OnWriting: A Podcast of the WGA East

Geri Cole hosts the third installment of the OnWriting Guide to Crafting Scripted Podcasts. In Parts One & Two, Kaitlin Fontana spoke with podcast writers and producers about the industry’s business side: what the market looks like, how to break in, and how to protect yourself once you’re there; and about the creative side of the industry: from recruiting talent, to necessary skill sets, to creative satisfactions, and beyond. Now, in Part Three, Geri is joined by three guests—Lissette Alvarez, Matt Klinman, and Lowell Peterson—to talk about the WGA Audio Alliance a new initiative from the Writers Guild of America, East which aims to establish and improve the standards and rights for writers in the scripted podcast industry. To learn more, visit wgaeast.org/WGAAudio or follow @WGAAudio on Twitter. About the Guests Lisette Alvarez is the owner of Stormfire Productions, an independent podcast production company. They are the writer, producer, and lead actor of the urban fantasy audio drama KALILA STORMFIRE'S ECONOMICAL MAGICK SERVICES. Matt Klinman is a writer, director and performer for television, digital and scripted audio. He is currently developing a new scripted audio series with Audible and was most recently a staff writer on the Spotify series THE LAST DEGREE OF KEVIN BACON produced by Funny or Die and the Audible series 64TH MAN produced by Broadway Video. He is the co-creator and co-director of the scripted audio series SMARTR produced by Team Coco for Luminary. Lowell Peterson is the executive director of the Writers Guild of America, East. Under his stewardship, the Guild has organized nonfiction podcast companies Gimlet, The Ringer and Parcast, which are now all owned by Spotify. To listen to the OnWriting Guide to Crafting Scripted Podcasts, Parts One and Two, visit onwriting.org and click on “Special Projects.” The OnWriting Guide to Scripted Podcasting, Part Three was hosted by Geri Cole with sound design, mixing, and tech production by Stock Boy Creative. Special thanks to Lisette Alvarez, Matt Klinman, Lowell Peterson, Jason Gordon, and Molly Beer.   Parts One and Two were written & produced by Molly Beer; hosted by Kaitlin Fontana; with sound design, mixing, and tech production by Stock Boy Creative. Special thanks to River Donaghey, Danielle Trussoni, Zack Akers, Skip Bronkie, Alicia Van Couvering, Lowell Peterson, Jason Gordon, and Marsha Seeman.   -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Geri speaks with acclaimed screenwriter, dramatist, and director Julie Taymor—co-writer and director of the new biopic THE GLORIAS—about her approach to storytelling, how projects can be shaped by limitations, how established creators like her still have to fight to get films like THE GLORIAS made, how travel has been the best education, and much more. Celebrated for her work on stage and screen, Julie Taymor’s writing and directing credits include the 2002 Frida Kahlo biopic, FRIDA; the Beatles jukebox musical, ACROSS THE UNIVERSE; and one of the most successful Broadway musicals of all time, THE LION KING, which received three Drama Desk and two Tony Awards in 1998. Her latest project, THE GLORIAS, is a biography of feminist icon Gloria Steinem. Julie and co-writer Sarah Ruhl adapted the screenplay from Gloria Steinem's memoir, My Life on the Road. The film was released on September 30, 2020, and is available to stream on Amazon Prime. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Emmy Award-winning writer Cord Jefferson joins Geri to talk about his experiences in the writers’ rooms for two of the most prestigious series currently on television, writing about race and extreme privilege, why staying in your lane is an antiquated idea, and more. Cord Jefferson was a journalist at Gawker from 2012 until 2014, when he joined the writing staff of the Starz sitcom SURVIVOR’S REMORSE. Since then, he has gone on to write for television series like THE NIGHTLY SHOW WITH LARRY WILMORE, THE GOOD PLACE, SUCCESSION, and WATCHMEN. At the 72nd Annual Writers Guild Awards, the writers of WATCHMEN and SUCCESSION won the awards for New Series and Dramatic Series categories, respectively. Cord also received an Emmy Award for co-writing the sixth episode of WATCHMEN, “This Extraordinary Being.” He is currently developing a TV series about Gawker alongside the site’s former Editor-in-Chief, Max Reed. Season 7 of OnWriting is hosted by Geri Cole, a writer and performer based in New York City. She is currently a full-time staff and interactive writer for SESAME STREET, for which she has received Writers Guild Award and two Daytime Emmys. She also performs sketch and improv at theaters and festivals around the country. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Geri is joined by documentarians Mike Wiser and Michael Kirk—the writer-producers of the FRONTLINE special “The Choice 2020: Trump vs Biden”—to discuss making documentaries that are hard-hitting but nonpartisan; their impressive catalogue of Frontline specials, which have examined everything from the Mueller report to Mitch McConnell’s takeover of the Supreme Court; the absurd timelines they work off of for all of their projects, and more. Michael Kirk was the original senior producer of Frontline from its inception in 1983 until the fall of 1987, when he created his own production company, the Kirk Documentary Group. He has produced more than 200 national television programs, and has won four Peabody Awards, four duPont-Columbia Awards, two George Polk Awards, 16 Emmy Awards, and 12 Writers Guild of America Awards for his work. Mike Wiser has worked on more than 30 films for Frontline since joining the Kirk Documentary Group in 2003. His work as a writer and producer reporting on national security, foreign affairs, sports, criminal justice, and the global financial crisis has earned him several Peabody, Emmy, and Writers Guild of America Awards. The Choice 2020: Trump vs Biden is the ninth installment of “The Choice,” a PBS Frontline investigative documentary series aiming to better inform American voters about the two major candidates of that year’s presidential election. The 2-hour program examines the biographies of President Donald Trump and presidential candidate Joe Biden, where they came from, and how they lead. The program, which recently premiered on PBS, is available to stream now on the PBS website. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Geri talks to Amber Ruffin—writer and on-air talent for LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS and the creator and host of the forthcoming NBC Peacock talk series THE AMBER RUFFIN SHOW—about the process of writing two shows concurrently, how she crafts jokes out of movie clichés, how wearing MC Hammer pants can teach you to be fearless in a writers room, and much more. Amber Ruffin is a writer and comedian who has written for LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS since its inception. As a writer for LATE NIGHT, she was the first Black woman to write for a late-night network talk show in the U.S., and has also appeared in several of the show's popular segments, such as "Amber Says What?" and "Jokes Seth Can't Tell". In 2018, she hosted the 70th annual Writers Guild Awards New York ceremony, and in 2019, she wrote for the first season of the HBO sketch comedy show A BLACK LADY SKETCH SHOW. Her new series, THE AMBER RUFFIN SHOW, is a levity- and comedy-focused late-night talk show created by and starring Amber, with her fellow LATE NIGHT writer and SECOND CITY alum Jenny Hagel serving as head writer. The show will premiere on Friday, September 25th, and will air on NBC's streaming service Peacock. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Season 7 host Geri Cole speaks with Oscar- and Writers Guild Award-winning screenwriter and director Charlie Kaufman about his latest film, how his writing is shaped by fear, finding meaning in his films, the benefits of walking, and much more. Charlie Kaufman is a critically acclaimed screenwriter and director. His writing credits include ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND—for which he received the Academy, Writers Guild, and BAFTA Awards for Best Original Screenplay—as well as BEING JOHN MALKOVICH and ADAPTATION, both of which earned him a BAFTA Award and nominations for the Writers Guild and Academy Awards in their respective screenplay categories. Three of his screenplays were included in the WGA's "101 Greatest Screenplays" project in 2005. Kaufman's feature directorial debut was the 2008 film SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK. His latest project, the Neftlix psychological drama I'M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS, is based on the 2016 novel by Iain Reid. The film is narrated by the unnamed girlfriend of Jake as the new couple travel deep into the country to visit Jake's parents' secluded farm. Upon arriving, she comes to question everything she thought she knew about Jake, and about herself. The film was released in late August and is available to stream on Netflix. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews at www.onwriting.org/ Follow us on social media:Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Kaitlin speaks with writer Katori Hall – the creator and showrunner of the Starz drama series P-VALLEY – about the show's journey from theater to TV, the showrunner as changemaker, how creating a show is like climbing a pole, and much more. Katori Hall is an acclaimed playwright whose stage credits include Hurt Village; Tina; and The Mountaintop – a fictionalized account of Martin Luther King Jr.'s last night alive, for which she received the 2010 Olivier Award for Best Play. P-VALLEY is an adaptation of Katori's play Pussy Valley. The series centers on a strip club in the "Dirty Delta" of Mississippi and the people whose lives—and secrets—revolve around it. The show premiered on Starz in July 2020, and was recently renewed for a second season. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews:www.onwriting.org/-- Follow Kaitlin on Twitter: @KaitlinFontana Follow the Guild on social media:Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Kaitlin is joined by Kristen Bartlett and Mike Drucker—the Emmy-nominated and Writers Guild Award-winning co-head writers of FULL FRONTAL WITH SAMANTHA BEE—to talk about the challenges of writing comedy remotely, how they're taking more creative chances with material and the benefits and responsibilities of being co-head writers of a late night show in 2020. Before their time on the Full Frontal writing staff, Kristen Bartlett wrote on two seasons of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, while Mike Drucker wrote on THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON and BILL NYE SAVES THE WORLD. FULL FRONTAL WITH SAMANTHA BEE is a late-night talk and news satire show starring former Daily Show correspondent Samantha Bee, and is now in its fifth season on TBS. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews:www.onwriting.org/-- Follow Kaitlin on Twitter: @KaitlinFontana Follow the Guild on social media:Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Kaitlin chats with Ramy Youssef—the writer, creator, Golden Globe-winning star, and frequent director of the Hulu comedy series RAMY—about the importance of representation in crafting his show, what was in his head when he won his Golden Globe, and why if you're going to be weird you have to earn it. Ramy Youssef kicked off his industry career as a co-star in the Nick at Nite comedy SEE DAD RUN, where he shadowed the writers' room. Since then, he's had a recurring role on USA Network's MR ROBOT and an HBO stand-up special. His latest project, RAMY, drops us into the day-to-day life of Ramy Hassan, a millennial Muslim living in New Jersey who's trying to navigate faith, family and being a first generation immigrant while also waiting in the murky waters of sex, love and trying to be good. Seasons 1 and 2 of the series are now streaming on Hulu, and the show was recently renewed for a 3rd season. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews:www.onwriting.org/-- Follow Kaitlin on Twitter: @KaitlinFontana Follow the Guild on social media:Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Kaitlin is joined remotely by Tony McNamara—the Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-winning screenwriter and writer-creator of the satirical Hulu series THE GREAT—to discuss The Great's journey from theater to television, how smart women take on the status quo, and why the show's depiction of sex is so refreshing. Tony McNamara wrote a number of critically acclaimed films and TV series in his native Australia before receiving international attention - as well as an Oscar nomination and a BAFTA win - as the screenwriter for the 2018 period piece/black comedy THE FAVOURITE. His latest project, THE GREAT, is loosely based on the life and times of Russian monarch Catherine the Great. The series, which stars Elle Fanning is the titular Catherine, and Nicholas Hoult as her caddish husband Emperor Peter, is available to stream on Hulu, and was just renewed for a second season.  -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews:www.onwriting.org/-- Follow Kaitlin on Twitter: @KaitlinFontana Follow the Guild on social media:Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast