Freya Bennett: Narrative Discipline

I believe that storytelling plays a fundamental role in determining how we structure our lives, both professional and personal.

Whether it be writing a script, composing a social media post, tweaking a CV, planning or delivering a presentation: each of these actions are grounded in an innate understanding of narrative, character, audience and objective.

My workshop practice is embedded in this simple notion— that, by learning and putting into the practice the principles of narrative building, you can use it to build stories across both work and your wider life that have meaningful, long-lasting impact. However, I also believe that great narratives require strong engineering— knowing the ‘how’ does not ensure that the end result will be great.

Furthermore, I am passionate about the arts as a vehicle through which we strengthen community cohesion. Whether it be in small groups in the workplace, forging new bonds while discovering a new hobby, or taking part in a wider community project— in our ever-changing world, these links are key to building a long-lasting, enriched and sustainable society.

I offer a range of workshops, ranging from in-depth overviews of the fundamentals of dramatic writing, to enrichment activities, to storytelling in the corporate/tech space, to public speaking and presentation strategies. You are the story— I give you the tools, structures and discipline to empower yourself in that belief.

Example Workshops

Whilst I have some example workshops below, I can also tailor my sessions to fit clients’ specific needs. Clink link below to enquire. Scroll further for testimonials.

    • 1 session, 2 hours long.

    • Utilising my specialist approach of narrative discipline, this is an in-depth overview of the fundamentals of great storytelling and how we can apply them to our personal and professional lives.

    • Group or individual sessions, rates flexible.

    • 8 weeks, 2 hour long sessions.

    • An entry level programme that breaks down the fundamentals of the craft of dramatic writing, including plot, character, action, pacing, dialogue and the realities of life as a working scriptwriter.

    • Zoom or in-person, £250 pp.

    • For group bookings, prices negotiable.

    • 6 weeks, 2 x sessions per week (1 screening, 1 workshop).

    • A curated programme of film screenings followed by a talk that unpacks an element of the art of screenwriting. This is followed by a 2-hour writing workshop later that same week that focuses on the theme in more depth.

    • In-person, rates flexible.

    • Current workshops: Abbeygate Cinema

    • 1 session, ranging from 2 to 4 hours in duration.

    • Corporate workshop aimed at strengthening team building, collaboration, clarity, communication and confidence.

    • Groups learn the basic fundamentals of narrative storytelling before working together to devise their own short stories.

    • In-person and Zoom, rates flexible.

    • 1 session, 2 hours duration.

    • Aimed at young people ages 7-12 along with an accompanying parent and/or guardian.

    • Both the child and their accompanying adult work together to learn the fundamentals of storytelling before creating their very own story to take home with them.

    • £25 per adult/child pair, in person.

Enquiries

Testimonials

‘The Offshoot Foundation worked with Freya on a one-day scriptwriting workshop. We had good conversations with Freya beforehand about what we wanted from the day and Freya was true to her word and delivered a great workshop for us and the young people. We were worried that some of our younger students might struggle to write and develop those skills but that was not a problem at all. It was a really fun educational workshop that had everyone, including adults engaged throughout the day with Freya engaging with the group as though she had known them for months. I would highly recommend her as a workshop facilitator and look forward to working with her again in the future.’

— Paul Press, Founder and CEO of the Offshoot Foundation.

‘We were delighted to be able to have Freya back on campus to talk with our current students, both undergraduate and postgraduate, about her career as a writer and educator. The comprehensive and accessible way in which Freya was able to describe the variety of her experiences since leaving UEA was an eye-opener for many students, as evidenced by the length of the queues to speak with her after her talk! Freya offered a great source of hope and practical, pragmatic actions for all budding writers.’

— Mike Bernardin, Associate Professor of Drama at the University of East Anglia.

‘The course was absolutely brilliant and I’m sad this one has finished. Freya is such a great teacher and her love of writing shines through. She managed to make everyone feel valued and included with such positive encouragement and constructive criticism.’

— Adult Learner Feedback