Video of this panel coming soon.
Category: Stephens College
Why Researching Screenwriters (has Always) Mattered – 10th Screenwriters´ (hi)Stories Seminar – Dr. Rosanne Welch
*** Note: Introduction is in Portuguese, but the presentation is entirely in English
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My keynote speech at the 10th Screenwriters´(hi)Stories Seminar for the interdisciplinary Graduation Program in “Education, Art, and History of Culture”, in Mackenzie Presbyterian University, at São Paulo, SP, Brazil, focused on the topic “Why Researching Screenwriters (has Always) Mattered.” I was especially pleased with the passion these young scholars have toward screenwriting and it’s importance in transmitting culture across the man-made borders of our world.
To understand the world we have to understand its stories and to understand the world’s stories we must understand the world’s storytellers. A century ago and longer those people would have been the novelists of any particular country but since the invention of film, the storytellers who reach the most people with their ideas and their lessons have been the screenwriters. My teaching philosophy is that: Words matter, Writers matter and Women writers matter s– o women writers are my focus because they have been the far less researched and yet they are over half the population. We cannot tell the stories of the people until we know what stories the mothers have passed down to their children. Those are the stories that last. Now is the time to research screenwriters of all cultures and the stories they tell because people are finally recognizing the work of writers and appreciating how their favorite stories took shape on the page long before they were cast, or filmed, or edited. But also because streaming services make the stories of many cultures now available to a much wider world than ever before.
Many thanks to Glaucia Davino for the invitation.
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#MentorMonday 3 – Valerie Woods – Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting
Applications for the 2020 Class of the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting are now OPEN!
Deadline March 2020
Today’s Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting #mentormonday goes out to none other than Valerie Woods! (IMDB)
Valerie C. Woods is a writer/producer in television and film, and also is a publisher, editor and author. Woods currently is co-executive producer/writer on the critically acclaimed television drama series Queen Sugar, created by Ava DuVernay and airing on Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). She also has been adjunct faculty for Stephens’ Master of Fine Arts in TV and Screenwriting program since 2015.
Recently, Woods served as creative director for Syd Field – The Art of Visual Storytelling. She is one of four Syd Field Screenwriting Method Instructors trained by Mr. Field. She also wrote the screen adaptation of the novel Tempest Rising by Diane McKinney-Whetstone, with the production company of actor/director Phylicia Rashad.
In 2013, Woods founded the independent press BooksEndependent, which has published five titles, including Woods’ novel Katrin’s Chronicles: The Canon of Jacqueléne Dyanne. She also is the author of Something for Everyone (50 Original Monologues), which is published by Samuel French, Inc. In 2016, Woods produced a series of staged readings of scripts adapted from literary work via Staged/Lit.
During Woods’ 20+ years as a member of Writers Guild of America West, she has written on one-hour drama series for CBS, Lifetime, and Showtime. Credits include consulting producer/writer for the drama series Soul Food on Showtime Network and co-executive producer/writer on the drama series Any Day Now on Lifetime Network. Her episode “Family is Family” was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award. Her television career began after winning a fellowship with Walt Disney Studios.
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Rosanne Hosts Panel — Privileged Characters: How to recognize and avoid implicit bias in your screenwriting — at DTLA Film Festival, Sunday, October 27, 2019
This Sunday at 4pm join me at the DTLA (Downtown LA Film Festival)!
I’ll be moderating a panel on implicit bias in screenwriting. “Privileged Characters: How to recognize and avoid implicit bias in your screenwriting” will take place at the Regal Cinema at LA Live. Panelists will include Maria Escobeda, one of the Stephens MFA in TV and Screeenwriting’s favorite mentors, as well as representatives from the worlds of entertainment journalism, marketing and theme parks – all of whom need to understand this idea in order to reach – and succeed – with customers from all over the world. — Rosanne
Date/Time: Sun, October 27, 2019 @ 4:00 PM
Running Time: 60 Minutes
Location: Regal LA Live MEZZANINE
Panel Description
Privileged Characters: How to recognize and avoid implicit bias in your screenwriting
How do writers recognize and avoid implicit bias in their work? In this panel we review examples of how implicit bias infects popular shows and movies — even now in the wake of the Black Lives Matter, #MeToo and #TimesUp movement.
We’ll also learn about the tools and techniques available to combat implicit bias in the written word.
Finally, we’ll tackle the prickly question of writers who can authentically create characters and stories that are intrinsically about people who demographically different from them?
Panelists
Beverly Gray
Beverly Gray has spent her career fluctuating between the world of the intellect and show biz. As she was completing her doctorate in Contemporary American Fiction at UCLA, she surprised everyone (including herself) by taking a job with B-movie legend Roger Corman, for whom she helped develop 170 low-budget feature films. Following her Corman years, she covered the movie industry for The Hollywood Reporter. She has also published the best-selling Roger Corman: “Blood-Sucking Vampires, Flesh-Eating Cockroaches, and Driller Killers”, as well as “Ron Howard: From Mayberry to the Moon . . . and Beyond”. Currently, she teaches advanced online screenwriting workshops for UCLA Extension’s internationally-known Writers’ Program, and her popular twice-weekly blog, “Beverly in Movieland,” covers movies, moviemaking, and growing up Hollywood-adjacent. Her most recent book is “Seduced by Mrs. Robinson: How The Graduate Became the Touchstone of a Generation.”
Maria Escobedo
Maria Escobedo is a film and television writer with credits including “Grey’s Anatomy”, Hulu’s “East Los High” and the indie film “Rum and Coke”, which she wrote and directed. She’s developed movies and pilots for Lifetime, Disney Channel, and Nickelodeon. She also has written for animated kids’ TV, including “Dora the Explorer”, “Go Diego Go”, “Elena of Avalor”, “Special Agent Oso” and “Nina’s World”, which earned her a Humanitas Award nomination. Escobedo is currently writing for Amazon’s “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie”, Netflix’s “What-To-Doodles” and Nickelodeon’s “Santiago of the Seas”.
Hanala Sagal
Hanala Sagal, screenwriter-producer of “Elvis & Nixon” (Tribeca Film Festival 2016 Centerpiece), starred on “Shape Up L.A!” as Suzan Stadner (1985-2000.) Her brand is Comedy Wellness: Content for a Better Tomorrow and Funnier Today, trending on YouTube with 500M views and 400K subscribers. Hanala is in development on “Traumaland” (dark comedy, feature) based on her best-selling memoir “My Parents Went Through the Holocaust and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt” featured in “The Last Laugh” starring Mel Brooks.
Donna Bonilla Wheeler
Donna Bonilla Wheeler is a Peruvian-American film + theatre writer/director who began her film career writing and directing for Walt Disney Productions Theme Parks. Her original screenplays have been selected as Academy Nicholl Fellowship semi finalist/quarter finalists, IFP No Borders, Austin 2nd Rounders, and Slamdance Script Labs, among others. She sold her experimental short about the creative process, “Mind’s Eye” at the Cannes film market. She received the Grand Jury Prize, Narrative Short for her dramedy film, “The Girl Next Door” at Mystic Film Festival, and her family comedy/mystery she wrote and directed, “Death of a saleswoman” has received global recognition at multiple festivals. Donna is a fiscally-sponsored 501c3 filmmaker, working in the Latinx, LGBTQ+ diversity spaces.
Kala Guess
Kala Guess is a marketing professional at Final Draft. She acts as both Contest Director for the Big Break Screenwriting Contest and Content Producer for the Final Draft blog and “Write On” podcast. As part of her focus on the customer experience, she produces engaging and insightful content for screenwriters and operates as a champion for emerging talent. Additionally, Kala is a driving force in Final Draft’s efforts for diversity and inclusivity in the entertainment industry. Previously, she worked as the marketing and publicity coordinator for an independent film and television studio in Hollywood. Kala has a decade of experience in various capacities in the entertainment industry.
Evette Vargas
Evette Vargas is an award-winning writer, director, producer and immersive storyteller. Named by the New York Times as an “Artist to Watch,” Vargas’ has produced series for Amazon, MTV, Bravo, DirectTV; and interactive content for Fast And Furious, Lord Of The Rings trilogy and Madonna. Vargas executive produced, wrote and directed her digital series Dark Prophet, starring Henry Rollins, which was in contention for two Emmys. Vargas sold her drama series, Muses, to TNT Super Deluxe. Vargas is creating a drama series for MGMTV with Marc Guggenheim and Rosario Dawson serving as executive producers. Vargas wrote The Current War VR Experience, a companion piece for the film, starring Benedict Cumberbatch. A proud member of the WGA, ATAS and PGA, Vargas was born in the Bronx and learned to tell stories at the dinner table where the imagination ruled. Vargas collects action figures, typewriters and shoes; has past lives as a DJ, a fashion designer and is a recovering New York City advertising Art Director.
Demonstrating My Usual Exhuberent Presentation Style 😀 via Instagram
Demonstrating My Usual Exhuberent Presentation Style 😀
The 10th Screenwriters´(hi)Stories Seminar was so enjoyable.
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** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
Mackenzie Institute In Sao Paolo via Instagram
Mackenzie Institute In Sao Paolo.
My host for the 10th Screenwriters´(hi)Stories Seminar Keynote.
* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
Livraria Cultura, Sao Paolo, Brazil via Instagram
Livraria Cultura, Sao Paolo, Brazil
On my first day in São Paulo I was taken on a lovely walk through the downtown area near the college and here we can go fun this beautiful bookstore full of art and books and I was pleased to see many titles I recognized, though they were of course in Portuguese so I could not purchase them to read. But it was a beautiful site and a lovely way to understand the city is full of readers.
* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
My New Screenwriting Friends In Sao Paolo via Instagram
My New Screenwriting Friends In Sao Paolo
Many, many thanks to Glaucia Davino for inviting me to Mackenzie Presbyterian Institute in Sao Paolo to speak to her conference, but especially for arranging for me to meet many of her dedicated doctoral students, including Livia, who gave me a wonderful walking tour of the campus before my talk yesterday. There is a deep and genuine interest in analyzing screenwriting among these students and of building the film and television industry here. In the years to come I believe the energy these students bring to their research will achieve that dream.
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How The Chaos Of Collaboration in the Writers Room Created Golden Age Television, Dr. Rosanne Welch [Video] (22 Minutes)
A full recording of my presentation at this year’s Screenwriting Research Network conference (at the lovely Universidade Católica Portuguesa) in Porto, Portugal.
“How The Chaos Of Collaboration in the Writers Room Created Golden Age Television”
![How The Chaos Of Collaboration in the Writers Room Created Golden Age Television, Dr. Rosanne Welch [Video] (22 Minutes)](https://rosannewelch.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/SRN-2019-Portugal-1.png)
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When the folks hosting the conference announced their theme as “Screen Narratives: Chaos and Order” the word ‘chaos’ immediately brought to mind writers rooms. I offered a quick history of writers rooms (the presentations are only 20 minutes long) and then quoted several current showrunners on how they compose their rooms and how they run them.
For more information on the Screenwriting Research Network, visit
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Dr. Rosanne Welch Named As The New Executive Director Of Stephens College MFA In TV And Screenwriting Program
From Stephens College Office of Academic Affairs…
I am pleased to share with you the following announcement about an exciting change of leadership for the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting program. Congratulations to the team and thank you for all of your hard work building an amazing program.
– Dr. Leslie Willey, Stephens College Vice President for Academic Affairs
The Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting established in 2014, has named Dr. Rosanne Welch as the new executive director. Program founder and former director Ken LaZebnik will serve as Writer-in-Residence, while Khanisha Foster ’17, a graduate of the M.F.A. program, will serve as associate director. The program also features 15 faculty mentors and a rotating group of guest lecturers, all working writers, members of the Writers Guild and successful industry professionals.
Welch has served as a faculty member in the M.F.A. program since its start, creating a set of courses around the history of screenwriting, and teaching courses in one-hour drama. Her television writing credits include “Beverly Hills 90210,” “Picket Fences,” “ABC News: Nightline” and “Touched by an Angel.”
She edited “When Women Wrote Hollywood,” a book of essays published in 2018 that was named runner-up for the Susan Koppelman Award honoring the best anthology, multi-authored or edited book in feminist studies by the Popular Culture Association. She co-edited “Women in American History: A Social, Political, and Cultural Encyclopedia,” which was named to both the 2018 Outstanding References Sources List and the list of Best Historical Materials by the American Library Association, and authored “Why the Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Popular Culture.”
Welch serves as book reviews editor for the Journal of Screenwriting and on the editorial board for Written By magazine. She was elected to the executive committee of the International Screenwriting Research Network this year for a two-year term.