#MeetTheGraduatesMonday: Yousif Nash – Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting

Every Monday we will be profiling a member of the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting 2020 graduating class. This exciting, fresh crop of writers are the future of the industry and are going on to do BIG things, so get to know them now! First up is Yousif Nash! #MeetTheGraduatesMonday

#MeetTheGraduatesMonday: Yousif Nash - Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting

Yousif Nash is a true nerd who prides himself for having an encyclopedic knowledge on games, comics, anime, film, and television. An American born Iraqi, his parents regaled him with stories of their homeland, how it felt like a mystical land with history, culture, and wonder. It influenced him to become a storyteller, but he delayed that pursuit as he answered the call of duty and became an officer of the United States Air Force. When he left, he pursued writing seriously. He was accepted to the Writers Guild Foundation Veterans Workshop, worked on short and feature length films in his hometown, and is finishing his Masters of Fine Arts in TV Writing and Screenwriting from Stephens College. He just finished an internship at Hivemind (The Witcher, The Expanse) and is currently in another internship at Berlanti Productions (Arrow, The Flash, Riverdale) and Avi Arad’s Production Company (Spider-Man, Venom). He likes to write about nerds that suffer the normalcies of life, sci-fi, fantasy, and about Arab characters being normal people in America.


Visit Stephens.edu/mfa for more information.

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#MentorMonday 8 - Dawn Comer Jefferson - Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting

Listen to “Between the Sheets: Writing About Sex on TV” from the Writers Guild Foundation and Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting [Audio]

Between the Sheets: Writing About Sex on Television

Listen: Between the Sheets: Writing About Sex on TV [Audio]

Listen to Between the Sheets: Writing About Sex on TV from the Writers Guild Foundation and Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting

The Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting program teamed up with the Writers Guild Foundation to pull the covers back on a topic that still makes viewers blush: sex. On this special evening, our panel of TV writers and producers share how they approach writing about sex, from intimate scenes to revealing dialogue, and the nuances they consider when crafting stories about sex and sexuality.

Panelists:

  • Michelle Ashford – Masters of Sex, The Pacific
  • Cindy Chupack – I’m Dying Up Here, Divorce, Sex and the City
  • Sahar Jahani – 13 Reasons Why, Ramy
  • Dayna Lynne North – Insecure, Single Ladies, Lincoln Heights
  • Gladys Rodriguez – Vida, Dynasty, Sons of Anarchy
  • Moderated by Dr. Rosanne Welch. 

Writers Guild Foundation@wgfoundation

Visit Stephens.edu/mfa for more information.

Follow @StephensMFA on Instagram

#MentorMonday 8 - Dawn Comer Jefferson - Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting

Producers Pitchfest – Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Winter Workshop

Producers Pitchfest – Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Winter Workshop

Producers Pitchfest - Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Winter Workshop

Producers Pitchfest - Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Winter Workshop

Producers Pitchfest - Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Winter Workshop

Thanks to mentor Laura Brennan (left) the 2nd year cohort were treated to a pitchfest with a panel of producers during one of their nights of workshop. Joining the panel were producer/director Lisa Singer Haese, producer/studio executive Suzanne Lyons, and television writer/producer Brian Bird (“The Ultimate Life” (2013), “When Calls the Heart,” “When Hope Calls”). 

Visit Stephens.edu/mfa for more information.

Follow @StephensMFA on Instagram


Follow and Like the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting

#MentorMonday 8 - Dawn Comer Jefferson - Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting

Nicholas Nicky Laskin, Current MFA candidate in the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Program, is a frequent contributor to The Playlist

Playlist

Nicholas Nicky Laskin, Current MFA candidate in the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Program is a frequent contributor to The Playlist (a leading film and television website, offering smart yet accessible news, analysis, critical takes and more for the film community at large, founded in 2007 by Rodrigo Perez).

Read Nick’s Top 10 Films of 2019 as you contemplate what to catch up on over the holidays.

Nicholas Nicky Laskin, Current MFA candidate in the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting, is a frequent contributor to The Playlist


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#MentorMonday 8 - Dawn Comer Jefferson - Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting

#MentorMonday 8 – Dawn Comer Jefferson – Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting

Dawn Comer Jefferson is our Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting #mentormonday spotlight this week!

Dawn comer jefferson

Dawn is an Emmy-nominated, award-winning writer. On television, Comer Jefferson wrote on the CBS family drama Judging Amy, served as writer/consulting producer on MTV’s teen drama, South of Nowhere, freelanced on the CBS hit NCIS, and developed a drama pilot at NBC Universal Studios. She was nominated for an Emmy for writing the Fox-animated family film, Our Friend, Martin, and for the last nine years has written Emmy-winning arts programming for PBS, performed at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

As a non-fiction writer, Comer Jefferson has written about children, families and public policy issues for national print and online media including Garnet News, Working Mother, Fit Pregnancy Magazine and MomsRising, and her essays have been featured in the anthologies A Woman Alone (Seal Press) and Go Girl (Eighth Mountain Press). She adapted, produced and directed the eight-part NPR radio series adaptation of the biography Maggie’s American Dream, co-wrote the nonfiction book Three Ring Circus: How Real Couples Balance Marriage, Work, and Family, and the African American historical children’s fiction, The Promise.


Follow and Like the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting

#MentorMonday 8 - Dawn Comer Jefferson - Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting

Paperback LA Reading at Stories Books and Cafe, Echo Park via Instagram

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Paperback LA Reading at Stories Books and Cafe, Echo Park

Paperback LA Reading at Stories Books and Cafe, Echo Park via Instagram

I was among 5 writers highlighted in the Paperpback LA 3 Issue Trilogy and did a reading from my article “Hey, Hey, They Wrote The Monkees!” which was reprinted in Paperback LA #3

It was a great night, with great writing and reading and with a full house of people.


Buy Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Pop Culture

A hit television show about a fictitious rock band, The Monkees (1966-1968) earned two Emmys–Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Directorial Acheivement in Comedy.

Capitalizing on the show’s success, the actual band formed by the actors, at their peak, sold more albums than The Beatles and The Rolling Stones combined, and set the stage for other musical TV characters from The Partridge Family to Hannah Montana. In the late 1980s, the Monkees began a series of reunion tours that continued into their 50th anniversary.

This book tells the story of The Monkees and how the show changed television, introducing a new generation to the fourth-wall-breaking slapstick created by Laurel and Hardy and the Marx Brothers.

Its creators contributed to the innovative film and television of 1970s with projects like Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Laugh-In and Welcome Back, Kotter. Immense profits from the show, its music and its merchandising funded the producers’ move into films such as Head, Easy Riderand Five Easy Pieces.

McFarland (Direct from Publisher) | Amazon | Kindle Edition | Nook Edition

Want to use “Why The Monkees Matter” in your classroom?

Order Examination Copies, Library and Campus Bookstore orders directly from McFarland

McFarland Company logo

Paperback LA Reading at Stories Books and Cafe, Echo Park via Instagram

Follow Rosanne on Instagram!

Paperback LA Reading at Stories Books and Cafe, Echo Park

Paperback LA Reading at Stories Books and Cafe, Echo Park via Instagram

I was among 5 writers highlighted in the Paperpback LA 3 Issue Trilogy and did a reading from my article “Hey, Hey, They Wrote The Monkees!” which was reprinted in Paperback LA #3

It was a great night, with great writing and reading and with a full house of people.

Buy Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Pop Culture

A hit television show about a fictitious rock band, The Monkees (1966-1968) earned two Emmys–Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Directorial Acheivement in Comedy.

Capitalizing on the show’s success, the actual band formed by the actors, at their peak, sold more albums than The Beatles and The Rolling Stones combined, and set the stage for other musical TV characters from The Partridge Family to Hannah Montana. In the late 1980s, the Monkees began a series of reunion tours that continued into their 50th anniversary.

This book tells the story of The Monkees and how the show changed television, introducing a new generation to the fourth-wall-breaking slapstick created by Laurel and Hardy and the Marx Brothers.

Its creators contributed to the innovative film and television of 1970s with projects like Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Laugh-In and Welcome Back, Kotter. Immense profits from the show, its music and its merchandising funded the producers’ move into films such as Head, Easy Riderand Five Easy Pieces.

McFarland (Direct from Publisher) | Amazon | Kindle Edition | Nook Edition

Want to use “Why The Monkees Matter” in your classroom?

Order Examination Copies, Library and Campus Bookstore orders directly from McFarland

 

McFarland Company logo

Getting ready for my panel at DTLA Film Festival on Sunday via Instagram

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Getting ready for my panel at DTLA Film Festival on Sunday

Getting ready for my panel at DTLA Film Festival on Sunday via Instagram

Chatting with Maria Staroselets of the DTLA Film Festival before our panel discussion, Privileged Characters: How to recognize and avoid implicit bias in your screenwriting.

Video of this panel coming soon

 

Mothers Unleashed Storytelling Event with Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Alumni

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Mothers Unleashed Storytelling Event with Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Alumni

Mothers Unleashed Storytelling Event with Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Alumni

Myself and 2 of my Alums, Julie Berkobian and Amelia Phillips at this wonderful event.

This will be a monthly event with a different theme — centered on Motherhood — each month. Amelia was both host and reader. They also recorded for a podcast version of the event.

Follow @mothersunleashedla for more info.

 

 

In the studio…Linda and Rosanne at Readymix Music as Lexi records her demo via My Instagram

In the studio...Linda and Rosanne at Readymix Music as Lexi records her demo via My Instagram

In the studio…

Linda and Rosanne at Readymix Music as Lexi records her demo. 

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