Boston University’s ‘Game of Thrones’ staged reading reveals six new scripts

  BOSTON, MA - 04/23/2018 (PRESS RELEASE JET)

The Boston University “Game of Thrones” weekend event features a staged reading by Boston and New York actors of new “Game of Thrones” scripts and an exhibit with HBO’s Iron Throne. The event runs from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on April 28-29, 2018, at 700 Beacon Street; it is free and open to the public.

Staged reading

The BU Film and Television department and BUTV10 will mount staged readings of “Game of Thrones: The Virtual Final Season” episodes for a live audience. A cast of Boston and New York actors will perform full scripts for episodes 1-3 Saturday and episodes 4-6 on Sunday. The performances will be live-streamed on BUTV10.com and YouTube Live.

Interactive exhibit

The “Game of Thrones” exhibit will be the premiere event held at the new Boston University arts space (formerly the Art Institute of Boston) at 700 Beacon Street near Fenway Park. The interactive exhibit offers a variety of photo opportunities. Fans can take their photos with:

• the Iron Throne, courtesy of HBO;
• dramatic wall coverings featuring “Game of Thrones” images, including Winterfell, a weirwood tree, and the Night’s Watch oath, courtesy of the Loews Boston Hotel;
• intricate “Game of Thrones” 3-D pop up cards, courtesy of Boston-based Lovepop;
• a hand-sculpted “Game of Thrones”-inspired cake, courtesy of Boston’s Oakleaf Cakes; and
• limited-edition poster art, courtesy of Nikittysan.

The production will project the live performances from the upstairs theater to the 100-seat gallery viewing area. Anyone who would like to watch all or part of the staged reading performances projected on the gallery screen is welcome, subject to room capacity.

Media availability

There is an appointment-only media availability in the exhibit space on Friday, April 27, to facilitate interviews, photos, and filming. The production's writers, director, actors, and producers will be on hand. The venue is not open to the public on Friday.

Details about the “virtual season,” inclusivity, and the course

When the seventh season of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” aired last summer, fan speculation aboutGoT’s final season abounded. In January 2018, select Boston University undergraduate and graduate film and television students began the course “Game of Thrones: The Virtual Final Season.” These BU students have been working as a writers room. They’ve created a six-episode arc with six one-hour scripts that reflect how they think this mega-hit television show should end.

The writers room and production crew are inclusive. Seven of our nine writers are women; they were drawn to “Game of Thrones” in part by the strong female characters. (One of the women writers knows the show’s Dothraki and High Valyrian languages.) The four-camera production crew for the staged reading is helmed by a woman director.

Veteran TV writer/producer Kam Miller created the “Game of Thrones: The Virtual Final Season” course. She led these talented writers to work together and deliver a cohesive, compelling, entertaining season arc based on George R. R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” novels and HBO’s hit television series.

During the semester, students learned how to work in a writers room, collaborate with other writers, break a season of episodic drama television, understand decisions behind long-arc storytelling, build a story based on an existing series/property, and make deadlines for performance.