4th Annual Comedy Writing Contest

WHAT KIND OF SCRIPTS CAN I ENTER?

We’re looking for any and all comedy based screenplays and teleplays.

Feature Length Screenplays:

Everything from broad comedy to rom coms to parodies to dramedies to horror comedy to indie comedies and beyond will be accepted!

Teleplays:

30 or 60 minute Original Comedy Pilots Not Based on an Existing TV Show

- This is your original pilot in 30 or 60 minute form

30 or 60 Minute Comedy Spec

- This is your take on an existing comedy or dramedy show (Big Bang Theory, Veep, Silicon Valley, The Orville, etc.)

FEEDBACK OPTION

For an additional fee of only $49 (50% savings!) you can receive full coverage from our industry readers on your screenplay or teleplay. Just check "coverage" upon checkout. Coverage will be sent out after the winners are announced.

"Stage 32 contest coverage is even better than some of the industry coverage I received. Thank you for these invaluable notes!" - E. Robinson

"The insight from my coverage from the Stage 32 contest helped me improve my script's dimension exponentially. I had looked at the script so much that I can't believe I missed a major plot point. Thank you!!" - S. Persons

GRAND PRIZE WINNER

• Flight to Los Angeles to meet with executives from Zero Gravity Management, Schemers Entertainment, Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment, and Whitewater Films as well as calls with NBCUniversal and A+E Networks.
• Logline sent to over 500 industry executives, managers, agents and producers
• Script title and logline listed on Stage 32

2ND PLACE / RUNNER UP

• Two Skype meetings with an industry executive
• Logline sent to over 500 industry executives, managers, agents and producers
• Script development notes from a Stage 32 executive
• 2 Stage 32 Happy Writers online pitch sessions
• Free Stage 32 Next Level Webinar
• Script title and logline listed on Stage 32

ALL FINALISTS

• Will have their loglines shared with over 500 industry executives, managers, agents and producers

The Stage 32 Comedy contest has resulted in numerous success stories for our winners and finalists. Last year’s winner Diana Wright was signed to The Cartel and Abrams Artists Agency! Check out her video here: 

Our 2017 winners, Anthony Guidubaldi & Keith Strausbaugh (Shorebreak), were flown to LA and sent on a whirlwind of meetings with executives and production companies resulting in:

• Amasia Entertainment requested their horror comedy script and a mockumentary they produced.
• Lionsgate's LOL Network requested their animation pilot and asked for a sketch packet.
• Big Beach Films requested their short film Baby Grand.
• Panay Films is going into development on a spec pilot written by Keith & Anthony!

Our 2017 Winners, Anthony Guidubadi & Keith Strausbaugh, Talk About their Industry Meetings All Over Hollywood!

And our 2016 Comedy Contest winner, Kelly Anelons (Life's a Beaut), was also set up on a whirlwind tour around town meeting with numerous executives. We finished the week by setting Kelly up for meetings with two of the most respected comedy writer, director, producers in town: Jerry Zucker (Airplane, Naked Gun, My Best Friends Wedding) and Scot Armstrong (Old School, The Hangover II, Road Trip)! How's that for access!?

Molly Hurwitz (Judge) - Lit/Talent Manager, Zero Gravity Management

Molly Hurwitz is a Manager and Producer at Zero Gravity Management, a management and production company with over 500 clients and over 20 productions under their belt. They've recently begun producing TV projects with Netflix's "Ozark" and have worked on features including THE ACCOUNTANT, A FAMILY MAN, and RUNNING SCARED.

Molly represents both literary and talent clients, with her primary focus on comedy. She started her career at ICM Partners agency where she worked with great comedians such as Orny Adams, before she moved to Zero Gravity Management, where she has clients involved with projects such at Netflix's Dear White People, Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return, Silicon Valley, Entourage, The Colbert Report and more.   

Her favorite show is "Frasier", and her favorite movie is BEST IN SHOW.

Fiorela Canaj (Judge) - Business Development & Strategy, NBCUniversal

A native of Connecticut, Fiorela began her career as an Office PA on the Showtime series “The Big C”. From there she received her MFA from UCLA’s School of Theatre, Film and Television and went on to work in scripted at Electus, a production company run by Ben Silverman ("The Office", "Ugly Betty").

Fiorela left Electus to join the Current Department at the NBCUniversal Cable Scripted Networks (Syfy, USA, E!, Bravo) where she helped manage over 26 scripted series across the four brands. For USA, she worked on series including Anonymous Content's "Mr. Robot" starring Rami Malek and Carly Chaikin, Legendary Television's "Colony" starring Josh Holloway and Sarah Wayne Callies, and Hypnotic's "Suits" starring Gabriel Macht and Meghan Markle. On Syfy, she worked on series including DC Entertainment's "Krypton" and Original Film's "Happy" starring Christopher Meloni and Patton Oswalt. She also worked on series including "Imposters" for Bravo and "The Arrangement" for E!.

Fiorela currently works in Business Development and Strategy for NBCUniveral Digital Enterprises, but maintains a large network in scripted development.

Kerry Saxena (Judge) - Content Development, A+E Networks

Kerry Saxena is in Content Development for A+E Networks, the joint venture between Hearst Communications and Disney-ABC that includes A&E, History, Lifetime, Viceland, FYI, and Crime+Investigation.

A&E series include the scripted dramas "Bates Motel", "Longmire", "Damien", "Roots" and "The Returned", and the unscripted series "Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath", "Wahlburgers", "Mountain Men", and "The Killing Season". The History channel airs competition shows like "Forged In Fire", and "Top Shot", scripted programs like "Six", "Project Blue Book", and "Vikings", and unscripted series including "Ax Men", "The Men Who Built America", and "Ice Road Truckers". Viceland is know for shows like the competition series "King of the Road", FYI is known for their biographical series like "I Survived...", and Crime+Investigation focuses on crime shows like "Casanova Killers".

Kerry got his start working at The Gersh Agency in the TV Literary Department before assisting the CFO/COO of the entire agency. He then moved to Content Development at FOX Digital, which produced acclaimed series including ABC's Boondoggle starring Ty Burrells of "Modern Family" fame, and Small Shots, Bad Samaritans, The Ropes, Suit Up, and Let's Big Happy.; and films including Netflix's Parallels, Mono, Floor 9.5 starring Georgina Campbell, How To Be a Man starring Liam Aiken, Normal Doors starring Emily Bett Rickards & Milana Vayntrub, Tenured starring Kate Flannery of "The Office" fame. Kerry focused on Comedies at FOX and continues to bring his eye for comedy and comedy connections to his work at A+E.

Daniel Seco (Judge) - Manager, Empirical Evidence

Daniel Seco is a literary manager and partner at Empirical Evidence, a literary creative company founded by Derrick Eppich.

He joined CAA in 2014 where he worked in the motion picture literary department before venturing into literary management on the feature side at Writ Large in 2015 as a coordinator/junior manager. A series of consulting jobs including a stop at Netflix in its Original Film department gave way to Seco joining Schemers Entertainment as a literary manager in 2018.

A former sports journalist covering U.S. Soccer, MLB, and the NBA, Seco began his Hollywood career in 2013 at Resolution. Seco is a proud graduate of the University of Maryland and the University of Florida as well as a cancer survivor.

 

Molly Welsh (Judge) - Assistant to Aaron Kaplan & Sean Perrone, Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment

Molly Welsh works with Jeff Tomsic, the feature film director behind the smash comedy, Tag with Jeremy Renner, Ed Helms, Jon Hamm, and Isla Fisher.

Previously, Molly worked for industry leading management and production company, Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment for company founders Aaron Kaplan and Sean Perrone.

Prior to Kaplan/Perrone, Molly worked at DreamWorksTV, the Gersh Agency, Redbull Media, and with television director Phil Traill ("The Middle", "Fresh Off the Boat") and Dean Craig (Death at a Funeral) offering feedback on their projects during the development/ brainstorming process.

Sarah J. Cornelius (Judge) - Producer, Whitewater Films

Sarah J. Cornelius is a Producer at Whitewater Films in Los Angeles. Her mission is to produce film and TV that "buzz" in the marketplace and align with the cultural conversation. In her 9+years as Creative Executive and Producer at Whitewater Films(the production company owned by Oscar and Emmy-nominated Director and Producer Rick Rosenthal), Sarah has worked on such films as THE BOY BEHIND THE DOOR, which released on AMC-owned horror streamer Shudder, SMALL ENGINE REPAIR starring Jon Bernthal and Shea Whigham, STANDING UP, FALLING DOWN starring Billy Crystal and Ben Schwartz, and more. Her creative choices are influenced by her desire to empower women and marginalized communities, acknowledge good men, and remind people that humor and beauty are often found in the most unexpected places.

 

Whitewater has produced projects for Paramount Classics, The Orchard, Showtime, CNN Films, Netflix, IFC and Samuel Goldwyn Films. Whitewater’s numerous notable films have won Independent Spirit Awards, the Sundance Directing Award, a Primetime Emmy, and audience awards at Sundance, SXSW and Tribeca Film Festivals.