On The Page

Comedian Wayne Federman, author of “The History of Stand-Up," talks about the way that technology and the times have changed stand-up from Mark Twain to Dave Chapelle.

Writer/director Sonya Ballantyne talks about her experiences as a “creative native” and about her scripted work focusing on Indigenous women and girls in non-traditional film genres. 

Writer Savannah Ward loves to be “devastated” by a good story. They discuss the multiple timelines highlighted on Cruel Summer and, as a non-binary writer, give their personal take about trans characters on screen.

Alicia Carroll, staff writer for Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, talks about the show’s unique structure and approach to story and music. 

Award-winning playwright Dezi Gallegos is now a creative executive at Proximity Media (Judas and the Black Messiah). Here he talks about the company’s desire to develop original movies with a unique perspective. 

Jennifer Paz talks about her take on script and story as an actor and writer and about the need for more Asian-American content and characters on screen.

Rob Buchta, producer of Running Wild and creator of You vs. Wild on Netflix, talks about the challenges of a choose-your-own-adventure experience and the marriage of action and emotion needed for a factual adventure show.

Deborah Patz’s book, Write! Shoot! Edit! was intended for teenagers but it’s the perfect primer for anyone who’s ever wanted to film something but was too afraid to start. 

Pilar and her friends Brian Pope, Mike Musa and Alex Troxler get together for their annual discussion about the best screenplay and best adapted screenplay Oscar nominees.

Writer Michelle Denise Jackson talks about what she’s learned as she advanced from Writer’s PA on Grey’s Anatomy, to Writers Assistant on Mrs. America, to Staff Writer on two Netflix series and now as Co-Producer on Queen Sugar! 

Writer/Producer Evette Vargas discusses the content and applications needed to create successful pitch decks and sizzle reels.

Pilar Alessandra talks about ways to give and get script notes at the submission stage, the development stage and the production stage.

Rebecca Phelps talks about her approach to writing the Watty Award-winning novel Down World and its similarities, in process, to writing a screenplay.

Screenwriter and executive producer Jessica Goldberg talks about Cherry, the feature film she co-wrote starring Tom Holland, as well as her experiences creating the Hulu series The Path and acting as showrunner for the Netflix series Away.

Tom McCafferty, Vice Chairman of Veterans in Media and Entertainment, talks about the creative possibilities and unique challenges of writing movie and TV shows that focus on military events and characters.