I'VE ADVANCED TO THE SECOND ROUND OF THE WB WRITERS WORKSHOP

I’m delighted to share that I’ve advanced to the second round of the Warner Bros. Writers’ Workshop selection process. Every year, the Workshop selects up to eight participants out of more than 2,500 submissions and exposes them to Warner Bros. Television’s top writers and executives, all with the ultimate goal of earning them a staff position on a Warner Bros.-produced television show. For over 40 years, the Workshop has been the premiere writing program for new writers looking to start and further their career in the world of television. The Warner Bros. Television Writers’ Workshop consists of three components, all geared towards preparing the writer for a successful career in television writing.

Sesame Street Awards a Development Deal to Me!

Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational arm of Sesame Street, has awarded creative development deals to Nayna Agrawal and Roxy Simons, two emerging television writers at the culmination of the second annual “Sesame Street Writers’ Room“ fellowship program.

The Program is an intensive eight-week program to highlight and grow underrepresented talent in children’s media. After an open call for script submissions in January, seven fellows were selected from a pool of over 450 applicants through a series of blind readings. Coming from a range of professional and artistic backgrounds, the fellows met in New York for eight sessions led by Emmy-nominated television writer Susan Kim, participating in hands-on workshopping and meeting with agents, executive producers, and other industry professionals. Guest speakers included The Backyardigans creator Janice Burgess, Doc McStuffins creator Chris Nee, Wallykazam! creator Adam Peltzman, and Gullah Gullah Island creator Maria Perez-Brown, plus Ken Scarborough, Sesame Street’s head writer. At the recent closing reception, the formal announcement of the winning fellows was followed by staged readings of their scripts and a networking mixer with award-winning industry professionals.

News and announcements on next year’s program – as well as more information on this year’s guest speakers and fellows – will be posted on www.sesamewritersroom.org.

 

I HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED TO THE 2018 MIDWEST DRAMATISTS CONFERENCE

My play Reality Check has been accepted for a reading in the 2018 Midwest Dramatists Center Conference on  September 27-29, 2018.  Reality Check was selected from hundreds of plays. 

Industry professionals from New York City, Beth Blickers (literary agent with APA), and Sean Grennan (playwright), will attend play readings held during the conference and conduct workshops for the playwrights whose plays have been selected for the conference. 

The conference will provide actors and directors and feedback on plays of the selected playwrights from literary managers and artistic directors from around the country.

I'm a 2018 Fellow with the Sesame Street Writers Room Program!

I am one of seven fellows selected from approximately 500 applicants for the 2018 Sesame Street Writers Room Program. This fellowship is designed to develop new screenwriting talent, amplify underrepresented voices, and foster diversity in children’s media. Fellows gather weekly for hands-on workshopping and conversations with writers, producers, agents, and executives in eight three-hour sessions. When the program concludes, each fellow will have completed at least one script, and up to two winners will receive development deals from Sesame Workshop. The winning scripts will be performed in a staged reading at an industry networking event.

“By helping emerging writers from diverse backgrounds build industry experience and connections, programs like this one have the potential to change the children’s media landscape,” said Kay Wilson Stallings, SVP of Creative Development, Sesame Workshop. 

Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit media and educational organization behind Sesame Street, the pioneering television show that has been reaching and teaching children since 1969. Today, Sesame Workshop is an innovative force for change, with a mission to help kids everywhere grow smarter, stronger, and kinder. We’re present in more than 150 countries, serving vulnerable children through a wide range of media, formal education, and philanthropically-funded social impact programs, each grounded in rigorous research and tailored to the needs and cultures of the communities we serve. For more information, please visit sesameworkshop.org.

American Pia Awarded "Notable Writer" in 2018 New York TV Festival

My half-hour comedy pilot, American Pia, about my real-life experience living with a Xenophobic family outside LA was selected as one of 40 projects from nearly 1800 submissions to participate in the 2018 New York Television Festival. 

Over the last decade, the NYTVF has distinguished itself as an industry leader in the cultivation and fostering of independent artists across episodic storytelling platforms while engaging a wide swath of decision-makers, buyers, agents, and managers as a trusted curator of new voices. With NYTVF SCRIPTS, that opportunity is extended to emerging writers by offering a Festival experience designed to provide maximum exposure, access, and opportunity.

http://www.nytvf.com/2018_scripts_competition.html

 

 

AMERICAN PIA IN TOP 15% OF NYTVF

American Pia has moved on to the second round of deliberation in the 2018 New York TV Festival Scripts Competition; the second round recognizes comprises the top 15% of scripts submitted to the competition.  Over the last decade, the NYTVF has distinguished itself as an industry leader in the cultivation and fostering of independent artists across episodic storytelling platforms while engaging a wide swath of decision-makers, buyers, agents, and managers as a trusted curator of new voices. With NYTVF SCRIPTS, that opportunity is extended to emerging writers by offering a Festival experience designed to provide maximum exposure, access, and opportunity.