Chicago ScriptWorks Stages Notable Original Screenplay

CHICAGO—Chicago ScriptWorks (CSW) will present a staged reading of the original screenplay Black Friday, written by Sean Fitzpatrick. A haunting tale of a struggling writer possessed by a mysterious painting, who is taunted with shortcuts to success.

Black Friday, Fitzpatrick’s third feature-length script was a quarterfinalist in Project Greenlight’s 2005 screenwriting competition, succeeding more than 3,200 entries. As a filmmaker, Fitzpatrick has written and directed two short films; one of them, “The Continuing Adventures of Johnny Smasho,” was selected for screening at Chicago Community Cinema’s monthly film festival.

Fitzpatrick, whose current focus is solely on writing feature-length scripts, with the dream of some day directing them, has found working with CSW inspirational. “Working with Chicago ScriptWorks has ignited my passion for writing again,” Fitzpatrick says. “By having a deadline and removing the wall between writer and audience, working through this process [with CSW] has allowed me to trust my instincts instead of forcing my voice into a structure. Knowing people will be watching and listening to my work has freed me up and helped me disavow myself from the rigid rules of screenwriting.”

Black Friday will be performed by professional actors on Wednesday, October 19, 2005, 7:00 p.m., Chicago Cultural Center Studio Theater, 77 E. Randolph St, Chicago, Illinois.

Chicago ScriptWorks Stages IFP/Chicago Contest Winner

CHICAGO—Chicago ScriptWorks (CSW) will present a staged reading of the IFP/Chicago Onstage with CSW winning screenplay Wish I Might, a magical tale of two teenage stepsisters named Audrey and the one wish that will either bring them together or tear their family apart. The contest is a collaboration between CSW and IFP/Chicago to provide IFP members an opportunity to win a prestigious staged reading of their winning script.

Wish I Might, written by Lauren Fischer is also a semifinalist in the 2005 PAGE International Screenwriting Awards competition, a competition Fischer placed in last year as a quarterfinalist with another script. The Contest will announce its 2005 contest winners in September.

Currently, a manuscript editing manager for the American Medical Association, Fischer’s background as a childhood actor led her to an undergraduate screenwriting class at Miami University in Ohio. She began writing action/adventure screenplays with her husband but soon realized she was more interested in telling dramatic stories about female characters. “So many female characters in movies are flat and underdeveloped,” says Fischer. “In my stories I try portraying women honestly.”

On her experience working with Chicago ScriptWorks, Fischer says, “Having actors read your lines aloud gives you a different interpretation. That’s a great gift for a writer because suddenly you see your screenplay in a whole new light. It opens up all sorts of possibilities.” 

Wish I Might will be performed Wednesday, August 31, 2005, 7:00 p.m., Chicago Cultural Center Claudia Cassidy Theater, 77 E. Randolph St, Chicago, Illinois.

Chicago ScriptWorks Stages Award-Winning Screenplay

CHICAGO-Chicago ScriptWorks will present a staged reading of the original screenplay, The Koi Keeper, written by Felice Bassuk & Richard F. Russell, a drama about an American girl who is kidnapped and placed in a Bangkok brothel, the gambit in this complex story of revenge.

The Koi Keeper was a winner in the 20/20 Screenplay contest in 2004 and a New York production company offered an option shortly after. The script was also a semifinalist in the Page International contest and a quarterfinalist in the Illinois-Chicago Screenwriting Competition.

A professional writer of 20 years, Bassuk was drawn to screenwriting through what she describes as "a lifelong interest in arts and culture." She quickly discovered how much craft goes into a script and how difficult it is to write a screenplay that stands out, especially one like The Koi Keeper that is "true to life, that will move people, and never bore them."

She soon enlisted the help of Russell, a published writer whom she met through an Internet screenwriting group he hosted. They began collaborating and are currently writing their third script. Since Russell lives in Indiana and Bassuk in Chicago, they do all of their writing through e-mail. "I'll write three scenes and send them to Felice and she'll write three scenes and send them to me until we have something we're both satisfied with," explains Russell.

"I thought the script was in fairly good shape but Chicago ScriptWorks has given us insights that have helped take the story to a much higher level," Bassuk said. Chicago ScriptWorks will present a staged reading of The Koi Keeper, June 8, 2005, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m., at The Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia, Chicago, Illinois.

Chicago ScriptWorks Stages Member’s Original Screenplay

CHICAGO—Chicago ScriptWorks (CSW), a bimonthly screenplay reading series, will present Anne Unger’s screenplay, The Moment of Truth, a dark comedy about a woman who spends her adult life rejecting her privileged upbringing. Alienating herself from her family, she struggles with the pain of loneliness and repeats her mother’s self-absorbed, self-medicated habits.

Unger directed more than 300 interactive dinner-theatre productions for corporate, social and public audiences in Chicago from 1995-2000. A seasoned communications professional and writer, Unger has written creative copy for American Airlines Advantage, Alberta Energy Company, Bank One, Eli Lilly and Company, Harris Bank, and communications for other companies. A member of Chicago ScriptWorks since its inception in 2003, she is the organization’s director of strategic communications.

“Being a part of Chicago ScriptWorks has been rewarding,” Unger said. “And seeing my screenplay come alive has truly reinforced the importance of this process for any screenwriter.” Chicago ScriptWorks will present a staged reading of Unger’s script The Moment of Truth, April 13, 2005, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m., the Chicago Cultural Center Studio Theatre, 77 E. Randolph, Chicago, Illinois.

Chicago ScriptWorks Stages Chicago Screenwriter's Screenplay

CHICAGO-Chicago ScriptWorks (CSW), a bimonthly screenplay reading series, will present David Bright's screenplay, H.U.D., a comedic drama about a well-meaning guy, who in an attempt to win back his fiancée's heart, is duped into co-owning a "fixer-upper" with her crazy, sentimental, and sometimes dangerously unpredictable uncle.

Bright, who decided to forgo a full scholarship in Michigan's Wayne State University creative writing program to accept an engineering scholarship at University of Michigan, realized two years into the program that he wanted to be a screenwriter and graduated from U of M with a double major in communications and English.

Bright has written several full-length feature films and dozens of comedy skits, including two that hit Second City's stage during his time in their Writer's Conservatory program. He has also worked as a production assistant on many films, including Mosquito, My Love Your Honor and Legion of the Night, in which he also performed stunts. Bright recently finished an urban comedy, White Elephant Party, he was commissioned to write, which is scheduled to be produced this year by Blu Movie Productions.

Spending several years as a video game programmer, Bright is credited with the 1995 NHL Open Ice video game and reprogramming many video arcade games to Windows 95. Currently, he's the Web master and a board member of Chicago Screenwriters Network, and the owner of The Blitz, a men's health and fitness club at 6120 N. Lincoln Ave.

"Working with the Chicago ScriptWorks team has been a unique experience. It's been almost unreal to finally find a group of people who can truly understand the screenwriter, and create a process to help them develop their work," Bright said. Chicago ScriptWorks will present a staged reading of Bright's script H.U.D., February 9, 2005, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m., The Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia, Chicago, Illinois.

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Chicago ScriptWorks (CSW) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to producing a series of staged screenplay readings, created to provide a public forum for new works and fresh voices. CSW is a valuable process for writers; it allows the creative visionary to hear their words read aloud by professionals before an audience to help them work with their vision on new levels. It assists actors in honing their skills and gives them a chance to participate in the writer's process. And it offers audience members a unique opportunity to exercise their imagination and become part of an event akin to the ancient art of storytelling.