with a musical score. All of the adaptations and creative work are original student productions.

Mark met this February with these student groups to provide feedback on their writing and adaptations, and to get them ready for the next phase of the project. But he also met with students outside of the course, including a visit to the campus Playspace Writing Workshop, where he helped student playwrights develop their craft. He held an open master class on writing, filmmaking, and creative collaboration, where he answered student questions about what it takes to be a writer, director, producer, or musician. He talked with the student editors of The Owl and The Santa Clara Review to brainstorm ways of featuring this student work in forthcoming publications. He also met with staff and students to discuss potential mental health programming during his spring visit.