James Spetner Chosen by Emerson College and Writers Guild of America, East Foundation for Pilot Mentorship Program

2011 Nov 9

Los Angeles's James Spetner, a senior Writing for Film and TV at Emerson College has been selected for a Mentoring Program with the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) Foundation for screenwriting, television writing, and playwriting. Emerson faculty chose eligible upper-class students and recent graduates based on their individually submitted scripts and synopses. Then, WGAE identified five professional writers based on their writing specialties to mentor the students.

The five teams of professional and aspiring writers will meet for four 90-minute, one-on-one, online sessions over the course of the semester. Based on notes and feedback from their mentors, the students will complete three drafts of their screenplays, teleplays, or theatrical plays by the end of the semester.

Emerson College has three departments that offer writing concentrations: Visual and Media Arts (VMA), Performing Arts (PA), and Writing, Literature and Publishing (WLP). Daniel Tobin, Interim Dean of the School of the Arts, sees the Mentoring Program as a natural extension of Emerson's relationship with WGAE. "The idea came from alumnus and writer, director, and Guild member Richard LaGravenese," said Tobin. "It's an amazing opportunity for our students to interact with professional writers in the Writers Guild-an organization that emerging writers strive to be accepted into because it can open so many doors."

A nonprofit organization, the WGAE Foundation's mission is to perpetuate the art and craft of storytelling, by professional and amateurs, through education and practical experience on local, national, and global levels. "Writers guiding writers; the collaborative jam sessions of ideas between storytellers-these are the basics of the Writers Guild East Foundation Mentoring Program. Professional, working writers in the fields of film, television, and theater, meeting online with students who will soon become the original voices of our culture," said LaGravenese, who's mentoring Jamie Spetner, a senior, majoring in Writing for Film and Television at Emerson. "I'm proud and grateful to Emerson College for helping us launch this unique program, whose benefits will reach beyond the classroom and across borders."

Additional mentoring teams:

• Screenwriter Jenny Lumet (Rachel Getting Married) and senior Andreas Ignatiou, Writing for Film and Television, VMA

• Writer, director Adam Brooks (Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason and Definitely, Maybe) and junior Bryce Fallon, Writing for Film and Television, VMA

• Playwright (Rounding Third) Richard Dresser and senior Emily Skeggs, Theater Studies/Acting and WLP

• Writer, producer John Markus (The Cosby Show, Taxi, and The Larry Sanders Show) and recent WLP graduate Maria Cristina Lalonde

In October, Bryce Fallon, a junior majoring in Writing for Film and Television, had his first conversation with writer and director Adam Brooks. The aspiring screenwriter was shocked when he learned that he'd been chosen to participate in the first year of the Mentorship Program. "It's such an amazing opportunity that it was hard to process at first," said Fallon, who shared the first act of his screenplay with Brooks. "He's going to give me notes and I'll keep sending him changes and more pages until I have a completed script. It's just incredible to be getting one-on-one attention from such an accomplished filmmaker."

Emily Skeggs, a senior who's pursuing a double major in Theatre Studies/Acting and WLP says her mentorship with playwright Richard Dresser is off to a great start. "After our first online meeting, his guidance helped me really deepen into the play and look forward at its future as a production. I was in extreme writer's block for a couple of weeks, but now I'm well on my way to another draft."

In December, at the conclusion of the Mentoring Program, the mentors will provide a written evaluation to an Emerson faculty member and their student.

The program will be offered again in the Spring 2012 semester.

About Emerson College

Located in Boston, Massachusetts, opposite historic Boston Common and in the heart of the city's Theatre District, Emerson College is the only four-year private college in the United States devoted to teaching communication and the arts in a liberal arts context. The College has 3,453 undergraduates and 837 graduate students from across the United States and 50 countries. Supported by state-of-the-art facilities and a renowned faculty, students participate in more than 60 student organizations and performance groups, 14 NCAA teams, student publications, honor societies, television stations including the Emerson Channel, and WERS-FM, the nation's highest rated student-run radio station. Emerson is internationally known for its study and internship programs in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., the Netherlands, China, and the Czech Republic. For more information, visit www.emerson.edu.

About WGAE

The Writers Guild of America, East, AFL-CIO (WGAE) is a labor union representing writers in motion pictures, television, cable, digital media, and broadcast news. The Guild negotiates and administers contracts that protect the creative and economic rights of its members; conducts programs, seminars, and events on issues of interest to writers; and present writers' views to various bodies of government. For more information on the Writers Guild of America, East, visit www.wgaeast.org. For more information on the Writers Guild of America, East Foundation, please visit www.wgaefoundation.org.