Writer / Producer
I’ve worked with an EGOT. I wrote and subsequently shot an original network pilot shortly after giving birth to twins. I cried embarrassing tears of joy on a speechless Candice Bergen upon shooting my first episode of Murphy Brown. Just another surreal ‘day in the life’ of a TV writer.
Born in Southern California, I lived in Orange County until the middle of the eighth grade, back when the orange groves were still there. My parents decided it was time to move to Northern California and subjected me to the horrors of a new middle school – in January. They pulled that mid-year move on me again in the tenth grade and while I absolutely hated it at the time, fine, it was character-building. With an older brother and sister in college by the time I started kindergarten, I grew up somewhat an only child, playing the piano (and a short stint on the accordion), reading lots of Nancy Drew books, bowling at UCLA on the weekends and watching tons of TV, especially “I Love Lucy,” which aired at least four times a day back then.
I loved my high school years in the Central Valley and remain so grateful for the amazing friendships I made there. I went on to UC Santa Barbara where I majored in English and interned in the news department at a local TV station before moving back to So Cal for a first job in entertainment p.r. I wanted to be in the presence of actual scripts and this opportunity got me on actual stages. From Blossom to The Golden Girls to even an Eric Clapton tour, I learned a lot about promotion and confirmed that I definitely did not want to be a publicist and absolutely did want to be a TV writer.
Determined, I found my way to an assistant position at ABC Network in Development and Current Programming and then a writers’ assistant dream job on Roseanne. It was one of the most enjoyable jobs I’ve ever had, despite the crazy hours driving home on the 101 at 3 am and having to report to 25 insanely hilarious writers on the staff.
From there, things started to take off as I worked with a writing partner, got into the Warner Bros. Writing Workshop and landed a staff job on Murphy Brown. I went on to write on ABC’s Life’s Work, starring Lisa Ann Walter, before moving to New York City as a newlywed. Staffing positions were fewer on the East Coast, but the thrill of living in the big city inspired me to think out of the box.
I just wanted to write and embraced every opportunity I could, from the original Disney Channel movie, Get a Clue, starring Lindsay Lohan, to the Nickelodeon series, Just for Kicks, for which I won a WGA award, to a head writer position on MTV’s Spy Groove. I also pitched and wrote many pilots, including See Jayne Run for ABC, starring Heather Locklear, 30 Under 30 for Bravo and The Chaos Chronicles for Nick at Nite. Along the way, I wrote on a number of preschool series, including HBO Family’s A Little Curious, and many freelance episodes on other shows, like Dragon Tales, Little Einsteins and Angelo Rules, to name a few.
Lucille Ball remains my hero and there are countless times over the years when I’ve found myself channeling her ‘nothing’s gonna stop me’ attitude, be it “bumping into” Jim Carey at the hotel bar in my wedding gown, getting busted by a top fashion magazine editor for using a Kate Spade diaper bag as a “computer case” or staying on a notes call, despite several firemen putting out a little fire in my basement. When I set my mind to something, somehow, I’m determined to make things happen, even if they don’t unfold quite the way I planned.
Recently, I added a new skill: directing. My short film The Happiness Intervention, was shot in Iceland with an Icelandic cast and crew and confirmed for me why that stunning destination is consistently among the happiest countries in the world. It was an ambitious project to take on, but life changing and an incredible reminder, the best way to learn something, is to go do it. As Lucy herself once said, “I’d rather regret the things I’ve done, than regret the things I haven’t done.”
Places I Teach
Classes
Come with a new story idea or a draft that you are ready to finish or revise for film or episodic TV. Over the course of our daily meetings, if you are working on something new, you will develop your material from concept to beat sheet. If you are revising, you will complete a revised draft.
