FF TEXT

The Script Vault

  • First Fifteen
Home
about us
Events
donate
Submissions
vault

Tag: writer

Categories
First Fifteen

March 30, 2025

Feedback from Teresa Huang and Kemiyondo Coutinho

TALENTED 10TH by Sabah Muhammad (drama pilot)

To achieve her dreams of becoming a renowned civil rights journalist Eva applies for a coveted apprenticeship with Philadelphia’s premiere Black newspaper but her growing responsibilities to her stern mother, rivalries with candidates of a better pedigree, and threats of community lynchings threaten to kill her dreams before she has a chance. 

Featuring Melissa Dawn Johnson, Sophina Brown, Brittany Bellizeare, Brensten Lindsey, Cheryl Francis Harrington, Serena Santospieve, Krystal Farris, Leonard A. Thomas, Will Slanger-Grant, and Myah Daniels                                                        

Sabah Muhammad is an advocate attorney dedicated to criminal justice and mental illness reform. Her one true love is powerful storytelling based on growing up Black, weird, Muslim and poor in the bible belt South. As a kid in the Nation of Islam, she was the plucky eldest of seven whose spirited intelligence usually earned her a timeout for not being righteous; alone in a room thinking about what she’d done, usually something feminist, proved to be an excellent place to develop characters. Prior to becoming an attorney, Sabah enjoyed a ten-year acting career that included countless exciting projects like The Brooke Ellison Story directed by Christopher Reeve, starring Jon Slattery and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio; The Skeleton Key, starring Peter Sarsgaard and Kate Hudson; and a 12-city arena tour, sponsored by Coca-Cola: the Go for It! Roadshow. Most recently Sabah directed her first full-length theatre production of August Wilson’s, Seven Guitars.

THE PAINTED MUSE by Farah Merani (drama pilot)

An Ismaili art conservator embarks on a high-stakes international mission to restore a lost collection of Mughal miniature masterpieces, uncovering hidden family secrets and a startling revelation of her royal ancestry in the process. As she unravels the mysteries within the art, she must confront forces threatening to erase her heritage while piecing together her own identity. 

Featuring Kausar Mohammed, Vico Ortiz, Phil Idrissi, J.D. Elliby, Rebecca O’Brien, Rod McLachlan, Apoorva Gundeti, Behzad Dabu, Aly Mawji, Nitya Vidyasagar, Gita Reddy

Farah Merani is a graduate of the Drama Centre London. She has performed on stage and on screen across North America, throughout Europe and in Russia. Some of her screen credits include: the new Quantum Leap on NBC, Season 3 of AppleTV’s SEE with Jason Momoa, Shadowhunters, and the video games Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Hitman 2. She is also a member of the Ensemble Shakespeare Theatre in Pasadena. Presently, she is developing multiple television series, including The Painted Muse as a 2023 Fellow of the Sundance Episodic Lab. As well, she stars in the recent award-winning video game, Thirsty Suitors, for which she received a Best Performer nomination at the 2024 DICE Awards. A history buff at heart, Farah received her first commission from Sierra Madre Playhouse for a play about Emilia Bassano Lanier and is adapting the biography of Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit for the screen. Farah is represented by The Characters Agency and managed by World Builder Entertainment.

Categories
First Fifteen

February 23, 2025

From Idea to Script: A Writing Workshop with Kemiyondo Coutinho

Kemiyondo Coutinho is a writer and Co-Executive Producer on Season 3 of Starz’s smash hit P-VALLEY. Her previous writing credits include EMPIRE OF MALI (Netflix/Lionsgate), STEP UP (Starz/Lionsgate), and P-VALLEY Season 2. She is also an Executive Producer and co-writer of Tyler Perry’s upcoming film UNT. SISTERS IN ITALY, produced under Perry’s deal with Amazon MGM Studios.

Forbes Africa 30 under 30 recipient Kemiyondo Coutinho is a multi-hyphenate writer, actor, and director who writes for the fish out of water. Whilst her storytelling double dutches between hard-hitting themes and sharp-biting comedic commentary, the throughline in all her work remains making people feel seen. A self-proclaimed African nomad, Kemiyondo credits attending boarding school at UWC High School, which was home to students from nearly 60 nationalities at any given time, with providing the foundation for how she views the world.

Garnering multiple international awards, including NBC Universal’s Harness Social Impact Award, her short film KYENVU made a loud directorial debut. Kemiyondo is also the inaugural recipient of John Singleton’s Filmmaker’s Fellowship, Kevin Hart’s Laugh Out Loud Filmmaking Fellowship, Shadow & Act’s Rising Star Award, and has been named one of OKAYAfrica’s 100 Women of Africa to Watch.

Kemiyondo prides herself on being kind and efficient.

Categories
First Fifteen

October 27, 2024

Feedback with Jonterri Gadson and Sylvia L. Jones

THE DEVIL’S GATEKEEPER written by Rodney Nugent

For centuries, the Holy Grail and Pandora’s Box have been searched for with the hope that they would hold the key to humanity’s salvation. Today, Pandora’s Box has been found. Today, hope will replace the evils that have plagued our world… but suppose the Box was hidden for a reason.

Featuring Cassandra Hunter, Alberto Isaac, Phil Idrissi, James Tang, Rebekah Jarvis, Trip Langley, Suzan Mikel, and Darryl Alan Reed

Currently, Mr. Nugent is a prolific independent writer with multiple feature and television scripts in various stages of development. His film, John Henry, has been optioned by The Woods Entertainment Group, while his play, Skidders, a poignant portrayal of a homeless community, is under consideration by The CTG Group. Mr. Nugent’s play, Lost Voices, premiered at the 2020 LA Fringe Festival. Mr. Nugent’s play, The Letter, has not only captivated audiences but also garnered several prestigious NAACP nominations, a testament to the quality and impact of his work. Mr. Nugent began his professional career as a dancer and traveled the globe for a decade as a Principal dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. He also choreographed for numerous commercials and music videos. Mr. Nugent’s footage of a story that has deep personal meaning to him, a documentary on the life of choreographic great Alvin Ailey, has been included in the current documentary on Alvin Ailey, which premiered at Sundance in 2022, in which Mr. Nugent appears as a dancer and interviewer of Mr. Ailey. Mr. Nugent is a native New Yorker and currently resides in Los Angeles. 

SOULLESS written by Tiffany Baker (supernatural drama pilot)

After Rashida Gaines’ near-death experience, she’s burdened with supernatural gifts that further complicate the relationship with her religious family, endangers her life, and forces her to become a vigilante in the army of an Egyptian Goddess.

Featuring Courtney Gabrielle Williams, Kim Estes, Phil Idrissi, Kila Kitu, Leonard A. Thomas, Elena Campbell Martínez, Rebekah Jarvis, Chanell Bell, and Tamika Simpkins

Tiffany Barker was raised in a large family in St. Louis. After entering the corrections field, she encountered every level of offender from traffic violators to murderers for 11 years. While she’d already recognized the unfair application of the law due to race and socioeconomic status, her favorite show Law & Order: SVU opened her eyes to gender-specific injustices. For years she sought to be like Olivia Benson, even becoming a member of her local YWCA’s sexual assault response team to support victims in the aftermath. But when Mike Brown was murdered in the St. Louis County municipality of Ferguson, everything she witnessed from law enforcement, sowed an inherent distrust she’d never previously felt. While justice is rarely achieved in the real world, she chooses to make every script she writes, reflect one where it does. And, after realizing having a badge and gun wasn’t necessary to help people, she enrolled in nursing school. Since 2018, she’s been applying for network fellowships and entering screenwriting contests, most recently being a finalist for ScreenCraft Drama and Save the Cat. In 2021 to improve her writing, she joined a weekly lab to be held accountable, improve her skills, network with actors, and offer her support to fellow writers. To take the journey into professional screenwriting more seriously, she has just relocated to Los Angeles. 

Categories
First Fifteen

September 29, 2024

Feedback with Christina Martin and York Walker

A HAUNTING IN GATLINBURG written by Daniel Lynch (horror feature)

When a passionate filmmaker’s future is on the line, he is forced to work with other filmmaking students as they realize their hometown is a warzone for a local witch and Bigfoot.

Featuring John Chukwudelunzu, Isra Elsalihie, Leonard A. Thomas, Lorene Chesley, LaNora Terraé Hayden, Torie Tyson, and J.D. Elliby

Daniel Lynch is an independent filmmaker, writer, and actor from Decatur, Georgia. He knew from an early age he wanted to be in the entertainment industry, but it wasn’t until 2020 when he started making self-produced content. His directorial debut was a Star Wars short film called The Legend of Doon Rah which screened at the National Black Film Festival and Hayti Heritage Film Festival. The Legend of Doon Rah has been reacted by the biggest Star Wars YouTubers such as Star Wars Theory and Kyle Katarn. In 2021, Daniel met his co-screenwriting partner Eric Krehbiel. Eric cast Daniel in a short film called Night, and soon after Daniel brought on Eric for another project, The Wild Ones, which they made a proof of concept for. His acting credits include Autobot Jazz in Transformers Rise of Unicron, Dante in The Wild Ones, Curtis in The Offer, Jet in Deadman Playground, and many more. Daniel sets out to create an exciting cinematic universe for aspiring filmmakers and their families to enjoy. 

SET written by Ade Dina (coming-of-age drama pilot)

De’Vonte has long been guarded from his gang-infested environment. When his older cousin’s, Aaron, affiliation with the Crips trickles down to his innocent family, De’Vonte is forced into navigating the dangerous world of blue and red. 

Featuring Jared Bennett, Darryl Dunning II, Lee Sherman, John Chukwudelunzu, Maurice Demus, Leonard A. Thomas, Courtney Gabrielle Williams, LaNora Terraé Hayden, and Gita Reddy

Ade Dina is a Houston-born writer-director and producer with a dynamic portfolio that spans short films, commercials, and feature screenplays. Ade’s work has not only received accolades at various film festivals and script competitions but has also contributed to global campaigns for Meta. With both of Ade’s Nigerian parents being an accountant and a lawyer, he didn’t grow up in the most creative household. Therefore, he found his love for film from movies placed in front of him passively. As he matured, so did his taste and approach to the art form. Ade has found influences in Martin Scorsese, Ryan Coogler, Damien Chazelle, and Christopher Nolan. Ade founded Oba Productions and has utilized the agency to create in-house films and commercials for various brands and clients. He wanted to create films and projects that felt like the art he grew up on but with people who looked like him for once. Oba also prioritizes the brand work of black and underrepresented groups who operate on slender budgets to deliver boundary-pushing campaigns. Currently, Ade is developing the feature Set, a story about two cousins navigating gang life amid rival warfare. He completed a proof of concept short film for Set and has played at film festivals nationwide. Set will be Ade’s feature directorial debut. 

Categories
First Fifteen

March 19, 2023

Feedback from Kerry Coddett and Kemiyondo Coutinho

ME, MYSELF, AND US by Keisha Bissram (dramedy feature)

An independent, on-the-road traveler returns to her hometown after fifteen years to learn about the life she left behind and the friends whose lives have been altered during her absence.

Featuring Krishna Smitha, Apoorva Gundeti, Samantha Cutaran, Lexi Graboski, Rafiq Batcha, Gita Reddy, Nikki Chawla, Napoleon Tavale, Alex Crow, and Hanjie Chow

Keisha Bissram, an actress and writer, is also known for producing her own stories highlighting unconventional day-to-day conflicts with a blend of relatable discomfort and comedic fashion. Born and raised in New York, Keisha relocated her life and career to Los Angeles, CA. After graduating with a degree in advertising and marketing (a business degree was promised to her family) she immediately pursued her love for acting at the Barrow Group Theater in New York City.

After several years, she landed at the William Esper Studio to learn the Meisner technique in a two-year program. While attending classes, she performed in several commercials, theater, and short films, one notably known as The Woman in the Movie.

Keisha is a self-taught producer-writer with the success of completing and starring in her first seven-episode comedic web series, Conversations in Apartment 3A. She continues to produce short skits such as Simple Life with Tammy and The Note to cultivate her craft as a creative.

I CLASS by Mildred Inez Lewis (dramedy pilot)

When former Vine star Savannah Jackson Velez loses her last influencer gig, she’s forced to substitute teach in an alternative high school with a bunch of earnest oddballs she would never be caught dead with in real life.

Featuring Candice Ramirez, Leonard A. Thomas, Lee Sherman, Georgina Navarro, Susan Louise O’Connor, Joi Elise Little, Phil Idrissi, Torie Tyson, Nicola Rinow, and Rashawn Nadine Scott

MIDLRED INEZ LEWIS writes and directs for theater, film, and the digital space. Her script UNBOWED played at the Palm Springs, Pan African, American Indian, and Jamerican film festivals, and then ran on ENCORE/Starz. She wrote and directed LEFT which played at the San Francisco and Santa Barbara Black film festivals. She also wrote and directed CAN ALSO PLAY! which appeared at Outfest and Outfest Fusion. A hybrid digital piece GHOSTS OF BLACKNESS was commissioned by the National Black Theatre/Harlem9 and Lucille Lortel Foundation. She is in pre-production for MIRROR, a horror short featuring Ephraim Lopez.

Mildred earned a producing MFA from UCLA’s film school where she won a Samuel Goldwyn Creative Writing Award for an original screenplay. She continued her education with the Producers Guild of America Power of Diversity Workshop. She put that training to use as co-founder of The Fox Lewis Project which produced digital corporate content and the ETIQUETTE comedy web series which was invited to HollyFest.

Mildred has written two fiction podcasts: MEETS PRINCE, LOVES FROG for Feminist Fairytales’ first season and $10 AND A TAMBOURINE for Antaeus Theatre’s Zip Code series. That series was nominated for a 2021 Ambie Award.

Her work for theater includes the 2022 comedy THE MUSEUM ANNEX at Central Works (Berkeley, CA). Her short play WE JUMP BROOM was a finalist for the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway festival and Best of PlayGround-LA. In 2018, she was part of Humanitas’ PLAY LA.

Publications include THE GIFT and /KOM’PLISIT/ with Broadway Play Publishing. WE JUMP BROOM is in Smith & Kraus’ 2023 Best Ten-Minute play collection.

THE BLACK GIRLS’ GUIDE TO CORP AMERICA by Keisha Wright and Amber Wynn (dramedy pilot)

Marketing executive Gabrielle Wynn and her mentees navigate corporate America with the help of her Black Girl’s guide to success.

Featuring Kimberly Hébert, Rashawn Nadine Scott, Brittany Bellizeare, Nicola Rinow, Susan Louise O’Connor, Rod McLachlan, and Courtney Gabrielle Williams

Keisha Wright is a marketing exec by day and a passionate writer by night. She is SVP of Partnerships & Purpose at THINK450, the partnership and innovation engine of the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), the union for all current NBA players. In her 15+ years as a marketing executive, expert brand strategist, and former youth trend analyst, she has contributed to trade publications, presented at industry conferences on the topic of youth culture, and generated millions of dollars in revenue for sports and entertainment properties through strategic partnerships with consumer brands. Before THINK450, Keisha held positions at Vox Media, InStyle, the Brooklyn Nets, Macy’s, MTV Networks, and the NBA, creating integrated marketing campaigns comprised of branded content, cause marketing, and experiential activations. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University and a master’s degree from Pepperdine University.

Amber Wynn is the author of several books, from fiction titles such as A Soft Place to Fall, The Waiting Place, and For Such a Time As This; to the nonfiction how-to, The Rules of Engagement: A Sistah’s Guide to Navigating Corporate America, on which her pilot The Black Girls’ Guide is based. The Black Girls’ Guide is one of Amber’s two book-to-screen adaptations, the other being The Waiting Place, both co-written with her ride-or-die, Keisha Wright. A philanthrepreneur by day, Amber supports the most amazing people on the planet (Black nonprofit leaders), but her happy place is in a quiet space (Miguel crooning in the background) crafting unputdownable novels with sexy plot twists and complex Black characters. Amber received a bachelor’s degree in English from Loyola Marymount University and a master’s degree in public administration from CSU Los Angeles.

Categories
First Fifteen

February 26, 2023

Feedback with Jonterri Gadson and Mika Frank

IN THE VILLAGE by Monet Mike (drama pilot)

A community fights to navigate the ever-changing waters of its district. Five educators and a self-conscious middle schooler must keep their sanity and strength to make it through each unpredictable day.

Featuring Marqita Delgado, Adam Brudnicki, Julianna Ojeda, Kaitlyn Foley, Darryl Dunning, Amy Scribner, Altamese Rogers, Keisha Bissram, Janay D. Henry, Leonard A. Thomas, Georgina Navarro, Alex Morris, and Gita Reddy

Growing up in Decatur, Georgia, Monet entered the film industry by investing in herself. She wrote, produced, and co-directed her first pilot presentation in an effort to shine a light on a community she believed was misrepresented or absent often in the media. In finding safe spaces to learn and grow, Monet partners with other independent filmmakers to further develop her voice as a writer and skills as a producer. Monet’s mission is to carefully craft stories with a multi-perspective lens that humanizes people and “taboo” concepts. She is dedicated to creating art that positively impacts and challenges her local and global community.

VILLAINESQUE by Katherine Street (dramedy action pilot)

In a world where heroes and villains are simply rich jerks in fancy outfits, a bitter, struggling novelist takes a job writing for one of them and gets more than she bargained for. 

Featuring Rashawn Nadine Scott, Henry Alexander Kelly, Akilah Walker, Trip Langley, Andrew Elvis Miller, James Tang, Natasha LaGrone, Gita Reddy, Alexandra Ryan, Janay D. Henry, and Elena Campbell-Martínez

Katherine Street is an LA-based award-winning screenwriter and Philadelphia native. A cinephile at heart, she writes female-driven stories with complex (oftentimes damaged) main characters, centered around self-discovery, self-love, and belonging. She has written numerous short-form projects, including original shorts, pilots, and features. As a filmmaker, she wrote and directed the dramatic short film “Cycles,” and created her flagship web series “The New Adult,” which is currently streaming on Kweli TV. She earned her degree from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts with a concentration in cinematography. She has literary representation with Culture Creative Entertainment.

Categories
First Fifteen

May 16, 2021

Feedback from Kemiyondo Coutinho and J. Holtham

Swamp Boys by Yayabell Debay (fantasy/science fiction feature)

An introverted teenage girl visits her estranged aunt in the Swampy town of Castor, Louisiana and is turned into the creature that has tormented her nightmares, forcing her into the sinister side of a world filled with folk magic and Biblical monsters.

Featuring Haley Powell, Kimberly Hébert, Garrett Schroeder, Elayn J. Taylor, Inger Tudor, Antonio David Lyons, and Tamika Simpkins

Yayabell Debay is a junior at Pepperdine University where she studies acting with a double minor in creative writing and French. Originally, raised in Ethiopia, where she performed in local theatrical productions and served as a district and educational volunteer for disadvantaged communities, Yayabell moved to California in 2018 to attend college. She has worked on stage and off in several theatrical productions including Miss Bennett: Christmas at Pemberley and Shakespeare’s As You Like It. She is a creative assistant at the Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts and copy editor for Kadd Kena Publishing. She is currently working on her feature screenplay Swamp Boys and is in the process of adapting her short story, The Summertime Motel, into a short film.

Sugar’s Paradise by Lauren Marissa Smith (period drama pilot)

Sugar’s Paradise is a lush one-hour period drama centering the story of Ebony Exotica’s rise from burlesque dancer to criminal mastermind amongst Harlem’s 1940s Black social elite. It is one woman’s journey of success, sexual reclamation and self-actualization.

Featuring Lakisha May, Leonard A. Thomas, Antonio David Lyons, Freddie Fulton, Andrew Elvis Miller, Rob Nagle, Eboni Flowers, and Inger Tudor

Lauren Marissa Smith is an artist, writer, actor and producer who uses the intersection of language and imagery to celebrate Black womanhood. She creates worlds in which her characters take their sovereignty, hone their power and fulfill the highest, truest expression of themselves. She is the writer and creator of the digital series, Maybe it’s Me, which is set for release in 2022. The show focuses on seven unknowingly connected people as their lives and relationships shift over the course of one night in New York City. As an actor, her favorite roles include Sarah in Funnyhouse of a Negro, Charlie in the award-winning film Charlie and Daniel, and Tillie Petunia in the AUDELCO recognized production of On Striver’s Row. Lauren is also currently the Soul Producer in Resident at the National Black Theatre in Harlem for the 2020-21 season. She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Spelman College.

Lady Parts by Christina Martin (comedy pilot)

An impulsive medical resident attempts to escape her overbearing parent’s influence by dropping out of her program and joining the staff of a soapy hospital drama.

Featuring chandra thomas, Tristan Laurence Perez, Elayn J. Taylor, Alex Morris, Andrew Elvis Miller, Hank Chen, Lexi Graboski, Anna Sun, and Rashawn Nadine Scott

A native Houstonian, Christina Martin was practically born into storytelling. Growing up at The Ensemble, the oldest and largest professional African American theatre in the Southwest, she rarely missed an opening night and, even as a child, was always called upon to give feedback on their productions.

She later went on to study drama at her beloved Spelman College where she had the honor of learning from a number of dynamic, working artists, including noted playwright and author, Pearl Cleage.

Upon her graduation, Christina moved to Los Angeles and, though she’d always loved writing, it took many changes – going from casting to talent management to film sales to ad sales – for her to finally realize that telling stories was the only thing she wanted to do.

Today she is a Daytime Emmy-nominated writer best known for her work on the Emmy Award-winning digital series Giants, now streaming on BET+. A writer of many genres, Christina can’t help but inject at least a little humor into everything she does.

Categories
First Fifteen

April 11, 2021

Feedback from Kemiyondo Coutinho and Kevin Avery

Past Life by Tish Arana (comedy pilot)

After trying ayuasca tea at a spiritual retreat, a young woman discovers she now has the ability to see strangers’ past lives.

Featuring Rashawn Nadine Scott, Vipul Munshi, Aisha Lomax, Kaycee Campbell, Susan Louise O’Connor, and Skye Shepard

Tish Arana is an actor and writer living in Los Angeles, CA. She graduated from The University of Kansas with a Bachelor of Science in strategic communications from the William Allen White School of Journalism. While working full time as a vendor manager for The Man, she’s pursued an acting career, booking a slew of national commercials. She was in two award-winning short films. Sirens, which was written and directed by Jo Rochelle and Avery Road, had a long run on Amazon Prime. Aside from acting, she’s worked as a contributing writer for the fitness blog, Fit Bottomed Girls and got to meet and work out with Venus Williams. She has one child; a maniacal cherub who she’s managed to keep alive and gangsta for almost six whole years. Last year she brought her first ever piece (a short film script) to First Fifteen. Past Lives is her first pilot script adventure.

3rd Rock Realty by Alex Ubokudom (animation pilot)

An animated situation comedy that centers on a Black female real-estate agent, Patrice Ewing, who is trying to sell apartments in Harlem during an alien invasion so she can keep up her expensive lifestyle.

Featuring Toccarra Cash, Brooks Brantly, David Jacobs, Blair Busbee, Lakisha May, Kyle Schaefer, and Leonard A. Thomas

Alex Ubokudom is a creator, actor, writer and satirist who is based in NYC. He attended the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor for undergrad and the American Conservatory Theater for his MFA in acting. He’s performed in multiple Off-Broadway productions as well as in sketch comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade and the People’s Improv Theater. His satirical video sketches have been showcased by the Huffington Post and The Root. His creations seek to fantastically disrupt realities while bringing people joy, inviting them to imagine and making them feel SEEN!

Vet Centered by Ariel Bell (workplace comedy pilot)

Recently retired from the Army, Renée just wants to be normal again, but everything about civilian life scares her. But in the constant chaos and ridiculousness of the VA she finds comfort and flourishes. Why? Because these are her people.

Featuring Pamela Shaddock, Yvette Cason, Dee Baldus, Alexandra Ryan, Alexis Suarez, Paul McKinney, Susan Louise O’Connor, Newton Kaneshiro, and Gita Reddy

Ariel Bell, a native of Medford, Massachusetts, has always had a love of the arts. After serving in the U.S. Army, Ariel ventured west to Los Angeles where she worked as an audio engineer in recording studios and live sound production. Unfulfilled by the music industry, Ariel went back to school where she earned a BA in cinema & TV arts and an MFA in screenwriting from Cal State University, Northridge. While on that path she discovered theatre. She was asked to work with the Shakespeare Center of LA in their Veterans in Arts program. This experience opened a new journey of storytelling. She currently works in theatre production where, along with her many technical skills in almost every part of theatre production, after all she is a Black woman, Ariel is also honing her skills as a playwright.

Categories
First Fifteen

March 28, 2021

The Education of Ebony Stone written by Crystal P. Garland and directed by Bianca LaVerne Jones.

A single mother, desperate for cash, is recruited to aid an underground radical network in 1980s South Carolina.

Featuring Brittany Bellizeare, sola bamis, Nathan James, Alex Morris, Rob Nagle, Susan Louise O’Connor, Elayn J. Taylor, Alexander Crow, Michael Flood, Abie Irabor, Natasha LaGrone, and Yemie Sonuga.

Crystal Garland is a writer from South Carolina. Born on a military base, but raised in public housing, she discovered her love of writing in New York City’s independent film theaters. Crystal began her TV career writing for Netflix’s OUTER BANKS. She’s written for the 2016 CBS Diversity Showcase, was selected for the 2019 Athena Film Festival TV Lab and the 2020 WeForShe WriterHer List, and was a 2020 Final Draft Big Break semifinalist. Prior to entertainment, she worked for the United Nations’ sexual and reproductive health agency, before transitioning to a career in criminal justice policy. She has surveyed inmates and prison staff, and developed policy briefs to support community-based treatment for people with substance abuse and mental health issues. Crystal is an alumnus of Stanford University.

Bianca Laverne Jones’s credits and training includes the following:

REGIONAL: GLORIOUS WORLD OF CROWNS, KINKS AND CURLS (Baltimore Center Stage); THE GIFT OF THE MAD GUYS (Pittsburgh Public Theater); OTHELLO (Opera): 5 Aspects for Bass and Chamber Orchestra (Newark Veterans Park). OFF BROADWAY: FEAST: A Yoruba Tale (HERE Arts, Dream Center Harlem), ARMED (Amoralist Theater Company Teatro LATEA), London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts showcase (Playwrights Horizon). NEW MEDIA: FOR WHICH IT STANDS (NYTW); PROCLAMATION (FLUGELMAN/Australia); DARE TO DREAM (FLUGELMAN); COVERED (NYCSEEING2020); OH, THIS IS RICH (Miles Square Theater); SPUNK (Hedgepig and Classical Theater of Harlem); CHOICES (BOLD/NYC), SERMON I WISH I’D HEARD (BOLD), OLDEST TOWN IN TEXAS (BOLD); TAKE YO SHIT (WHILE WE BREATHE); DO YOU REALLY WANNA KNOW (WHILE WE BREATHE); UHURU (AYE DEFY); DON’T CALL ME BROTHER (Hill Productions).

ASSOCIATE/ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: THOUGHTS OF A COLORED MAN (Syracuse Stages; Baltimore Center Stage); A SMALL OAK TREE RUNS RED (Billie Holiday Theater); BLKS (MCC/NYC); THE FIRST NOEL (Classical Theater of Harlem, Apollo Theater). FILM: THE GAZE (a film quilt) Episodes 108 & 109 (Tell Me a Story Productions); MOTHER’S MILK (Tell Me a Story Productions); UNDERCOVER SIDECHICK (Afro Goddess Productions), STORKERS (Script Supervisor) LONDON: PARTNERS (Carne Theater), LAMDA showcase (Ambassador Theater/West End).

TRAINING: NCSA (diploma), SUNY Purchase (BFA-Acting), Yale, London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (MA-Directing). Awards: DC Black Theater Festival for Best One Act Play 2013, 2019 Best Actress Broadway World, AUDELCO for Best Ensemble 2018. Unions: SDC, AEA, SAG-AFTRA.

Categories
First Fifteen

March 21, 2021

WOC Writers Panel with Lauren Glover, Mika Frank, Elizabeth Kim, Dionn Richardson, and chandra thomas

Lauren Glover is a Los Angeles based drama and dramedy writer originally from Columbia, Maryland. A former registered nurse with experience working in the psychiatric, intensive care, and hospice fields, Lauren writes darkly comedic stories with a humanistic and nuanced approach. Lauren is a Sundance Episodic Lab Fellow (2020) and was a writers’ assistant on a new CBS show, The Second Wave, created by Robert and Michelle King (THE GOOD WIFE, EVIL). Previously, Lauren was a writers’ assistant on a new adult animated Amazon series (FAIRFAX) and a showrunner’s assistant to Pam Veasey on LA’S Finest. Lauren is currently a staff writer on the new HBO Max series DUSTER.

A native of Cleveland, Mika Frank began her storytelling career as a songwriter. But after her mom pressured her to pursue a conventional career, Mika went on to become a pharmacist. Mika later rekindled her love for writing after starting a relationship blog. When Mika discovered the world of film and television writing, she refocused her talents and moved to Los Angeles. Mika has since placed in the 2018 AFI Directing Workshop for Women, the 2019 WeScreenplay Contest, and 2020 Warner Brothers Television Workshop. Mika has written and directed the web series, My Girlfriend is Black, and four short films. Mika pens flawed strong character driven stories.

When Elizabeth Kim was eight years old, her family moved to Louisiana. Feeling out of place, she spent a large part of her child being bookish and painfully shy. She escaped through reading books, where she could be someone else for a few blissful hours. She also competed nationally in piano competitions, though never quite becoming a child prodigy. much to her parent’s disappointment. Elizabeth attended Rice University, where she studied biochemistry & cell biology and visual arts. During college, she worked in a neurophysiology lab where her research was published in a scientific journal. After moving to Los Angeles, she used her neurology background to work in a polysomnographic sleep lab, which gave her the inspiration to write her feature script, THE BRAIN MIRROR, which won an Alfred P. Sloan Award. Elizabeth Kim studied screenwriting at the American Film Institute Conservatory. She has written for ARROW (CW) and the animated series FREEDOM FIGHTERS: THE RAY (CW SEED). Much of her work features identity issues, underdog stories with heart, and flawed protagonists. In her spare time, she enjoys French patisserie, interior design, and pretending to be on a diet while eating dessert.

Dionn Richardson hails from Atlanta, Georgia. After graduating with a theatre degree from Georgia Southern University, she took a giant leap of faith and moved to Harlem, USA. While working as a personal assistant for Black Thought of The Legendary Roots Crew, she decided to follow her dreams of working in television. She freelanced as a talent/casting coordinator, but now her goal is to produce and develop TV shows for underrepresented groups of people. Dionn currently works as a showrunners’ assistant.

chandra thomas is a writer-actor-producer originally from New York. She’s currently a writer on the hit multi-cam comedy, MOM. chandra was the sole comedy writer in the 2020 CBS Writers’ Program. Also a playwright, chandra’s play THE BUZZER was just named a Featured Finalist in the Blue Ink Playwriting Award; she’s currently an Echo Theatre Young Playwrights fellow. As an actor, chandra’s credits include LABOR DAY, 9-1-1, LAW & ORDER: SVU, BLUE BLOODS, among others. She earned BA degrees in theatre and sociology from Vanderbilt University, and holds an MFA from Columbia University. chandra’s the proud daughter of immigrants, has gleefully lived all over the country and around the world, and absolutely loves baseball.

Categories
First Fifteen

March 14, 2021

Feedback from Kemiyondo Coutinho and Anil K. Foreman.

Babygirl by Kaypri (dramedy one-hour pilot)

Set in the mid-80s hip hop era, Summer, a bi-racial 11 year old from Northern New Jersey, is the only child of older activist parents who escapes to her TV when she is forced to navigate middle school, her racial identity, and the inevitable death of her father.

Featuring Lee Sherman, Zariyah Johnson, Suzan Mikiel, Alex Morris, Alena Cameron, Justice Freedom Jones, and Inger Tudor.

Breakout by Gita Reddy (comedy pilot)

Two women struggle to keep their dysfunctional diversity training company afloat, performing ridiculously stilted sketches for corporate clients while trying to hang onto their ideals.

Featuring Joy Regullano, chandra thomas, Huse Madhavji, Alexander Crow, Jackie Chung, Amy Scribner, and Yemie Sonuga.

Confessions of a Rock-Mom by Joi Adams, Toccarra Cash, and Janette Ellis (comedy pilot)

A Black, Xennial non-profit mogul on the cusp of having it all struggles with finding out she’s pregnant with baby number 2, but with the support of her eclectic sister tribe and doting husband, she navigates her new normal.

Featuring Madia Hill Scott, Nathan James, Brittany Bellizeare, Dina Thomas, Diana Sanchez, Pamela Shaddock, James Tang, and Rashawn Nadine Scott.

Categories
First Fifteen

February 28, 2021

Feedback from Kemiyondo Coutinho and Ester Lou Weithers

Strange Fruit by Deborah Jane Burke (musical short film)

Lashelle Robinson, a Wall Street executive travels back to the 1800s to rescue her ancestor, Inka, from a murderous lynching – all to lift the curse off her interracial marriage.  Told through rap, song, and dance.

Featuring Zakiya Young, Yemie Sonuga, McKenzie Mack, Phil Idrissi, Connor Sullivan, Leonard A. Thomas, Kevin Rindfleisch, and Kike Ayodeji.

Gordon Hill Uprising by Chance Parker and Casey J. Adler (drama pilot)

A compact humane drama, which shines a light on school reform and social disempowerment.

Featuring NayNay Kirby, Jahi Bogard, Lee Sherman, Christian Rayce, Eric B. Anthony, Leonard A. Thomas, Adam Cox, DonJuan Futrell, Suzan Mikiel, Chet Anekwe, Andrew Truong, and Inger Tudor.

Solomon’s Mood by Tryphena Wade (dramatic short film)

Two lovers chronicle their desire and quest for one another. Their close encounters and his boldness put them in close proximity to one another. Will they each recognize that the other is “the one”?

Featuring Edward Young III, sola bamis, Shinelle Azoroh, and Yemie Sonuga.

Categories
First Fifteen

February 21, 2021

The Cost of Living written by Alma Schofield and directed by Kimberly Hébert. Feedback from Loy A. Webb.

In the year 1891, Ida B. Wells, a free black business owner from Memphis, TN, has embarked on an anti-lynching crusade after a traumatic event inspires the young journalist to take action. As she uses her voice and her resources to expose the atrocities of the south in the days following emancipation, she learns that speaking out in the name of justice can have dire and unexpected consequences, not only for herself, but also for the people that matter most to her. 

Featuring Kelly Jenrette, Bechir Sylvain, Yvette Cason, Maurice Demus, Leonard A. Thomas, Jonah Wharton, Rod McLachlan, Aliyah Muhammad, and Nekia Renee.

Categories
First Fifteen

January 31, 2021

Full Reading of Lauren Glover’s The Dirty Spoon under the direction of Star Victoria

The Dirty Spoon by Lauren Glover (southern gothic drama pilot)

In 1930s Savannah, Georgia, blues, jazz, and supernatural forces prevail at rural juke joint The Dirty Spoon. The Spoon’s proud owner, SADIE MACK (30s), fights to save her beloved business—and later her life—after a powerful white man is found murdered on the premises. But in order to do so, she must overcome her hatred of the dead man’s wife—her own white passing sister, Anna.

Featuring Keyla McNeely, Rob Nagle, Kalea McNeill, Alex Morris, Asia Lynn Pitts, Leonard A. Thomas (@leonard), Amy Scribner, Lexi Graboski (@lexig), Jonah Wharton, Alex Crow, and Eric B. Anthony

Categories
First Fifteen

February 23, 2020

Feedback from Kemiyondo Coutinho

Untitled Sarah Labie Pilot (comedy pilot)

An Ivy-League educated black woman on the verge of getting married into a very white family blackmails a stranger into becoming her best friend in an effort to retain a connection to her culture.

Featuring Tish Arana, Connor Sullivan, @leonard, @lexig, and Pamela Shaddock 

Beautiful Skin by Malik Aziz (drama pilot)

Bilal Salaam, a hugely successful commercial actor, is ready to transition into a movie star. But will he have to sacrifice his marriage and his family to do so?

Featuring Marshall Givens, Keyla McNeely, @leonard, @lexig, Connor Sullivan, and Jenelle Randall

Diversion by Mika Frank (drama pilot)

When the First Lady of Cleveland learns that her mayor husband’s opioid addiction has spiraled out of control, she’s forced into starting a drug ring to save her family. 

Featuring Keyla McNeely, Tobie Windham, Skye Shepard, @leonard, Larry Powell, @lexig, and Joyce Lee

Categories
First Fifteen

January 25, 2020

Feedback from Jocelyn Bioh and Sylvia Jones

Everything But the Burden by Tish Arana (short film)

When culture vultures apply for citizenship on a new planet colonized by black people, three judges must decide how to deal with folks who want everything but the burden.

Featuring James Tang, Keyla McNeely, Rashawn Nadine Scott, @leonard, Tiffany Oglesby, Erica Castillo, and Akilah Walker

Dirty Spoon by Lauren Glover (gothic drama pilot)

In 1930s Savannah, Georgia, blues, jazz, and supernatural forces prevail at rural juke joint The Dirty Spoon. The Spoon’s proud owner, SADIE MACK (30s), fights to save her beloved business—and later her life—after a powerful white man is found murdered on the premises. But in order to do so, she must overcome her hatred of the dead man’s wife—her own white passing sister, Anna.

Featuring Keyla McNeely, Rashawn Nadine Scott, Jonah Wharton, Mike Flood, Akilah Walker, Tiffany Oglesby, and @leonard

Hashtag Roulette by Christina Martin (comedy pilot)

An impulsive reality star seeks to reconnect with her estranged father by running for Senate. Her father? The President of the United States.

Featuring Jonah Wharton, Akilah Walker, Keyla McNeely, Mike Flood, Tiffany Oglesby, Nekia Renee, @leonard, and Rashawn Nadine Scott

Ladylike by Katherine Street (comedy pilot)

A half-hour comedy that follows four old college friends who attempt to redefine womanhood. This diverse, raunchy, and unapologetically feminist series explores life, love and everything in between while passing the Bechdel test with flying colors… most of the time.

Featuring Lakisha May, Akilah Walker, Nekia Renee, Erica Castillo, James Tang, Jonah Wharton, Rashawn Nadine Scott, and Kike Ayodeji

Categories
First Fifteen

October 2019

Feedback from Ngozi Anyanwu and Keith Josef Adkins

Ivar Tunnel (Shook Ones) by Akilah Walker (short film)

A young black woman confronts a white woman taking refuge underneath a bridge in Hollywood.

Featuring sola bamis, Keiana Richàrd, Angela Gulner, ToaVon Sheats, and Christy Escobar

Slice by Alexi Gonzalez (sci-fi pilot)

Amaris is an intimacy-avoiding computer programmer who has been tasked with a mission to hunt down the Slices of her soul she lost to the loves and lusts of her past. Will Amaris accept this journey into the dark recesses of her past or suffer the fate of the terrifying Engulfment?

Featuring Alondra Lara, sola bamis, ToaVon Sheats, Tristan Laurence Perez, Candice Ramirez, Gita Reddy, and Rashawn Nadine Scott

The Enduring by Evan Manning

A young educator placed on administrative leave applies for a home-schooling job she found online, while waiting for her hearing. The high-profile gig thrusts her into a world of political coercion, murder and generations-old black magic.

Featuring Keiana Richàrd, Gita Reddy, @leonard, Tiffany Oglesby, ToaVon Sheats, Candice Ramirez, Michael Flood, Kila Kitu, Jernard Burks, and James Tang

The Turnpike by Keith Josef Adkins (suspenseful feature)

After organizing a diversity rally on campus, a young Black college student finds herself the target of a killer and quickly learns that sometimes your ally is your enemy.

Featuring Candice Ramirez, @lanorahayden, Kila Kitu, Jernard Burks, Jonah Wharton, James Tang, Alex Crow, @leonard, and Michael Flood

Categories
First Fifteen

September 2019

Reggie and Jackson Save the World by Reggie Watkins and Jackson McQueen (comedy pilot)

When aliens plot to take over Earth, two Black dudes come to the rescue. It’s Atlanta meets Alien Nation. It’s the Odd Couple meets V (1984).

Featuring Marshall Givens, Melvin Jackson Jr., Tamika Simpkins, William Christopher Stephens, @lanorahayden, @meganhope, Connor Sullivan, Giovanni Ortega, and @leonard.

The Book of Saya by Stephanie M. Mosley (drama pilot)

After getting dumped on the day of her wedding, a young woman moves to New York City to pursue her dreams and overcome the trauma of a past rape.

Featuring sola bamis, Tory Devon Smith, Jernard Burks, Tamika Simpkins, @lanorahayden, William Christopher Stephens, Marshall Givens, and Taylor Bennett

Hun by Christina Martin (dramedy feature)

A stay-at-home mom searching for something more, finds herself ensnared in the world of multi-level marketing.

Featuring @lanorahayden, Kelly McCreary, @leonard, Millie Langford, Akilah Walker, and Gita Reddy.

Cinderellas of America (C.O.A.) by Kemiyondo Coutinho (comedy pilot)

When Cindy’s happily ever after is threatened by border control, she takes matters into her own hands. 

Featuring Makha Mthembu, Rashawn Scott, @meganhope, Tamika Simpkins, Connor Sullivan, Giovanni Ortega, Melvin Jackson Jr., ToaVon Sheats, Akilah Walker

Categories
First Fifteen

June 2019

Legacy by Maurice Hall (drama pilot)

Past demons resurface for twins, Romerio and Maggie, when their father is released from prison after 25 years for a murder he stills says he did not commit.

Featuring Christopher Watson, Nikiva Dionne, Alex Crow, Reggie Watkins, Keyla McNeely, William Christopher Stephens, Chelsea Harvey, Chavonne LeNoir, Jernard Burks, Jenelle Randall, and @leonard

The Black Diamond by Evan Manning (drama pilot)

Iron-willed Effa Manley faces racism, scrupulous businessman and egotistical players as she runs a Negro League baseball team in 1940s Newark.

Featuring Jenelle Randall, William Christopher Stephens, Danny Jacobs, Christopher Watson, @leonard, Chavonne LeNoir, ToaVon Sheats, Dani Woodson, Jernard Burks, Alex Crow, and Keyla McNeely

Cleveland Transit by Mika Frank (comedy pilot)

When an unruly bus driver’s attempt to save a passenger goes viral, she’s forced to take matters into her own hands in order to save her job. 

Featuring Kimberly Hébert Gregory, @leonard, Chelsea Harvey, Jernard Burks, Jenelle Randall, Danny Jacobs, Dani Woodson, Hank Chen, Newton Kaneshiro, and Keyla McNeely

Categories
First Fifteen

May 2019

Life Unknown by Jennifer Sun Bell (short film)

After losing her unborn child in a horrific car accident, a timid young woman feeling trapped by her small town and boyfriend must find her voice and courage again to save her friends and ultimately herself.

Featuring Hojo Shin, Eddie Liu, Candice Ramirez, @lanorahayden, Tim Chiou, Jonah Wharton, @leonard, Tamika Simpkins, and Chavonne LeNoir

Ladylike by Katherine Street (comedy pilot)

A half-hour comedy that follows four old college friends who attempt to redefine womanhood. This diverse, raunchy, and unapologetically feminist series explores life, love and everything in between while passing the Bechdel test with flying colors… most of the time.

Featuring Stacy Ike, Lexi Graboski, Karimah Campbell, Erica Castillo, Tim Chiou, Jonah Wharton, @leonard, and Lakisha May

To Serve With Honor by Alynxia America and Tony L. Patterson (drama pilot)

A gritty, one-hour drama exploring the violent, unjust and complex world of women serving in the United States Armed Forces. From sexual abuse, to love and murder; secrets are revealed and relationships are compromised.

Featuring Geffri Maya, Erica Castillo, Lexi Graboski, Millie Langford, Candice Ramirez, Jonah Wharton, ToaVon Sheats, and @leonard

Categories
First Fifteen

April 2019

For the Taking by Charice Nicole Long (drama pilot)

Follows 16 year old Remi Sanders who, on the day of high school graduation, discovers her abductor some eight years ago was never captured, is still alive and free, and possibly the father of her best friend. She goes on a quest to  become the monster who has plagued her nightmares in hopes of overtaking him and regaining control of her life.

Featuring Breana Turner, Christopher Watson, Akilah Walker, Lakisha May, Alex Crow, Antwon Jones, Breana Turner, Maurice Demus, Samantha Cutaran, Anastasia Coon, and @leonard

Untitled Theme Park Thriller by Evan Manning (thriller pilot)

Featuring @leonard, @mdemus, Samantha Cutaran, Mari Weiss, Anastasia Coon, Antwon Jones, Breana Turner, Lakisha May, Alex Crow, and Akilah Walker

Ebony Stone by Crystal P. Garland (drama pilot)

A single mother is recruited to aid an underground radical network in 1980s America.

Featuring Lakisha May, Christopher Watson, Alex Crow, Breana Turner, Anastasia Coon, Mari Weiss, and Akilah Walker. 

Categories
First Fifteen

March 2019

Welcoming Jolie by Charice Nicole Long (drama feature)

An estranged recovering addict returns home for the first time in 5 years to say goodbye to her dying father and make amends with her family at the expense of her sobriety, empire, and perhaps her life.

Featuring Kelly McCreary, Maurice Hall, Lakisha May, @leonard, Millie Langford, and Akilah Walker

Canary by Crystal P. Garland (drama pilot)

After a night with an older man, an undocumented teen is implicated in her best friend’s disappearance. 

Featuring Kelly McCreary, Millie Langford, Akilah Walker, Maurice Hall, Lakisha May, and @leonard

Hun by Christina Martin (feature)

A stay-at-home mom searching for something more, finds herself ensnared in the world of multi-level marketing.

Featuring Kelly McCreary, Lakisha May, @leonard, Millie Langford, and Akilah Walker

Categories
First Fifteen

December 6, 2020

Feedback with Alesia Etinoff and Kemiyondo Coutinho

Grief Is Normal by Tiffany Yvonne Cox & Mildred Marie Langford (dramedy pilot)

Two driven, African American women in 1958 Los Angeles, find an unlikely friendship after meeting at The Center for Unfortunate People.

Featuring Joy Brunson, Tiffany Oglesby, CJ Lindsey, Deanna Reed Foster, Tryphena Wade, LaNora Terraé Hayden (@lanorahayden), Rashawn Nadine Scott, Gail Rastorfer, and LaNisa Frederick

Nut City by Tamika Simpkins (dramedy pilot)

In the vein of the classic whodunit, in the small town of Walnut City, two odd-couple-esque detectives, with a complexly layered partnership, investigate a murder/kidnapping, interrogate the quirky residents and uncover a town secret more eerie than the blood left on the carpet.

Featuring Dana L. Wilson, Brooks Brantly, Lee Sherman, Rashawn Nadine Scott, LaNora Terraé Hayden (@lanorahayden), Jully Lee, Trip Langley, and Kila Kitu (@kilakitu)

Red Planet One by Lainnie Contreras Felán (sci-fi pilot)

A troubled, smart ass, space cop leads an investigation to solve a shocking disappearance, partnering with a mysterious ally, while Red Planet Colonists confront the threat of space sickness.

Featuring Alondra Lara, Tim Chiou (@timmchiou), Jeff Thompson, Alejandro Patiño, Selina Scott-Bennin, Elena Campbell-Martinez, and Amelia Rico

Categories
First Fifteen

November 8, 2020

Feedback from Delondra Mesa

Joy and Pain by Sanford Jenkins (feature)

A meditation and an exploration of two families, through a young couple burying a parent and bearing their first child

Featuring Kadeem Ali Harris, Fikile Mtwalo, Tamika Simpkins, Lee Sherman, Roi Johnson, Dani Harris, Kila Kitu, Trip Langley, and Alex Morris

crocodile by sola bamis (short film)

two exes meet for a lunch date. one gets closure.

Featuring Alfie Fuller, Michael Oloyede, Akilah Walker, and Nekia Renee

Categories
First Fifteen

October 25, 2020

Feedback from Kemiyondo Coutinho and Keith Josef Adkins

Shady Grove by Evan Manning (thriller pilot)

In the summer of 2000, a pair of teens working at Shady Grove Theme Park unknowingly awaken a spectral menace from the Civil War era and find themselves thrust in the middle of a decades-old battle with nothing less than the survival of the park and its youthful employees at stake. 

Featuring @leonard, Kimberly Hollkamp-Dinon, Samantha Curatan, Nancy Ma, Ricky Davis Jr, Justyn Williams, Rashawn Nadine Scott, Helen Eigenberg, Kike Ayodeji, Kevin Rindfleisch, Jameson Cherilus, and Gita Reddy

Penitent by Teresa Jusino (fantasy/supernatural pilot)

Cassie is the Devil’s favorite demon, and her job is to deliver marked souls to Hell. But when two of her human friends are marked for damnation, she bucks the cosmic system and has to work her way into Heaven to set things right, calling everything she’s ever believed about her identity and the universe into question.

Featuring Alexis Santiago, Nekia Renee, Mateo Mpinduzi-Mott, Nita Torres Young, Lynx Girgado, Brian Hamill, Bjorn DuPaty, Jameson Cherilus, Kevin Rindfleisch, and Rashawn Nadine Scott

A Human Problem by Christina Martin (sci-fi short film)

When things go terribly wrong at a tech company, a frustrated job seeker is faced with a world-changing dilemma.

Featuring Jerrika Hinton, Dominique Salerno, Jerry Madison Jr., Vipul Munshi, Blair Busbee, Alex Morris, and Nekia Renee

Categories
First Fifteen

October 11, 2020

Root by Katherine Street

We were so enthralled when we heard the first 15 pages of Katherine Street’s thriller pilot at our first virtual reading. On Sunday, October 12th, we revisited Root to see what unfolded in the full pilot.

Following her mother’s death, Eva transfers to Dunbar University, falls in with a group of burgeoning hoodoo rootworkers – and through their half-baked spells of revenge and self-improvement, she discovers the truth about her own supernatural lineage.


Featuring Akilah Walker, Kaiy Watts, Rashawn Nadine Scott, Candice Ramirez, @mdemus, Daryl Keith Roach, Kimberly Hébert, Jared Corbin, @lanorahayden, Marshall Givens, Pamela Shaddock, Andrew Elvis Miller, and Nekia Renee

Categories
First Fifteen

November 22, 2020

La Femme Nakia by Christina Martin and directed by Pete Chatmon

On Sunday, November 22nd, we heard Christina Martin’s action pilot La Femme Nakia. A disgraced FBI agent fighting to be reinstated finds herself working on the wrong side of the law…for the right reasons. This full reading featured @jerrika, Christina Elmore, Tryphena Wade, Rashawn Nadine Scott, Brooks Brantly, Gilbert Chayrez-Chavarria, Amy Scribner, James Tang, Alex Crow, Erik Heger, Greg Allan Martin, @leonard, and Alex Morris

With feedback from Erika L. Johnson and Niya Palmer

Categories
First Fifteen

November 1, 2020

Full reading of Delondra Mesa’s horror pilot River People with direction by Elena Campbell-Martínez

A tween journalist discovers her conservative hometown has awakened a curse that will slowly kill them all…starting with her own father.

Featuring Isabella Infante, Kyler Naef, Manny Correa, James Morrison, Romi Dias, Zac Gould, Cait Pool, Chelsea Rendon, Raquel Salinas, Alexandria Delgado, Newton Kaneshiro, and Amelia Rico.

Categories
First Fifteen

December 13, 2020

BOY-Friends by Devere Rogers and Vladimir Versailles

On Sunday, December 13th, we laughed and listened to the full script of Devere and Vladimir’s comedic pilot, BOY-Friends, which followed Derek Duplesis and his three best friends.

Derek Duplesis is a cocky up-and-coming comedian who is winning – until his girlfriend publicly rejects his marriage proposal and he has an embarrassing drunken meltdown that goes viral. There to catch him are his three gay best friends. To save money and figure out his life, he moves in with JoJo, Tyrone, and George, reuniting their squad, Da BOYS. The four roommates navigate life in this new – slightly awkward arrangement – and learn what it means to be a real man, secure in your masculinity and sexuality, and the true meaning of love, shade, and all things fabulous.

Featuring Larry Powell, Cornelius Smith Jr., Roger Q. Mason, Tracie Thoms, Steven Strobel, and Michael Rishawn

Categories
First Fifteen

September 13, 2020

Feedback from Kemiyondo Coutinho and Marcus Gardley

Broken Windows by Jaz Wright

A mother picks her son up from jail and confronts him in an attempt to reconcile her failures as a parent.

Featuring Kadeem Harris, Saidah Arrika Ekulona, Monnie Aleahmad, LeRoy S. Graham III, and Dani Woodson

Infidel by Sabah Muhammad

When her mosque comes under scrutiny for illegal activity, a devout Muslim mother must reexamine her loyalty to the minister and her devotion to her husband, who might be the leaders of an elusive crime cartel that has dominated Atlanta for decades.

Featuring Millie Langford, Christopher Watson, Kadeem Ali Harris, @leonard, Tamika Simpkins, Jernard Burks, Monnie Aleahmad, Arnell Powell, Nekia Renee, Amelia Akpotu, Lee Sherman, and Dani Woodson

Categories
First Fifteen

June 28, 2020

Feedback from Kemiyondo Coutinho and Amy Aniobi

Wednesday Morning by Pete Chatmon and Candice Sanchez McFarlane

On the morning after Election Day, Jeannine Hamilton discovers that if you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu. After losing a local upstate election, Jeannine pays a surprise visit to her brother, Wesley’s, palatial estate. She unexpectedly finds herself at a celebratory brunch surrounded by his duplicitous comrades as they engage in a dangerous game of political horsetrading, leaving Jeannine to make a life or death decision before dessert can be served…

Featuring Kelly McCreary, Lawrence Stallings, Spencer Garrett, Ben Hogoboom, Amy Scribner, Newton Kaneshiro, Alex Collado, Elena Campbell-Martinez, and Rashawn Nadine Scott

La Femme Nakia by Christina Martin

A disgraced FBI agent fighting to be reinstated finds herself working on the wrong side of the law…for the right reasons.

Featuring Jerrika Hinton, Amy Scribner, Ben Hogoboom, Alex Collado, Lawynae Marie, Tryphena Wade, Rashawn Nadine Scott, Greg Allan Martin, Monnie Aleahmad, James Tang, and Tamika Simpkins

Musical Guest: Arshad Goods

Categories
First Fifteen

June 13, 2020

Feedback from Dewayne Perkins and Kemiyondo Coutinho

Dungeon Master by Jaz Wright

Dungeon Master is about three underemployed friends in their late twenties who cope with their failure to launch through their mutual love of hip-hop and “Dungeons & Dragons.”   

Featuring @leonard, Kalea McNeill, Carlos Andrickson, Jernard Burks, Cassandra Hunter, and Mike Flood

Daddy by Shawn Christopher Lovell Nabors  

Hasani Bell, a closeted former child star, who has been out of the spotlight for quite some time, has high hopes of making a resurgence into the public eye and becoming the well respected actor he’s always known he could be. Just as he is blessed with a divine stepping stone opportunity, he also finds out that he is pregnant with more than he ever imagined possible. Quite…literally.

Featuring Donnell E. Smith, Jamal Douglas, Katherine Wright, Tory Devon Smith, Doron J. Mitchell, Heather Alicia Simms, and Nekia Renee

Such Nice Shoes by Christine Renee Miller

What happens when you mix NY’s wealthiest yoga clients, a crumbling MTA, the city’s homeless, crappy auditions, suicide, and breast cancer? A typical New York City day.

Featuring Leilani Marie Smith, Nick Court, Phil Idrissi, Gilbert Chavarria, Jully Lee, Kila Kitu, Tamika Simpkins, Trip Langley, and Cassandra Hunter

Categories
First Fifteen

September 27, 2020

Name: Sophia and Cinderellas of America

At this reading, it was all laughs! First, we heard Mars Wolfe’s comedy pilot Name: Sophia, then comedian/actor Hank Chen performed a set, and we ended with Kemiyondo Coutinho’s comedy pilot Cinderellas of America.

Name: Sophia by Mario (Mars) Wolfe

How does one become the next Oprah? Sophia’s asking for a friend. Having just moved in with her TV producing son, Sophia must unpack dreams deferred, and pick up networking rules in the new place she calls home. But how soon can a newly single, mama of two, call LA home?

Featuring Kimberly Hébert, York Walker, Tryphena Wade, Tamika Simpkins, Ayanna Bria Bakari, @lanorahayden, Deirdre Lyons, Christopher Wayland, Cage S. Pierre, Jesse Trout, JJ McGlone, and Abie Irabor

Cinderellas of America by Kemiyondo Coutinho

When Cindy’s happily ever after is threatened by border control, she takes matters into her own hands. 

Featuring Makha Mthembu, Lateefah Holder, Kila Kitu, Michael McIntire, York Walker, Giovanni Ortega, Michael Oloyede, George Caleodis, Dominique Salerno, @leonard, Nono Osuji, Abie Irabor, and Nekia Renee

Comedian: Hank Chen

Follow Us

First Fifteen © 2020 All Rights Reserved