Comedian Jon Savitt's Free Workshop Is a Dream Come True for New Writers

Jon Savitt is a creative who knows the challenges of coming from a flyover state.

"Growing up in Minnesota, the words 'comedian' or 'screenwriter' were never mentioned," he remembers. Not that it stopped him. While studying at the University of Indiana, he landed jobs writing for MTV and CollegeHumor from his dorm room and he's been writing and performing ever since, both as a live comedian and in feature spots for such outlets as the Washington Post, NBC News and Time.
Savitt relocated to Denver this past spring, looking for a new "opportunity to live in a cool city with a thriving creative scene."

"I always had an interest in performing, entertaining, making people laugh," he recalls. "Not even for my own ego, but I always loved lighting up the room and bringing some joy."

The human connection is what drives him. "Alongside writing and developing a comedic voice, I wanted to be a teacher, actually," he explains. "I always knew that I had this interest in mentorship, leadership development. ... I've always had an eye for how can I combine everything that I enjoy doing into something that will feel really purposeful and meaningful in my life."

That's why Savitt started the Denver Writers' Room, an all-ages writing initiative that is currently conducting one-on-one sessions while growing its membership. The comedian is currently developing a live comedy show to debut here based on his summer-camp experiences, but in the meantime he's focusing on helping others get their start. "I'm connecting with people on a rolling basis to give advice and read scripts and projects," says Savitt. "Once a few more people reach out — hopefully within the next month — it should take more of a true writers' group/writers' room form."

Topics will include branding, developing a unique comedic voice and navigating the business side of writing. The program's main goal is to provide resources to up-and-coming scribes who may not have any other access to them, in a creative atmosphere that is supportive, safe and, above all, open to everyone.

"What I really want to do is make this as accessible as possible to people," Savitt says. "No matter where you come from, no matter who you are, your background, whatever, you should have an opportunity to follow your passions, follow your dream, to learn about an outlet that will be really beneficial and bring you joy in your life."

That's why the service is completely free and currently conducted entirely online via Zoom. Savitt has been developing the project for several years; the first version existed as a series of informal (and in-person) writing workshops in Washington, D.C., before the pandemic.

"This has taken a lot of different shapes," says Savitt, "but really, my mentorship, or call it what you will, started in Washington, D.C., with a similar purpose. Even though maybe that's a little larger of a market, [D.C.] still has that same connotation of: It's not New York, it's not L.A. — you don't necessarily have the same career opportunities. So that's where I started bringing people together for writers' groups, just to share, 'What are you working on? What do you need help with? How can we help?' All that."

When COVID hit, Savitt moved back to Minnesota; the Writers' Room took a turn, as well. The workplace shift into remote platforms during the pandemic inspired him to take the program virtual. "That's when I kind of had a shift in mindset: 'How can we continue to get people together [and also] look at this as an opportunity?'" he says. "I wanted to capitalize on that moment and create this virtual environment for people to learn in...so 2020 into 2021 is when this formally started and I started meeting with a variety of folks."

Although he's always focused on comedy, Savitt has a wide range of experience with various writing formats to share with participants, having worked on everything from television pilots and feature screenplays to comedy sets and humor writing.

"With the Writers' Room, I really make it intentionally broad," Savitt says, "because when you talk about comedy and writing, I think maybe the first thing people gravitate toward is...standup. But what I've learned is there are so many different formats and opportunities, whether it's political writing like when I was in D.C., or one-liners or screenplays or playwriting or books. It could go so many different ways."

Right now the Denver Writers' Room is open for applications, and participants joining will be able to determine both the structure and the subjects with Savitt.

"What I try to do is meet people and get a sense of 'What are you interested in? What is your specific passion?'" he explains. "From there I can better tailor lessons or insight or advice based on that. It could go a lot of different ways, but I try to stick with what I am obviously, one, most passionate about, but then two, what I can actually bring to the table."

Savitt is a believer in the benefits of creativity, pure and simple, but he wants to be able provide tangible results, too. "Really the point of this is for people to walk away with portfolio pieces and actionable advice and be able to ask me questions," he says.

But whatever Denver writers want to talk about, Savitt says he's here to help: "This is my chance to give back in a very small way — in a way I would have found very helpful when I was starting out."

Find out more about the Denver Writers' Room at jonsavittwrites.com.