A new live show!

And the Halpern & Schumacker recording

Specs Appeal

Friends! I’m so excited to announce a new live show that I’m producing!

Retrospecs is a show I’ve been wanting to put on for years. I’ve written before about how much I love spec scripts, the now out-of-fashion practice of new writers writing episodes of existing shows that would serve as samples.

In Retrospecs, we dig those old scripts by established writers out of their drawers and expose them to the warm light of the Elysian Theater stage. Starring actors you know and love from TV, film, comedy, and the stage. From Girls to Gilmore Girls, from the Big Bang Theory to Buffy, Retrospecs gives you new episodes of your favorite shows, written by writers who never wrote for those shows!

Here’s the ticketing link for the first show on March 17, 2-4pm. I hope you’ll attend!

But you can also live stream and watch on-demand for one week! (tix at same link)

Because I’m a nice producer, I’m biting the bullet, and the first show will feature the very first TV script I wrote, a spec of Mad About You.

I re-read it, and it’s not totally embarrassing! It’s well-plotted and there are some good jokes. And I think I achieved what a good spec ought to do, which is to show that you can write the voices of the characters.

We’re doing two scripts on March 17, and the second one is even better! Brigitte Muñoz-Liebowitz (Brooklyn 99; The Gordita Chronicles) is kind enough to volunteer a Girls spec she wrote that got her into the NBC Writers Workshop.

We’ve assembled an amazing cast to bring new life to characters you love.

And this isn't even all of them!

Including Victoria Moroles (Never Have I Ever; Teen Wolf), Julia Duffy (Newhart; Designing Women), Vella Lovell (Animal Control; Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Garrick Bernard (Single Drunk Female), Jessica Marie Garcia (On My Block; Liv & Maddie), Raymond Lee (Quantum Leap; Top Gun: Maverick), Moujan Zolfaghari (Mission to Zyxx; John Oliver), Kerry Lacy (Viola), and Shulie Cowen (Opening Night: The Improvised Musical). With more great cast to be announced!

This is going to be a blast. The Elysian is a terrific theater in Frogtown (near Silverlake), but it’s also small, so if you want to attend, get your tickets now! Hope to see you there.

What are your favorite shows from the 90s and early 2000s, the heyday of spec scripts? I’ll seek those out and add them to the schedule, if I find em!

The Q&A Recording

Below is the recording of the really fun, informative Q&A we did on Sunday night with Justin Halpern & Patrick Schumacker (Harley Quinn; Abbott Elementary). Thanks to all of you who showed up to ask questions; they were great ones! And thanks of course to Justin and Patrick for their valuable insights.

Want to be a part of upcoming Q&As or listen later?