The Beat Sheet

Aisha Ford is an award-winning filmmaker studying as a 4th year grad film student at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Over the past few years, she has written and directed short films that have broadcasted on platforms such as the American Black Film Festival Independent TV series and at multiple film festivals across the country.  Her recent accomplishments include: the recipient of the Tisch School of the Arts Dean's Fellowship, the Spike Lee Film Production Grant and the prestigious NYU Wasserman Award for her 2nd year short “Royal.” She is also the recipient of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts HBO Scholarship. In 2019, she was chosen as one of the fellow MFAs to attend the Sundance Film Festival, on behalf of the BET Blackhouse Foundation. - Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please remember to SUBSCRIBE, RATE, + REVIEW the show- I would really appreciate it. It helps other screenwriters who are interested in this story to find the show a little easier. If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co! Need to read more scripts? Join my club- we read scripts together every week! My profile name is @aquilliam and the club is called Beat Sheet Pod.  You can listen to every episode of The Beat Sheet on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher! You can click here to subscribe to the podcast everywhere via this RSS feed! The official hashtag for the podcast is #beatsheetpod  

Jahmela Yarbrough hails from Winston-Salem, North Carolina!  She is a producer and actress, known for First, First (2014) and In-Between. She currently shares and executive role with her husband, Brandon Yarbrough, as the head of Yarbrough Studios. The studio's mission is: WE ARE A TEAM OF VISIONARY FILMMAKERS FUELED BY FAITH WHO CRAFT WITH PURPOSE IN ORDER TO TELL STORIES THAT ARE EMPOWERING AND LEAVE VIEWERS WITH HOPE. –– Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please remember to FOLLOW, RATE, + REVIEW the show- I would really appreciate it. It helps other screenwriters who are interested in this story to find the show a little easier.   If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co!   You can listen to every episode of The Beat Sheet on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher! You can click here to subscribe to the podcast everywhere via this RSS feed!   The official hashtag for the podcast is #beatsheetpod   Please be sure to follow us on social media as well! You can find the show everywhere:   Instagram | @beatsheetpod Twitter | @beatsheetpod Facebook | The Beat Sheet  

B. Monét is a writer/director who graduated from Spelman College with a B.A. in English. She hails from Silver Spring, Maryland and holds an MFA from New York University in Film and Television with a concentration in writing and directing. In her films, she poses questions about identity, society, race, and culture. It is vital to her that under-represented people are shown in film, media, and television. Her award-winning short film Q.U.E.E.N. has screened at over a dozen festivals including Cannes Short Film Corner and premiered on Magic Johnson's channel ASPiRE. Additionally, B. Monét was a runner-up in the First Time Female Filmmakers Contest with Women and Hollywood. She was also named the 2017 Horizon Award Winner through Cassian Elwes, Christine Vachon and Lynette Howell - Taylor at the Sundance Film Festival. As well as a recipient of the Adrienne Shelly Foundation grant and a directing fellow for Film Independent's residency program Project Involve. Additionally, she is one of the winners for the #NewView Film Competition with Glamour and Girlgaze which champions the voices of female filmmakers. She is also one of the filmmakers in the Tisch Other Showcase that focuses on diverse artists whose voices are underrepresented in the television industry. Last year, she directed a branded short film entitled She's Revolutionary on the #MeToo founder Tarana Burke for Levi's and Girlgaze. She's been fortunate to work with Reese Witherspoon, Janet Jackson, Rosario Dawson, Chika, Rapsody and Shangela for brands like Crate and Barrel, Estee Lauder, Uber, OkayAfrica, OkayPlayer, and Hyundai. B. Monét won the 2018 Best Graduate Feature Screenplay for her feature film Q.U.E.E.N. She is a recipient of the Will & Jada Smith Family Foundation grant at Fusion Film Festival, a finalist in the Women in Film Mini Upfronts Program and a Sundance Women's Financing Intensive Project Fellow for her first feature film Q.U.E.E.N. She was selected as one of the filmmakers in the New York Stage and Film Filmmakers' Workshop at Vassar College for her Q.U.E.E.N in July 2019. Additionally, B. Monét was selected as one of the participants in the Artist Academy with the New York Film Festival and Lincoln Center. Most recently, she was selected as one of the winners for the Queen Collective in partnership with Queen Latifah, Tribeca and P&G. Her short film Ballet After Dark is exclusively streaming on BET. - Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please remember to SUBSCRIBE, RATE, + REVIEW the show- I would really appreciate it. It helps other screenwriters who are interested in this story to find the show a little easier. If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co! Need to read more scripts? Join my club- we read scripts together every week! My profile name is @aquilliam and the club is called Beat Sheet Pod.  You can listen to every episode of The Beat Sheet on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher! You can click here to subscribe to the podcast everywhere via this RSS feed! The official hashtag for the podcast is #beatsheetpod

Sade Oyinade and Deshawn Plair are a dynamic African-American female writing/producing team based in Los Angeles.  Sade most recently was a Showrunner on the BET+ crime docu-series American Gangster: Trap Queens where Deshawn served as producer of one of the most popular episodes profiling Delrhonda “Big Fifty” Hood. Prior to that, both Sade and Deshawn worked on the award-winning TV One series Unsung and Unsung Hollywood which is where their partnership began. On Unsung, Sade was Co-Executive Producer and Deshawn was a Producer and Production Supervisor. They received multiple NAACP Image Awards under the series. Both women are also directors. Sade directed the 2017 short film Yemi's Dilemma and the AIDS short Who Do You Know? which aired on ASPIRE TV. After serving as an apprentice to award-winning director Qasim Basir on his Sundance selected film, A Boy, A Girl, A Dream, Deshawn made her directorial debut with the 2019 provocative short film on gun violence, First Day Back, starring Loretta Devine and Aisha Hinds. The pair wrote and produced the short that was a featured selection in multiple film festivals and won Best Narrative Short at the International Black Film Festival. The film received distribution after premiering at the Bronze Lens Film Festival and is now streaming on UMC.TV and Amazon Prime.  Deshawn and Sade were selected as participants in the 2019 PGA Fellowship: Producers Guild Power of Diversity Master Workshop with their feature script Better Than I Know Myself. The film is an adaptation of an Essence Magazine best-selling novel by Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant. Most recently, the duo served as Co-Executive Producers of the UMC.TV comedy series For the Love of Jason and were half of the writing team for the series. Also, the pair wrote a project for BETHer titled A Long Look in the Mirror that aired on Oct 17, 2020 for Breast Cancer Awareness Month as a part of the Waiting Room series.  As a duo, they aim to tell positive stories that have meaning and impact within their community using their diverse backgrounds as inspiration. Deshawn grew up in the foster care system and was directly affected by the mass incarceration issue in this country through the imprisonment of her mother. Sade is a First-generation American  with Nigerian parents who tightly held onto their culture leading her to navigate finding a place in two different worlds. Together they embrace tackling hard issues while highlighting the good in it all.  Sade is from Silver Spring, Maryland. Deshawn hails from Kalamazoo, MI.

Kara Lee Corthron is a playwright, author, and TV writer based in Los Angeles. Her full-length plays include AliceGraceAnon (New Georges),  Holly Down in Heaven (Forum Theatre, DC area), Listen for the Light (Know Theatre of Cincinnati), Welcome to Fear City (CATF and Kansas City Rep, Kilroys' List 2016), Etched in Skin on a Sunlit Night (InterAct Theatre, Philadelphia), What Are You Worth?, and Time and a Half. Kara is the author of the young-adult novels, The Truth of Right Now from Simon & Schuster/Simon Pulse and Daughters of Jubilation from Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. TV: YOU (Netflix), seasons 2 and 3; Servant (Apple TV), season 3; The Flight Attendant on HBO Max. Also, Kings (NBC) from 2008-2009. - Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please remember to SUBSCRIBE, RATE, + REVIEW the show- I would really appreciate it. It helps other screenwriters who are interested in this story to find the show a little easier. If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co! Need to read more scripts? Join my club- we read scripts together every week! My profile name is @aquilliam and the club is called Beat Sheet Pod.  You can listen to every episode of The Beat Sheet on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher! You can click here to subscribe to the podcast everywhere via this RSS feed! The official hashtag for the podcast is #beatsheetpod

Shantira Jackson is a Chicago transplant based in Los Angeles. She is currently a writer for “The Amber Ruffin Show” on the Peacock Network and “Big Mouth” on Netflix. She was most recently a writer and consulting producer for the new "Saved By The Bell" reboot and has worked as a consulting producer on CNN's “She The People” and as a staff writer for the late-night talk show “Busy Tonight” on E!,  NPR's “Ask Me Another”, and BET's "50 Central". She has also written for the “Writer's Guild Awards”, “The Webby Awards” and “The ESPYS”. You can also catch her as a co-host on the podcast “Busy Philipps Is Doing Her Best” ___ Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please remember to FOLLOW, RATE, + REVIEW the show- I would really appreciate it. It helps other screenwriters who are interested in this story to find the show a little easier. If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co! You can listen to every episode of The Beat Sheet on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher! You can click here to subscribe to the podcast everywhere via this RSS feed! The official hashtag for the podcast is #beatsheetpod Please be sure to follow us on social media as well! You can find the show everywhere: Instagram | @beatsheetpod Twitter | @beatsheetpod Facebook | The Beat Sheet

Tanya Barfield's TV credits include Mrs America (FX), Raising Dion (Netflix), The Americans (FX, WGA Award/S4), Ray Donovan (Showtime) and Here Now (HBO). Barfield's Mrs. America episode “Shirley” was nominated for Outstanding Writing (Primetime Emmy Award and Black Reel Award), as well as an NAACP Image Award. The series is currently nominated for a WGA Award. Tanya shares a WGA Award win for her work on Season 4 of The Americans. Barfield has projects in development at Netflix, Bad Robot and Sony. As a playwright, Tanya's work has been seen off-Broadway, regionally and around the world. Her plays include: Bright Half Life, The Call and Blue Door. She is a recipient of a PEN America Playwriting Award, a LAMDA Literary Award, a Lilly Award recognizing extraordinary women in theatre, the inaugural Lilly Award Commission and a Helen Merrill Award. In addition to television writing, Barfield is the Co-Director of the Juilliard Playwrights Program. - Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please remember to SUBSCRIBE, RATE, + REVIEW the show- I would really appreciate it. It helps other screenwriters who are interested in this story to find the show a little easier. If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co! Need to read more scripts? Join my club- we read scripts together every week! My profile name is @aquilliam and the club is called Beat Sheet Pod.  You can listen to every episode of The Beat Sheet on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher! You can click here to subscribe to the podcast everywhere via this RSS feed! The official hashtag for the podcast is #beatsheetpod

Natalie Jasmine Harris is a queer-identified, Black writer/director and producer from Maryland. Her creative work often exists within the coming-of-age genre, which she views as an essential tool to re-imagine liberation for young girls, the Black community, and LGBTQ+ individuals.  Natalie received her BFA from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts in May 2020, where she graduated with Honors and received her department's award for Excellence in Community Service. Natalie is a 2020 recipient of the Directors Guild of America's Student Film Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement and The Black Film Space 2020 Black Filmmaker Fund. Passionate about the intersections between filmmaking and social justice, Natalie worked for Elizabeth Warren's Presidential Campaign in 2019 as a Video Intern and recently created a short documentary in collaboration with TIME Magazine and the Biden/Harris campaign.  Natalie is currently entering the festival circuit with her NYU thesis short film, "Pure," which received two student film grants from NYU as well as The Toronto LGBT Film Festival's RE:Focus Film Fund. She is simultaneously developing Pure into a feature-length script of the same name that she hopes to become her feature directorial debut one day. The New Orleans Film Festival recently invited Natalie to pitch the film at their annual 2020 South Pitch Competition, where she was a finalist.  As a producer, Natalie is currently producing a short animated film directed by Terrance Daye and a feature film directed by Kerry LeVielle. When she's not making films, Natalie loves to dabble in astrology, poetry, and baking - scones are her specialty :) __ Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please remember to FOLLOW, RATE, + REVIEW the show- I would really appreciate it. It helps other screenwriters who are interested in this story to find the show a little easier. If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co! You can listen to every episode of The Beat Sheet on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher! You can click here to subscribe to the podcast everywhere via this RSS feed! The official hashtag for the podcast is #beatsheetpod Please be sure to follow us on social media as well! You can find the show everywhere: Instagram | @beatsheetpod Twitter | @beatsheetpod Facebook | The Beat Sheet

Born and raised in Baltimore, MD, Nia has been a writer since the day her mother first put a pencil in her hand. Although writing has always been Nia's passion, her mother's emphasis on education led Nia to become an elementary school teacher. She has taught children for more than twenty years and raised her own two children along the way. However, Nia's passion for storytelling cannot be quenched. After years of writing for national magazines, completing two anthologies of poetry, writing children's stories, drafting a novel, writing short stories, short films, and completing two feature film scripts, Nia made the bold move to Los Angeles in 2005, to pursue the dream of reaching global audiences with her writing. reated in 2006, the short film Temporary Loss of Power, which explores the human dynamic of gender, race, and power, was her first foray into filmmaking. Then, in 2007 Nia worked on a short sci-fi film, called F*ck you, Pay Me, with indie writer-director Chris Derrick. Since then, Nia has been writing, and planning projects for her own independent production company, Audaz Entertainment. In 2008, Nia received a surprise birthday present in the announcement of her being matched with her requested mentor, Catherine Hardwicke through the Women In Film Mentor Program. Since Ms. Hardwicke's film Thirteen, Nia has been following Catherine as a source of inspiration for her own filmmaking career. Under the banner of Audaz Entertainment, in April 2009, Nia hosted the 1st Annual Muslim Artists Expo in Baltimore, MD to feature the work of graphic artists, photographers, spoken word artists, and musicians. In the same month, Nia's script, Chrysalis, a feature-length, crime drama, was selected as a Quarter-Finalist in the 13th Annual Fade In Awards. It received high marks for the premise, structure, characterization, dialogue, and overall storytelling. That same year, Nia also worked as Associate Producer on the indie documentary, Deen Tight, a film that explores the world of Hip-Hop and Islam. Nia is currently shooting a documentary in both L.A. and her hometown, Baltimore, Maryland. Not Your Average tells the story of her venture into filmmaking as an African-American, Muslim Woman. Nia is currently in post-production of her original series, Vengeful, the first police detective series led by a Black woman, since 1974's Get Christie Love. Nia is also the mother of two college students with special needs, including her son with Autism. Embracing the storytelling passion and filmmaking vision of Nia Malika Dixon, the partners and executive staff of Audaz Entertainment have come together for the distinct purpose of creating quality, compelling, diverse & inclusive, motion pictures for worldwide exhibition. ––– Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please remember to SUBSCRIBE, RATE, + REVIEW the show- I would really appreciate it. It helps other screenwriters who are interested in this story to find the show a little easier. If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co! Need to read more scripts? Join my club- we read scripts together every week! My profile name is @aquilliam and the club is called Beat Sheet Pod.  You can listen to every episode of The Beat Sheet on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher! You can click here to subscribe to the podcast everywhere via this RSS feed! The official hashtag for the podcast is #beatsheetpod

Oh yeah, we're in Season 5 now. Hello summer! Dreux Dougall is a drama and sci-fi screenwriter hailing from Silver Spring, Maryland. As a Guyanese-American, she grew up seeing the world from a different lens, and became an avid bookworm for fantasy, romance, and mystery novels. Her love of books led her into the world of television writing, and soon after moving to LA, her pilot “In Pursuit” was selected as a quarter-finalist in the Fresh Voices Screenwriting Competition, which she developed into a short film that lives on YouTube. She was also 1 out of 10 people chosen to participate in the 2019 Writers Assistant Network (WAN) Writers' Workshop. She has served as a Writers' PA on the HBO show Lovecraft Country, a Showrunner's Assistant on the AppleTV animated show Central Park, and a Writers' Assistant on the Netflix comedy, The Upshaws. She is currently repped by Abrams Artist Agency and managed by First Friday Entertainment. - Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please remember to SUBSCRIBE, RATE, + REVIEW the show- I would really appreciate it. It helps other screenwriters who are interested in this story to find the show a little easier. If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co! Need to read more scripts? Join my club- we read scripts together every week! My profile name is @aquilliam and the club is called Beat Sheet Pod.  You can listen to every episode of The Beat Sheet on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher! You can click here to subscribe to the podcast everywhere via this RSS feed! The official hashtag for the podcast is #beatsheetpod

It's summer and everything is upside down and topsy turvy for me- so what better time to have a switch up than right now, friends? We're in Season 5 now because I have just declared it to be so. Season 4 was just a couple of episodes, but that's ok! This is my theme park! Welcome to Summer 2021. I hope these episodes inspire you to get some pages done between all that outside you're getting into.  You got this. And I do, too. Enjoy the episodes and leave a review! (The rhymes write themselves) - Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please remember to SUBSCRIBE, RATE, + REVIEW the show- I would really appreciate it. It helps other screenwriters who are interested in this story to find the show a little easier. If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co! Need to read more scripts? Join my club- we read scripts together every week! My profile name is @aquilliam and the club is called Beat Sheet Pod.  You can listen to every episode of The Beat Sheet on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher! You can click here to subscribe to the podcast everywhere via this RSS feed! The official hashtag for the podcast is #beatsheetpod

Here's a drinking game: if you take a sip of water every time you hear me say "um" in this episode, you will have consumed your required amount for the day.  I also said that you were going to get a new episode today, but I love you and I Iied. I switched the whole structure up after I uploaded this episode! So get ready- exciting news next week about the show! - Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please remember to SUBSCRIBE, RATE, + REVIEW the show- I would really appreciate it. It helps other screenwriters who are interested in this story to find the show a little easier. If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co! Need to read more scripts? Join my club- we read scripts together every week! My profile name is @aquilliam and the club is called Beat Sheet Pod.  You can listen to every episode of The Beat Sheet on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher! You can click here to subscribe to the podcast everywhere via this RSS feed! The official hashtag for the podcast is #beatsheetpod

This week on the beat, we have Kelsea Mayfield! Kelsea Mayfield grew up around vibrant and passionate Black and Panamanian women—her mother, aunts, grandmothers, and older cousins—who inspired her personally and creatively with their unapologetic free spirits. Her writing centers Black womanhood, in all of its complexities, and she hopes to alleviate the pressure from Black female characters to be strong pillars. ​A drama television writer, Kelsea writes female-led thrillers and mysteries, with a dabble of horror. The characters in her pilots have been described as "lived in" and she has been commended on her "marvelous control of pace and mood." Kelsea's original pilot, DOUBLE NEGATIVE, placed in the semifinals for both the 2019 Austin Film Festival Drama Teleplay competition and the 2019 CineStory TV Retreat & Fellowship, as well as the quarterfinals in the 2021 Screencraft TV Pilot Script Competition. She has also self-published a comic book, available for purchase on Amazon Kindle. Kelsea is currently an Assistant Location Manager/Coordinator for ABC's STATION 19. Previously, she worked on Hulu's NINE PERFECT STRANGERS.  Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please remember to SUBSCRIBE, RATE, + REVIEW the show- I would really appreciate it. It helps other screenwriters who are interested in this story to find the show a little easier. If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co! Need to read more scripts? Join my club- we read scripts together every week! My profile name is @aquilliam and the club is called Beat Sheet Pod.  You can listen to every episode of The Beat Sheet on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher! You can click here to subscribe to the podcast everywhere via this RSS feed! The official hashtag for the podcast is #beatsheetpod

This week on #beatsheetpod, we have Sylvia L. Jones on the beat! Sylvia L. Jones has been an eyewitness to history again and again. The former journalist spent more than 20 years chasing the news -- reporting on monumental events including Nelson Mandela's first visit to Chicago following his release from prison, the 9/11 terror attacks from ground zero and President Barack Obama's historic elections.        Now, she has moved on to her next chapter. In the midst of traveling the nation to cover the 2016 presidential primary elections, Sylvia decided to turn in her press credentials and try her hand in Hollywood.  Never one to waste words or time, Sylvia hit the ground running. The Chicago native leveraged her comprehensive knowledge of the city's politics and neighborhoods to help launch Showtime's "THE CHI" and USA's Suits spinoff, "PEARSON." She also developed and wrote the biopic, "THE CLARK SISTERS: FIRST LADIES OF GOSPEL," executive produced by Queen Latifah, Missy Elliott and Mary J. Blige, which aired on Lifetime. Additionally, Sylvia has earned writing and producing credits on the CBS All Access thriller, "TELL ME A STORY" Ava DuVernay's romance anthology series, "CHERISH THE DAY" on OWN and Starz's "POWER BOOK IV: FORCE," the spinoff that features "Tommy."  Sylvia's vast experience covering local and national news has set her in close proximity with a wide array of people and has offered her a deep well of prototypes from which to draw traits. As a result, she gives voice to characters who feel real and down-to-earth -- even when their storylines are out of this world.    Sylvia earned her Bachelor of Arts degrees in Psychology and Communications at Stanford University and her Master of Science in Journalism at Northwestern University. She completed the Professional Program in Writing for Television at UCLA as well as the Producers Guild of America's Power of Diversity Master Workshop. Sylvia splits her time between Los Angeles and Chicago.  She most enjoys sleeping, aisle seats and sweet potato pie.  Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please remember to SUBSCRIBE, RATE, + REVIEW the show- I would really appreciate it. It helps other screenwriters who are interested in this story to find the show a little easier. If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co! Need to read more scripts? Join my club- we read scripts together every week! My profile name is @aquilliam and the club is called Beat Sheet Pod.  You can listen to every episode of The Beat Sheet on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher! You can click here to subscribe to the podcast everywhere via this RSS feed! The official hashtag for the podcast is #beatsheetpod Please be sure to follow us on social media as well! You can find the show everywhere: Instagram | @beatsheetpod Twitter | @beatsheetpod Facebook | The Beat Sheet

Welcome to Season 4, friends! Thank you for coming back. Please make sure you SUBSCRIBE + RATE the show- it will help more burgeoning screenwriters to find out conversations. Thank you in advance! This week on the beat, we have Keisha Zollar! And you may hear her cute little dogs during parts of our conversation. We're a dog friendly show over here- especially in the middle of a pantomime. Keisha Zollar is a writer-actress-comedienne who most recently worked as the showrunner on Fuse's The Read with Kid Fury and Crissle as well as the Co-EP and star of Netflix's sketch show Astronomy Club. Sher recently finished writing on the Apple Team Downey & Adam Perlman drama series based on Michael Lista's Toronto Life article “The Sting” and is currently writing on the HBO Max animated series One Love. Before that, Keisha was the Writing Supervisor at Busy Tonight. As an actor Keisha has been seen on Netflix's Orange is the New Black, Comedy Central, Nightcap, Middle of the Night, The Today Show, College Humor, TV Land, Funny or Die, IAF.tv, Above Average, MSNBC, MTV, and UCB Comedy. Keisha played the role of Sarah in Believe Her, a short about the moments after sexual assault. She has been featured by Glamour magazine, Fast Company, Paste magazine, etc, and has written for Bitch Flicks, FemSplain, and more. We talk about: how her mother's incredible sense of humor influences her writing voice how the Astronomy Club got started how she got an awesome writing job while coming back from a near-death experience (so glad you're ok!) what to do when you have a bad joke the shows that are bringing us joy during the pandemic how she got involved with the TV adaptation of my favorite podcast (after this one!), The Read and more! Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please remember to SUBSCRIBE, RATE, + REVIEW the show- I would really appreciate it. It helps other screenwriters who are interested in this story to find the show a little easier. If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co! Need to read more scripts? Join my club- we read scripts together every week! My profile name is @aquilliam and the club is called Beat Sheet Pod.  You can listen to every episode of The Beat Sheet on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher! You can click here to subscribe to the podcast everywhere via this RSS feed! The official hashtag for the podcast is #beatsheetpod Please be sure to follow us on social media as well! You can find the show everywhere: Instagram | @beatsheetpod Twitter | @beatsheetpod Facebook | The Beat Sheet

Let's talk about some of the benefits of reading scripts on a consistent basis. There are many, friends, but I just wanted to tap in and name a few. Hope it helps. Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please remember to SUBSCRIBE, RATE, + REVIEW the show- I would really appreciate it. It helps other screenwriters who are interested in this story to find the show a little easier. If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co! Need to read more scripts? Join my club- we read scripts together every week! My profile name is @aquilliam and the club is called Beat Sheet Pod.  You can listen to every episode of The Beat Sheet on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher! You can click here to subscribe to the podcast everywhere via this RSS feed! The official hashtag for the podcast is #beatsheetpod Please be sure to follow us on social media as well! You can find the show everywhere: Instagram | @beatsheetpod Twitter | @beatsheetpod Facebook | The Beat Sheet

Just wanted to quickly tap in with you and share some tips for virtual film school! xo Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please remember to SUBSCRIBE, RATE, + REVIEW the show- I would really appreciate it. It helps other screenwriters who are interested in this story to find the show a little easier.   If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co!   Need to read more scripts? Join my club- we read scripts together every week! My profile name is @aquilliam and the club is called Beat Sheet Pod.    You can listen to every episode of The Beat Sheet on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher! You can click here to subscribe to the podcast everywhere via this RSS feed!   The official hashtag for the podcast is #beatsheetpod   Please be sure to follow us on social media as well! You can find the show everywhere:   Instagram | @beatsheetpod Twitter | @beatsheetpod Facebook | The Beat Sheet

This week, I'm talking about how I come up with new writing ideas. This is really ironic because I'm currently suffering through outlining a feature film and it's not going well at all. But listen, the struggle was not coming up with the idea- I have plenty of those. It's just at this moment, the execution part is keeping me on the struggle bus. So, let's talk about what I'm not failing at and that would be coming up with ideas. I have seven touchpoints, but I don't use all of these all of the time, and I probably would add more if I had more time, but I told you that I'm already struggling writing this film, so let's go already! Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please remember to SUBSCRIBE, RATE, + REVIEW the show- I would really appreciate it. It helps other screenwriters who are interested in this story to find the show a little easier. If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co! Need to read more scripts? Join my club- we read scripts together every week! My profile name is @aquilliam and the club is called Beat Sheet Pod.  You can listen to every episode of The Beat Sheet on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher! You can click here to subscribe to the podcast everywhere via this RSS feed! The official hashtag for the podcast is #beatsheetpod Please be sure to follow us on social media as well! You can find the show everywhere: Instagram | @beatsheetpod Twitter | @beatsheetpod Facebook | The Beat Sheet

Today, we're talking about pitches. Listen, I'm on my working my way up to becoming a pitch guru, a pitch master, a pitch goddess if you will- but right now, I'm still a regular degular pitch maker who's had to practice a couple of times in front of her professors and I would like to be of a little help. So, without further ado, let's talk about 3 ways to keep people awake during your pitch.  Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please remember to SUBSCRIBE, RATE, + REVIEW the show- I would really appreciate it. It helps other screenwriters who are interested in this story to find the show a little easier. If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co! Need to read more scripts? Join my club- we read scripts together every week! My profile name is @aquilliam and the club is called Beat Sheet Pod.  You can listen to every episode of The Beat Sheet on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher! You can click here to subscribe to the podcast everywhere via this RSS feed! The official hashtag for the podcast is #beatsheetpod Please be sure to follow us on social media as well! You can find the show everywhere: Instagram | @beatsheetpod Twitter | @beatsheetpod Facebook | The Beat Sheet

I know last time I shared my favorite TV shows of all time, but this week is all about the films. I know some people prefer films over TV shows because the story ends in one sitting.  I just want to clarify- I'm not saying that these are the best films of all time, they're simply my personal favorites. In no particular order. So, without, further ado- here are my favorite films of all time.  Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please remember to SUBSCRIBE, RATE, + REVIEW the show- I would really appreciate it. It helps other screenwriters who are interested in this story to find the show a little easier. If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co! Need to read more scripts? Join my club- we read scripts together every week! My profile name is @aquilliam and the club is called Beat Sheet Pod.  You can listen to every episode of The Beat Sheet on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher! You can click here to subscribe to the podcast everywhere via this RSS feed! The official hashtag for the podcast is #beatsheetpod Please be sure to follow us on social media as well! You can find the show everywhere: Instagram | @beatsheetpod Twitter | @beatsheetpod Facebook | The Beat Sheet

Happy King Day! I hope you're spending today doing whatever is revolutionary for you. If that's taking a nap, volunteering in the community, or leading a march- I support you.  On today's episode, we're talking about what makes someone a writer that other writers want to work with. Over this past semester, I've been able to identify what makes writers trustworthy or someone that would be a good brain trust.  I hope it's helpful to you or someone who is wondering why they haven't been able to get people to collab with them. So, let's dive in.  Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please remember to SUBSCRIBE, RATE, + REVIEW the show- I would really appreciate it. It helps other screenwriters who are interested in this story to find the show a little easier. If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co! Need to read more scripts? Join my club- we read scripts together every week! My profile name is @aquilliam and the club is called Beat Sheet Pod.  You can listen to every episode of The Beat Sheet on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher! You can click here to subscribe to the podcast everywhere via this RSS feed! The official hashtag for the podcast is #beatsheetpod Please be sure to follow us on social media as well! You can find the show everywhere: Instagram | @beatsheetpod Twitter | @beatsheetpod Facebook | The Beat Sheet

I believe in TV as a communal experience. I believe that it has the power to have loved ones and strangers engage in conversations that they wouldn't otherwise. Books are my favorite medium of story, but I do recognize the power of shared stories that everyone can experience at the same, as a collective. That's what TV does. So, without further ado, and at the risk of aging myself :)- here are my favorite TV shows of all time.  Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please remember to SUBSCRIBE, RATE, + REVIEW the show- I would really appreciate it. It helps other screenwriters who are interested in this story to find the show a little easier. If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co! Need to read more scripts? Join my club- we read scripts together every week! My profile name is @aquilliam and the club is called Beat Sheet Pod.  You can listen to every episode of The Beat Sheet on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher! You can click here to subscribe to the podcast everywhere via this RSS feed! The official hashtag for the podcast is #beatsheetpod Please be sure to follow us on social media as well! You can find the show everywhere:   Instagram | @beatsheetpod Twitter | @beatsheetpod Facebook | The Beat Sheet

Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please remember to SUBSCRIBE, RATE, + REVIEW the show- I would really appreciate it. It helps other screenwriters who are interested in this story to find the show a little easier.   If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co!   Need to read more scripts? Join my club- we read scripts together every week! My profile name is @aquilliam and the club is called Beat Sheet Pod.    You can listen to every episode of The Beat Sheet on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher! You can click here to subscribe to the podcast everywhere via this RSS feed!   The official hashtag for the podcast is #beatsheetpod   Please be sure to follow us on social media as well! You can find the show everywhere:   Instagram | @beatsheetpod Twitter | @beatsheetpod Facebook | The Beat Sheet

I'm somewhere between- why strive and who gon' stop me, huh?

Earlier this year, I had Amy Aniobi on the beat! And the insight she shared, her episode is NUMBER ONE most listened to episode of The Beat Sheet.  When I talked to Amy earlier this year, this was her most updated bio at the time: Amy Aniobi is an writer/director best known for serving as Executive Producer on HBO's groundbreaking comedy series, “Insecure,” starring Issa Rae. She has multiple projects in development, including two studio features, a limited series at HBO starring Laura Dern and Issa Rae and another TV project developed with Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine. Amy recently directed the short film, "Honeymoon." She also co-created, co-directed and starred in web series “Lisa and Amy Are Black” and “The Slutty Years,” and she wrote for both seasons of the hit YouTube series, “The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl.” Amy is Nigerian, hails from North Texas, graduated from Stanford University and UCLA, and has lived both in the US (New York, the Bay Area) and abroad (France). She has mentored for several Sundance programs, including the Sundance New Voices Lab (2017, 2018) and Sundance Episodic Lab (2017), and has taught TV writing in the prestigious UCLA MFA Screenwriting Program. She enjoys travel, baking cookies and drinking whiskey. Amy ALWAYS has projects in the queue- so we will have to wait and see what she's been creating and producing recently.  In this episode, we talk about: creating fearlessly how she made her hobby her day job the journey that WOC writers go on to "move up" in the room how she's grown as a producer and more! Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please remember to SUBSCRIBE, RATE, + REVIEW the show- I would really appreciate it. It helps other screenwriters who are interested in this story to find the show a little easier. If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co! You can listen to every episode of The Beat Sheet on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher! You can click here to subscribe to the podcast everywhere via this RSS feed! The official hashtag for the podcast is #beatsheetpod Please be sure to follow us on social media as well! You can find the show everywhere: Instagram | @beatsheetpod Twitter | @beatsheetpod Facebook | The Beat Sheet

Last year, I had Racquel Baker on the beat! And the insight she shared made her episode the second most listened to episode of The Beat Sheet.  When I talked to Racquel last year, this was her most updated bio at the time: Born and raised in LA, Racquel Baker began creative writing at six years old as a way to bring all of her imaginary friends to life. When she wasn't writing as a way to escape, she was watching way too much adult TV, unsupervised. The combination of these two led her to major in Media Studies at UC Berkeley for her Bachelor's degree, and Communication at the University of Illinois at Chicago for her Master's degree. After grad school, Racquel worked in advertising as a strategic planner where she constantly read scripts for one of her clients, NBCUniversal. She became captivated by this form of storytelling and began to obsessively download TV scripts from the WGA site. She even wrote an original hour long pilot for a fellowship contest in a week. Though technical difficulties prevented her from applying, she experienced an unprecedented feeling of purpose while writing and knew it was her calling. Before quitting her job, she reached out to various writers on social media for advice on breaking into the industry. The only writer who responded was Lena Waithe. From 2015 to 2016, Racquel formed a relationship with Lena as her intern. She initially impressed Lena with her strong script coverage skills and quick turn around in completing tasks. Racquel's tenacity for learning from Lena while supporting her was unmatched, and in 2017 Racquel became Lena's full time assistant. She was primarily responsible for managing her schedule and providing creative feedback on projects in development. While employed as her assistant, Lena gave Racquel the opportunity to co-write an episode of the TV series Boomerang. Her episode, "Back in The Day", premiered on March 12th, 2019 to stellar reviews on Twitter. In April 2019, Racquel ended her time as Lena's assistant and became the Writers Assistant on the upcoming series Twenties. Once Twenties wrapped, she served as Writers Assistants on Season 2 of Boomerang,  where she was granted the opportunity to freelance write the season premiere. Since wrapping on Boomerang, she's continued to developed a number of her own projects. Since then, Racquel has become a staff writer on GOOD TROUBLE.  We talk about: what it takes to be a phenomenal writer's assistant how a serendipitous DM to Lena Waithe helped jumpstart her career the beginning and the purpose of Hillman Grad Mentorship and more! Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please remember to SUBSCRIBE, RATE, + REVIEW the show- I would really appreciate it. It helps other screenwriters who are interested in this story to find the show a little easier. If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co! You can listen to every episode of The Beat Sheet on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher! You can click here to subscribe to the podcast everywhere via this RSS feed! The official hashtag for the podcast is #beatsheetpod Please be sure to follow us on social media as well! You can find the show everywhere: Instagram | @beatsheetpod Twitter | @beatsheetpod Facebook | The Beat Sheet

Last year, I had Erica Michelle Butler on the beat! And the insight she shared made her episode the third most listened to episode of The Beat Sheet.  When I talked to Erica last year, this was her most updated bio at the time:  Erica Michelle Butler is a TV writer currently living in Los Angeles. Hailing from Third Ward, Houston, Texas, Erica received her B.S. in Communications from the University of Miami and was employed as the Writers' PA on Season 1 of Shooter (USA/Paramount). She then joined the Greenleaf (OWN/Lionsgate) staff in Season 2 as the Writers' PA, and has since been promoted to Story Editor for Season 4. Greenleaf sadly ended- I love that show! But, she is now working on a new show called DELILAH that will be coming to the OWN Network soon.  We talk about: her journey to her first writer's room position the initial discomfort that comes with pitching taking on strange jobs while working towards her screenwriter's dream how a Year of Yes helped change her career trajectory  and more! Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please remember to SUBSCRIBE, RATE, + REVIEW the show- I would really appreciate it. It helps other screenwriters who are interested in this story to find the show a little easier. If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co! You can listen to every episode of The Beat Sheet on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher! You can click here to subscribe to the podcast everywhere via this RSS feed!   The official hashtag for the podcast is #beatsheetpod Please be sure to follow us on social media as well! You can find the show everywhere: Instagram | @beatsheetpod Twitter | @beatsheetpod Facebook | The Beat Sheet  

This week on #beatsheetpod, I talk with Dayna Lynne North! Dayna Lynne North is a film and television writer, producer, cultural curator, and self-described ‘Delightful Disruptor' of the status quo. Currently, she is co-writing and executive producing YOUNG LOVE, the much-anticipated series adaptation of the Academy Award-winning short HAIR LOVE for HBO Max. Dayna is also in development with writer/director Morgan Cooper and Gabrielle Union's I'll Have Another Productions on the Quibi comedy BLACK COFFEE. Most recently, Dayna was a writer/Executive Producer and showrunner on HBO's Emmy-nominated, zeitgeist-shifting INSECURE, co-created by and starring Issa Rae. She was a Consulting Producer on the Television Critics Association and Peabody Award-winning SWITCHED AT BIRTH.  Prior to that, she was co-showrunner and Co-Executive Producer on VH1's SINGLE LADIES. Dayna was also a Co-Executive Producer on the ABC Family drama, LINCOLN HEIGHTS, which garnered the NAACP Image award for Best Drama, as well as the Gabriel Award for Best Entertainment. She was on the writing staff for the first two seasons of the CW's pop culture phenom, VERONICA MARS, starring Kristen Bell. She also wrote the holiday-themed Lifetime biopic, AN EN-VOGUE CHRISTMAS. In 2019, Dayna teamed up with founder/CEO Bridgid Coulter on the founding advisory board of Blackbird, House of Coworking – the first-ever private global coworking space designed by and for women of color. She is also on the Entertainment Committee for Time's Up and a member of Time's Up Women of Color, which aims to create a society free of gender-based discrimination in the workplace and beyond. Dayna is a native of Kansas City, Missouri, and a graduate of the USC School of Cinematic Arts.   We talk about: Why becoming a writer's assistant may help you up the Hollywood ladder What it's like to write on the final season of a show What it's like to create in the “era of the multihyphenate” Her process of adapting books for the screen   And more!   Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please remember to SUBSCRIBE, RATE, + REVIEW the show- I would really appreciate it. It helps other screenwriters who are interested in this story to find the show a little easier.   If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co!   You can listen to every episode of The Beat Sheet on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher! You can click here to subscribe to the podcast everywhere via this RSS feed!   The official hashtag for the podcast is #beatsheetpod   Please be sure to follow us on social media as well! You can find the show everywhere:   Instagram | @beatsheetpod Twitter | @beatsheetpod Facebook | The Beat Sheet

Peabody-award winning writer/producer Wendy Calhoun's unique career spans one-hour dramas, unscripted series, VR, and gaming. Currently, she serves as Consulting Producer on FBC's PRODIGAL SON. Her scripted drama credits include Co-Executive Producing and writing the historic first season of Fox's EMPIRE, as well as debut seasons of ABC's STATION 19, NASHVILLE, REVENGE, and FX's JUSTIFIED. Calhoun's developed and sold seven drama series pitches since 2015 with buyers including Touchstone TV, WBTV, NBC, The CW, Netflix, FX, Twentieth, and ABC Signature Studios. She's produced and directed over forty hours of unscripted prime-time content. Calhoun wrote and directed the virtual reality short, Left Behind, which screened at the 2016 Austin Film Festival and won “Best in VR” at Digital Hollywood. She was also the Narrative Consultant for Electronic Arts' Battlefield Hardline video game. Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Calhoun is an honored film and television alumni of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. She enjoys gardening, relaxing her family, and writing with her sweet dog, Olaf, by her side.   We talk about: Her love of pitching- and what to do if your pitch is How to effectively use your film school network (if that's the path you've chosen) What you can do when you're “dying of encouragement”-but not getting hired What world building looks like in unscripted television And more!   Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please remember to SUBSCRIBE, RATE, + REVIEW the show- I would really appreciate it. It helps other screenwriters who are interested in this story to find the show a little easier.   If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co!   You can listen to every episode of The Beat Sheet on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher! You can click here to subscribe to the podcast everywhere via this RSS feed!   The official hashtag for the podcast is #beatsheetpod Please be sure to follow us on social media as well! You can find the show everywhere: Instagram | @beatsheetpod Twitter | @beatsheetpod Facebook | The Beat Sheet

Ihuoma Ofordire was born and raised in Washington DC to Nigerian parents and is one of seven children. Highly imaginative, Ihuoma is an HBO award winning actress, writer and filmmaker. Ihuoma has written for HBO's highly anticipated series LOVECRAFT COUNTRY and FX's SNOWFALL. She's currently developing multiple projects including her directorial debut. Ihuoma pulls her creativity from her multicultural background infusing artistic inspiration from her ancestral land and also from her American upbringing. Ihuoma splits her time between Los Angeles and Lagos, Nigeria.
 We talk about: Creating a mood board to enhance her writing Why editing is her favorite (!) part of filmmaking Submitting and creating a period drama piece with Issa Rae's ColorCreative her love of Black people in period pieces her writer's playlist And more! Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please remember to SUBSCRIBE, RATE, + REVIEW the show- I would really appreciate it. It helps other screenwriters who are interested in this story to find the show a little easier.   If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co!   You can listen to every episode of The Beat Sheet on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher! You can click here to subscribe to the podcast everywhere via this RSS feed!   The official hashtag for the podcast is #beatsheetpod   Please be sure to follow us on social media as well! You can find the show everywhere:   Instagram | @beatsheetpod Twitter | @beatsheetpod Facebook | The Beat Sheet

This week #onthebeat, I'm talking to Stacy Osei-Kuffour!   Hailing from Chicago, Illinois, Stacy Osei-Kuffour is an Emmy-winning writer, playwright, and actress. Born to a Chicago-native mother and a Ghanaian-born father, Stacy grew up with a love for storytelling. Her goal as an artist is to bring untold stories to the stage and screen, stories that challenge our political, societal, and stereotypical views of the Black experience. Her passion led her to a BFA in drama from NYU and an MFA in playwriting from Hunter College. Her previous plays include: Dirty Blood, Animals (which received an Irv Zarkower Award), The Pearl and The Black Sea (which received an Honorable Mention in The Kilroy's 2015 List), and Hang Man (which received an Honorable Mention in The Kilroy's 2017 List and a production at The Gift Theatre in Chicago). Stacy was also involved in Los Angeles' Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST), Youngblood, MADLAB, and the Nashville Repertory Theatre's Ingram Play Lab alongside Christopher Durang. She has been the recipient of the MacDowell Colony Fellowship and PLAY LA's Humanitas Prize. As of late, Stacy has transitioned into television writing where she has received her first Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for her work on PEN15, shared with the series creators Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle.  Most recently, Stacy served as a Writer and Story Editor for HBO's critically-acclaimed series and Emmy winning series, Watchmen.  We talk about: how growing up in a "weird" town helped to shape her writer's voice how she gets her ideas out of her head and into the universe character and world building exercises look differently in the playwriting world vs. TV/film her experience in the Watchmen writer's room and more! Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please remember to SUBSCRIBE, RATE, + REVIEW the show- I would really appreciate it. It helps other screenwriters who are interested in this story to find the show a little easier.   If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co!   You can listen to every episode of The Beat Sheet on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher! You can click here to subscribe to the podcast everywhere via this RSS feed!   The official hashtag for the podcast is #beatsheetpod   Please be sure to follow us on social media as well! You can find the show everywhere:   Instagram | @beatsheetpod Twitter | @beatsheetpod Facebook | The Beat Sheet

This week, we have Shernold Edwards on the beat!   SHERNOLD EDWARDS is an award-winning film and TV writer with roots in genre/sci-fi and family drama. Shernold adapted the acclaimed novel A Day Late And A Dollar Short by Terry McMillan (Waiting To Exhale) into a TV movie for Lifetime starring Whoopi Goldberg and Ving Rhames. For that project, she received the 2015 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Writing in a Television Movie or Mini-Series. Shernold has also written for the final three seasons of SyFy's Haven, was a Producer on the third season of Fox's Sleepy Hollow, a Producer on season two of Amazon's Hand of God (starring Ron Perlman and Dana Delany) and a Consulting Producer on the powerful CBS limited series THE RED LINE, exec produced by Ava DuVernay and Greg Berlanti, that debuted in early 2019. She was most recently a Co-Executive producer on season three of Netflix's Anne With An E (based on the novel Anne of Green Gables) and is writing a TV pilot for eOne adapted from the bestselling Fiona Griffiths mystery novel series from Harry Bingham. Shernold is currently a Co-Executive Producer on the new hit CBS series ALL RISE that premiered in September 2019. Prior to writing, Shernold was a production/development executive at CTV Network (Canada) where her projects included award-winning TV movies and series like Degrassi: The Next Generation. She attended the Canadian Film Centre's Professional Screenwriting Program and has a Screenwriting MFA from Columbia University. We talk about: the difference between Canadian and American writer's rooms why writers need to speak up and advocate for themselves why it is helpful for screenwriters should talk about how much money they make how a near death experience may have helped her land a writer's job the "staff writer's slump"- you need to know this! what it was like writing on some of my favorite shows: Instant Star, Degrassi, and Anne with an E and more!   Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please remember to SUBSCRIBE, RATE, + REVIEW the show- I would really appreciate it. It helps other screenwriters who are interested in this story to find the show a little easier.   If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co!   You can listen to every episode of The Beat Sheet on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher! You can click here to subscribe to the podcast everywhere via this RSS feed!   The official hashtag for the podcast is #beatsheetpod   Please be sure to follow us on social media as well! You can find the show everywhere:   Instagram | @beatsheetpod Twitter | @beatsheetpod Facebook | The Beat Sheet

Brusta Brown & John Mitchell Todd are a fantastic, diverse writing team who are currently Producers on BLACK LIGHTNING for Berlanti and CW. They also developed a Marie Laveau project entitled THE VOUDOU QUEEN OF NEW ORLEANS with Amazon and Fox21 last year. Previously, they worked on the staffs of TAKEN for NBC, SUPERSTITION for USA, and DOMINION and DEFIANCE for SyFy. We talk about: her first tv pilot that ended up being banned her identity journey as a Chinese + Black woman and how that helps to round out her character's journeys how life experience helps with a writer's depth (no, you're not too old to be writing for TV!) what she learned by sitting in on writer's pitches (she gives a lot of gems here about what good pitches look + sound like!) why getting staffed before you sell a show may be the move for you and more! Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please remember to SUBSCRIBE, RATE, + REVIEW the show- I would really appreciate it. It helps other screenwriters who are interested in this story to find the show a little easier. If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co! You can listen to every episode of The Beat Sheet on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher! You can click here to subscribe to the podcast everywhere via this RSS feed! The official hashtag for the podcast is #beatsheetpod Please be sure to follow on social media as well! You can find the show everywhere: Instagram | @beatsheetpod Twitter | @beatsheetpod Facebook | The Beat Sheet

This week on the beat, we have Sade' Sellers! Sade' Sellers is a screenwriter and producer based in Burbank, California. Originally from Michigan's capital, Lansing, Sade' has been working in the entertainment industry since 2009. In 2017, Sade' was a finalist for Tv One's Screenwriting competition for her teleplay The Replacement. This achievement motivated the network to hire her as a writer for their upcoming movie of the week event, Deadly Dispatch, which premiered on the platform in the summer of 2019.             Through that production process, Sade' met casting director Leah Daniels-Butler who was in the midst of staffing her production company, 1oneninety5. Sade' then rose to the role of Vice President of Content Acquisitions and Development and spent the next year learning the ecosystem of film and television development from pitching to production. Using that experience, and bound at home due to COVID-19, Sade' made a return to her first love, screenwriting, utilizing her free time to write new content.             Currently, Sade' is practicing social-distancing with her beloved dog, Majon, in Burbank. She enjoys cooking, baking, and catching up on programs such as The Great and Little Fires Everywhere.  We talk about: the secret to directing a music video and how to make sure that it's telling the story you want what she has on her writer's playlist what happens when a network hires you to write a movie from their IP database the hiring disparities of Black women screenwriters in the industry why you should incorporate your name and more!

Ajoké Adebesin has a BA in Interactive Communication from The Ohio State University and an MFA in Professional Screenwriting from National University.  Ajoké has worked in the entertainment business for several years, landing her first entertainment job as a mailroom clerk at CBS Television City. She then was a production assistant on 75+ commercials, independent films, and TV shows. Ajoké was also a DGA Trainee on eight TV shows, including PRISON BREAK, DEXTER, and THE MIDDLE.  Ajoké then transitioned to the film festival world, where she worked for the Outfest Film Festival, TCM Classic Film Festival, and Pan African Film Festival. She eventually made her way back to the TV world as a producer's assistant on THE QUAD.  Since 2015 Ajoké has produced two web series and six short films. And in 2019, Ajoké was a Writers Assistant Network POC Workshop Winner for her one-hour romantic dramedy RAISING THE BAR. We talk about: What it was like to work as a DGA trainee The importance of networking to find the job you want in Hollywood How festivals recruit short films- and you can put yours at the top of the pack Her work on the tv show, The Quad   And more!   Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please remember to SUBSCRIBE, RATE, + REVIEW the show- I would really appreciate it. It helps other screenwriters who are interested in this story to find the show a little easier.   If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co!   You can listen to every episode of The Beat Sheet on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher! You can click here to subscribe to the podcast everywhere via this RSS feed!   The official hashtag for the podcast is #beatsheetpod   Please be sure to follow us on social media as well! You can find the show everywhere:   Instagram | @beatsheetpod Twitter | @beatsheetpod Facebook | The Beat Sheet

Jonterri Gadson is a former creative writing professor who chose TV over tenure. She won Kevin Hart's LOL Film Fellowship for a short she wrote/directed and premiered at the American Black Film Festival. Her pilot script won Best Comedy Script at the New York Television Festival where she won development deals with OneX and Topic Studios. She's an alum of the NBC Late Night Writers Workshop, New York Stage & Film Filmmakers Lab, Refinery29 & TBS Riot Comedy Writers Lab and the IFP Project Forum. She's published three poetry books, including the full-length poetry collection Blues Triumphant (YesYes Books).  Jonterri was a staff writer on Adult Swim's Birdgirl and a comedy writer on the Daytime Emmy-winning talk show The Kelly Clarkson Show.   We talk about: Creating works that make people feel less alone Writing yourself into your work What it's like to work in a writer's room for an animated show The differences between writing for daytime and late night What getting a development deal actually means   And more!   Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please remember to SUBSCRIBE, RATE, + REVIEW the show- I would really appreciate it. It helps other screenwriters who are interested in this story to find the show a little easier.   If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co!   You can listen to every episode of The Beat Sheet on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher! You can click here to subscribe to the podcast everywhere via this RSS feed!   The official hashtag for the podcast is #beatsheetpod   Please be sure to follow us on social media as well! You can find the show everywhere:   Instagram | @beatsheetpod Twitter | @beatsheetpod Facebook | The Beat Sheet

Jacquelyn Revere was born and raised in Inglewood, Ca. Jacquelyn developed a deep interest in storytelling at a young age and theatre became her outlet. A professed theatre nerd, she studied Shakespeare at Oxford University before receiving her Bachelors and Masters in Fine Arts. After graduate school Jacquelyn became the ambassador for AIS (The American Institute for Stuttering) .  As their Ambassador she traveled to 3 continents connecting facilitating courses and speaking at different conferences. Her speaking engagements grew her a following which quickly grew her Youtube channel dedicated to visibility and advocacy for the stuttering community. Her videos were referenced in USA Today January of 2020.  Jacquelyn has now written, produced and directed a web series, had her short film screened at The Apollo Theatre in Harlem, NY alongside this years Sundance winning film ‘Clemency' and received her first TV Writing Fellowship which began in May 2020.  We talk about: How she made a pivot from performing on the stage to writing scripts as a form of protest How her acting experience at Oxford University prompted her to be more intentional with words Gathering a mighty team to put together her web series, Crescendo- and how you can do it too! Her personal mission as a writer Her work with the  American Institute of Stuttering   And more!   Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please remember to SUBSCRIBE, RATE, + REVIEW the show- I would really appreciate it. It helps other screenwriters who are interested in this story to find the show a little easier.   If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co!   You can listen to every episode of The Beat Sheet on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher! You can click here to subscribe to the podcast everywhere via this RSS feed!   The official hashtag for the podcast is #beatsheetpod   Please be sure to follow us on social media as well! You can find the show everywhere:   Instagram | @beatsheetpod Twitter | @beatsheetpod Facebook | The Beat Sheet

This week on the beat, Motion Braithwaite is our guest! We talk about: How her love of poetry helped in her screenwriting journey The major differences between playwriting and screenwriting The plays she reads to study storytelling structure What makes a play becomes a successful film adaptation How to co-write a film successfully And more!   Wendy MOTION Brathwaite motionlive.com | @motionlive Motion is a playwright, screenwriter, poet and emcee, fusing word, sound & drama for the stage and screen. A Canadian Film Centre alumna, she is currently a writer and Executive Story Editor on CBC's hit drama series, Coroner (Back Alley/Muse). She is also developing series with production companies Darius Films and Sphere Media. Motion is the co-writer of Akilla's Escape (Canesugar Films), a feature film with director Charles Officer, to be released in 2020. She is also writer of ReelWorld Award-winning short film A Man's Story (Bravofact), which has screened in film festivals in London, Ghana, Belgium, Zanzibar and Toronto.   Her most recent production for the stage is Oraltorio: A Theatrical Mixtape with DJ L'Oqenz. Premiering to critical acclaim, it has been remounted at Toronto's Soulpepper/Obsidian Theatre, CINARS in Montreal, and the groundbreaking Chale Wote Festival in Ghana. Her other works include Aneemah's Spot (Summerworks), Loveleigh's Logue (50in50/Billie Holiday Theatre, NYC), and the Dora- nominated Nightmare Dream (IFT Theatre/Obsidian). She is also published in Motion in Poetry (Women's Press), Everything Remains Raw (GooseLane), and The Black Notes (Insomniac Press).   Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please remember to SUBSCRIBE, RATE, + REVIEW the show- I would really appreciate it. It helps other screenwriters who are interested in this story to find the show a little easier.   If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co!   You can listen to every episode of The Beat Sheet on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher! You can click here to subscribe to the podcast everywhere via this RSS feed!   The official hashtag for the podcast is #beatsheetpod   Please be sure to follow us on social media as well! You can find the show everywhere:   Instagram | @beatsheetpod Twitter | @beatsheetpod Facebook | The Beat Sheet  

Baindu Saidu & Courtney Perdue (CoP, Diverse) are a comedy and drama writing team who're currently Co-Producers on BIGGER S2 (BET+). Prior to that they were ESE's on the upcoming GOSSIP GIRL REBOOT (HBO Max), and SW's on TRINKETS S2 (Netflix) and BIGGER S1. In 2018 they were finalists in the inaugural “Script to Screen” contest launched by BET and Issa Rae's ColorCreative, landing a script deal as a result. The duo are affectionately nicknamed “Sass and Shade” for their snarky one-liners and tell it like it is personalities...but in a good way. Courtney is a connoisseur of pop and nerd culture, while B is a fun-loving artist who can throw down in the kitchen. Growing up in their respective families (quirky Africans—B; bold, independent women—Courtney) has prepared them for anything: comedy, drama, tragedy, horror—you name it! They're down to play in it all!   Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please remember to SUBSCRIBE, RATE, + REVIEW the show- I would really appreciate it. It helps other screenwriters who are interested in this story to find the show a little easier. If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co! The official hashtag for the podcast is #beatsheetpod. Please be sure to follow us on social media as well! You can find the show everywhere:   Instagram | @beatsheetpod Twitter | @beatsheetpod Facebook | The Beat Sheet  

Welcome back to Season 3 of The Beat Sheet! I'm so excited to share brand new stories from Black women screenwriters this season. This week on the beat, we have Meredith Dawson.  After graduating from Northwestern, Meredith (a Chicagoland native) moved to LA to pursue a career as a...wait for it.... talent agent! Her seething jealousy of clients led her to finally pursue the desire to write and she accepted a position as an assistant to Charlie Grandy (The Daily Show, SNL, The Office, The Mindy Project.)  When his show "Champions" was picked up to series at NBC, she was promoted to staff writer. She then became a Story Editor on Hulu's adaptation of "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and is currently an ESE on Apple's animated half hour musical. "Central Park". In features, Meredith sold her first spec script, "Spark", to Amazon with Hello Sunshine producing and also made the 2018 Black List. Additionally, her feature "When Carrie Met Michal and Other People" is setup at Universal with Paul Feig producing that she will also direct.  When not writing, Meredith can be found training for a marathon or baking cookies to give away to her neighbors. We talk about: how to be an awesome assistant in Hollywood (6:00) how you know for sure if you're a comedy or drama writer (10:20) how to stand up for yourself in the room without overpowering other voices(12:50) what a story editor actually is (14:05) how to sell a show and what happens when it finally does (16:00) and more! Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please remember to SUBSCRIBE, RATE, + REVIEW the show- I would really appreciate it. It helps other screenwriters who are interested in this story to find the show a little easier. If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co! The official hashtag for the podcast is #beatsheetpod. Please be sure to follow us on social media as well! You can find the show everywhere: Instagram | @beatsheetpod Twitter | @beatsheetpod Facebook | The Beat Sheet

This week on #beatsheetpod, it's another bonus episode! This is my conversation with filmmaker + producer Tamika Archie and the second season of her show, Behind Closed Doors.  So, here's what you need to know about Behind Closed Doors and its creators: Written & directed by filmmakers Kimlynn (Director) and Tamika Archie (Producer), co-founders of NuVysion Media Group, ”Behind Closed Doors” weaves together the dramatic stories of 4 characters struggling with real-life scenarios involving the domestic & sexual abuse, mental illness, and drug addiction each of them witnessed and experienced as children. Through the eyes of its characters, the first season explores the reality of those suffering in silence long after the trauma is done. The first season of “Behind Closed Doors” had over 14,000 views within the first 2 weeks. It's now one of the network's most popular streamed series. Filmed in Dallas, the second season will introduce the colorful personalities of new characters and continue the troubled intense saga of the main characters from season 1. As each episode unravels more underlining childhood trauma, it's not very long before the viewers grasp the hint trouble is quickly brewing beneath the surface as adults. Although the film addresses several topics often considered too difficult to openly discuss without criticism or judgment, “Behind Closed Doors” creates a dialogue that serves as a soundboard for the silent victims of abuse struggling to be heard. “As an adult when life's troubles affect you it also affects the children around you and can drastically change how they cope with life as adults, says Kim Archie. Every cause has an effect.” NuVysion Media's co-founders have emphasized their interest in developing thought-provoking content that opens the door for conversations to take place. While the second season of “Behind Closed Doors” opens with the tumultuous drama of heavier issues, the series also has many light-hearted moments of comedy and sarcasm. The company is currently in negotiations with a streaming network for its new series. Season 1 can be viewed on The ON! Channel via Roku, iOS Mobile Apps or Firestick. For more information on NuVysion Media Group and “Behind Closed Doors” visit www.nuvysionmediagroup.com.

This week on #beatsheetpod, it's a BONUS episode. This is my conversation with Tiauna Jackson, a talent and literary agent for The Jackson Agency.  If you've ever been curious about what it takes to get repped, how to get your scripts ready by agents, or what makes an outstanding query letter, then this is the episode for you.  Tiauna Jackson is a Talent and Literary Agent for The Jackson Agency. Headquartered in Century City, California, Ms. Jackson built her agency from the ground up within the entertainment industry's most competitive market, Los Angeles. Anchored on Avenue of the Stars in Century City, Tiauna decided to start her own agency after finding barriers of entry for writers of color, LGBTQ+, and Senior Citizens. Ms. Jackson made history by becoming the first Writers Guild of America franchise in Atlanta, Georgia; and is believed to be the first known Black woman with 100 percent ownership of her agency to become a WGA franchise in Los Angeles. With her agency dedicated to the underestimated, underrepresented, and the underserved, Jackson applies a “root for the underdog” mentality to fostering the careers of emerging artists. She looks forward to providing representation that matters to the exceptionally talented artists of the world. Additionally, she was featured in the New York Times, Medium, Oz Magazine, and Arizona Informant for her commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion while facing adversity through resilience. Where to find Tiauna Jackson + The Jackson Agency: The Jackson Agency Instagram Twitter If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co! Follow The Beat Sheet on Instagram + Twitter!

This week on #beatsheetpod, it's the Season 2 finale! I talk with Amy Aniobi about creating fearlessly, “making her hobby her day job”, writing when the world is falling apart, the journey that WOC writers go on to “move up” in the room, how she's grown as a producer, and more.  If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co! Follow The Beat Sheet on Instagram + Twitter!

This week on #beatsheetpod, I talk with Felicia Pride (tender, Queen Sugar, Grey's Anatomy) about overcoming the "fatal" error of an extended writing break, the journey to creating her short film ‘tender', tips on having a successful fellowship application, how she inspires creators on a daily basis, and more.  Mentioned in this episode: Felix + Annie, Felicia's production company Watch tender. Subscribe to The Create Daily. If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co! Follow The Beat Sheet on Instagram + Twitter!

This week on #beatsheetpod, I talk with Adamma and Adanne Ebo about the power of networking, when and how to find representation, their love of anime, Adamma's experience as a showrunner's assistant, how to be successful as a staff writer, tips + tricks for writing teams, the importance of networking across, and more. If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co! Adamma + Adanne Ebo's Production Company Follow The Beat Sheet on Instagram + Twitter!   If you would like to help fund racial justice, please consider donating to the following organizations: George Floyd Memorial Fund Minnesota Freedom Fund Black Visions Collective Reclaim The Block Campaign Zero Unicorn Riot

This week on #beatsheetpod, I talk with Maya Houston (Arrow) about growing up as a queer woman in the South, how she ALMOST left LA to become a teacher, creating Minimum Wage in partnership with Issa Rae, how sending blind pitches landed her a job in Hollywood, the emotional victory of being offered an Arrow episode, and more! Kirk Moore Tweets About TV Writers By Level Gina Prince Bythewood Tweet about WGA Stats for 2019 If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co! Follow The Beat Sheet on Instagram + Twitter! If you would like to help fund racial justice, please consider donating to the following organizations: George Floyd Memorial Fund Minnesota Freedom Fund Black Visions Collective Reclaim The Block Campaign Zero Unicorn Riot

This week on #beatsheetpod, I talk with Francesca Ekwuyasi about creating at the intersection of queerness and faith, paying attention to stories that are stranger than fiction, the power of writing that debunks stereotypes, thoughtfully sharing the Nigerian experience, and more. Here is the link to pre-order Francesca's book, Butter Honey Pig Bread: https://arsenalpulp.com/Books/B/Butter-Honey-Pig-Bread If you are interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring the show, or have any other inquiries, please send an email to hi@thebeatsheet.co! Follow The Beat Sheet on Instagram + Twitter! If you would like to help fund racial justice, please consider donating to the following organizations: George Floyd Memorial Fund Minnesota Freedom Fund Black Visions Collective Reclaim The Block Campaign Zero Unicorn Riot

This week on #beatsheetpod, I talk with journalist + screenwriter Keli Goff about a push she received to take writing more seriously, an affirming conversation with Mara Brock Akil that helped to set her writer's course, and the purpose behind her work.

This week on #beatsheetpod, I speak with screenwriter Ashlee Blackwell (@graveyardshiftsisters, #HorrorNoire) about creating to provoke discourse, the power of your audience seeing themselves on screen, her inspiration behind creating Graveyard Shift sisters, horror tropes to avoid in your next screenplay, where to find Black women protagonists in horror films and more.

This week on #beatsheetpod, I'm talking to writer + director Jackie Batsinduka about the best way to find actors for your short films, the unique story behind her short film Boning, how to make film school work for YOU, the ups and downs of crowdfunding, and MORE.

This week on #beatsheetpod, I talk with writer/producer Mercedes Brazier-Thurman about some of her biggest lessons from film school, what to do after you vomit out your first draft, the benefits of film festivals, why episode 3 of your show is so important, and more.