Veteran filmmakers to lead community workshops at Western this summer

Four veterans of the big and small screen will teach courses in screenwriting, acting, and directing at Western Washington University for two weeks in June.

The Cascadia Film Workshop is the realization of a 20-year dream of writer/director/producer Mel Damski. Having just wrapped eight seasons as the executive producer/director of the television series “Psych,” Damski is gathering colleagues to the Western campus to share their combined expertise with students and community members alike.

The courses are open to the public. Four courses will be offered over a two-week period.

From June 16-20, participants can study “Acting for the Camera” with six-decade stage and screen director Lou Antonio, or “Cellphone Cinema” with New York University Professor Karl Bardosh.

Antonio’s credits include acting in “Cool Hand Luke,” “Gunsmoke,” “Star Trek,” and other TV shows through the 1960s and 1970s. Over his career, Antonio directed many episodes of popular TV programs including “Dawson’s Creek,” “Boston Legal,” and “The West Wing.” In addition to directing more than 30 made-for-TV movies, he also directed Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in “Private Lives” on Broadway. Students in the class will come away with an edited demo-reel of their acting work.

Bardosh will instruct students how to shoot and edit a short film using only a cell phone. The class will conclude with a screening of participant’s work.

From June 23-27, classes include Damski’s “Introduction to Directing” course or “Introduction to Screenwriting” with “Jailbreak” writer Mike Pavone.

All classes are 5 four-hour sessions from beginning at 5 p.m. On campus accommodations are available during the workshops. The fees for the workshops are: Intro to Screenwriting or Intro to Directing are $495; Cellphone Cinema is $895; and Acting for the Camera is $1,295. All courses are offered through Western’s Extended Education Program.

For more information about the workshop, visit wwu.edu/cfpa/cascadiafilmworkshop or call 360-650-3308. Registration is limited.