Paul Larsen
Adjunct Assistant ProfessorScreenwriting
After receiving a B.S. degree, Paul declined a scholarship for graduate school in order to pursue the hands-on experience of restoring turn-of-the-century townhouses on Washington D.C.’s Capitol Hill (1971 until 1976). During this time he began to write screenplays, and for the next 15 years (1976-1991) he pursued a career in Hollywood. In 1988 his child was born with Down Syndrome, and Paul’s focus changed to provide for this child’s special needs. His professional colleague, Sterling Van Wagonen (co-founder of the Sundance Film Festival) recommended Paul as a screenwriting teacher in the film program at Brigham Young University. Paul found that he had a gift for, and a love of, teaching and mentoring university students. He taught advanced screenwriting classes at B.Y.U. for 8 years, and at the University of Utah, where he still teaches, for 13 years (1995-current day). During that time he continued to write screenplays. At the invitation of the Utah Bar Association, Paul wrote and co-produced a historical play (“The Raid”) to celebrate the Utah bicentennial. He also made three documentary films, including “A Good Day to Die” which was a personal film statement about the healing properties of Native American peyote ceremonies. In another documentary, he accompanied Mayan elders throughout Guatemala, filming tribal rituals as an aid for the Mayan record-keepers. Paul volunteers at state youth correctional facilities, helping to conduct Native American sweat lodges as spiritual supports for troubled youth.