Story Treehouse

Where kids and teens (12-18) can gain self-confidence and learn the magic of Story to enhance their lives.

Our Goals and Mission

Vision: Our vision is to improve lives through story.
Mission: To teach kids and teens (12-18) the structure and mechanics of story, creative thinking, and pitching (presenting).
Tagline: What's your Story?

How will the member be enhanced?

Story Treehouse members gain a wide range of skills and increase in self confidence as they learn about the art of Story.

Learn all about Story, and how it can improve lives.
Students gain more confidence in working with others and presenting ideas to people.
Gain an ability to write and learn secrets to make character and stories pop off the page!

Bring the Magic of Story into your Life!

Start your Free week of our Signature Storyteller Course

Dialogue

Students will learn the 12 secrets of realistic dialogue and bring characters to life.
Story Structure

Master the basics of story structure, including plot, pace, beats, arcs, sequences, acts, scenes and more...
World Building

Story Treehouse members build worlds from their imagination. They create unique and interesting characters, exciting plots and stories, detailed description, and genre specific twists.
Creative Skills

Each Story Treehouse member works with tools to increase creative thought. They use mind-mapping for ideas, outlines, creative table reads, and more...
Pitching Ideas

You will become more confident as you learn how to pitch your story ideas to others and work with feedback from your group and instructor.
Community

The Story Treehouse is a community of kids and teens wanting to grow in creativity, self confidence, presentation skills, story knowledge and team building. We use forums, chats, online events such as popcorn movie nights, and virtual fireside chats.

Instructor(s)

Founder & Chief Instructor David Hohl

David Hohl has worked in various film industry positions since a young age. As a teen-ager he started in commercial production such as Macys, Dodge trucks, Prodigy, Gymboree, AT&T and many more. He later moved to Los Angeles to study film, and achieved a BA in Humanities with a film emphasis, and a professional studies certificate in Film & Video from UCLA. During his years in L.A. he had the opportunity to study at American Film Institute, UCLA, and other specialized seminars where he learned from the top screenwriters and directors in the world. He has written for Disney marketing as a writer/researcher on international press kits, including the writing of the academy award press kit and commercial for Beauty and the Beast.

David worked for several years at Screenmusic International in Sherman Oaks as a production manager, and as a music clearance administrator on such projects as Nickelodeon’s Alex Mack, Top Dog, John Williams’ Greatest Hits, and many others. In a sister company, Hollywood Media, he acted as a script reader and consultant for new film projects, a writer on K-Tel produced Halloween story albums, and assisted the Emmy award nominated president with film projects.

David has read hundreds of scripts as a paid consultant, studied film analysis/coverage at AFI & UCLA, has written 7 feature length scripts, and has studied with some of the top screenwriter instructors and directors in the world. David has been a five star rated script consultant for the past ten years, and is considered an Ink Tip “preferred consultant.”

His first feature production as director was distributed in 2009 by Maxim Media, Int., and was an Official Selection at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival. David has also done paid feature writing assignments for production companies in the horror/sci-fi genre. David is now concentrating his time on screenwriting and his Screenwriting School for kids and teens, Story Treehouse.

Some of his other activities are hiking, reading, religious studies, Japanese martial arts, and filmmaking.

FAQ

Where do I start as a beginner?

Start with our signature class, The Storyteller Course. It is a 12 week class, perfect for homeschoolers. You can do the first week free, then move onto the full course when you see the value.
Can I do your classes when I want?

All our classes are made as on-demand work you can do whenever you want. The platform gives you 24/7 access to video, audio, tests, assignments, and other materials. There are also live weekly optional office hours for questions, or group meetings to share work. There are also occasional online movie popcorn nights, or fireside chat get togethers for fun and discussion.
Are there more advanced courses?

After you graduate the Storyteller course with a certificate, you can move on to the Master course for advanced story work one-on-one with the instructor, or you can also just stay part of the community as a monthly member to keep access to all the community sharing, feedback and events.
Do you also do social things?

We have online meetings to share work, do table reads, and watch movies for discussion. There are also community chats and forums, and live video meetings. Most of these are optional and not required to graduate, except for a couple of specific group requirements.
Are you an official vendor of any homeschool/charter school?

We are Vista Oaks official vendors with more to follow. If you are a contra costa Vista Oaks student you can get reimbursed from the school.
How does the student get feedback?

Students can ask questions and get response in the platform course, get feedback from other students and teacher in the private community forums, and can talk to the instructor during weekly office hours.
I graduated from the Storyteller course, but want to continue in the community. Is this possible?

Yes, for a small monthly fee, you can stay in the community group to share work, get feedback, participate in table reads, movie nights, and fireside chats. Just subscribe to the Story Treehouse Community course monthly.