Barry Richert: Film/theatre journalist, playwright and screenwriter in Chicago, Illinois.

So this is my company: Filmatick is pleased to host a virtual lunch & learn on January 6, 2021, from 12 pm-1 pm (EST). Emmy Award-winning director, Mike Gasaway, will be presenting on the importance of previsualization in a post-covid world. We will treat you and a guest to an Uber Eats lunch that you can enjoy during the event. Register today! https://bit.ly/3m0BOLM

My name is Barry and I’m a scriptwriter working in the Chicago area. The bulk of my experience has been in audio (I wrote a Stage 32 blog on writing for audio, which you can find at https://www.stage32.com/blog/Four-Crucial-Guidelines-for-Writing-Compelling-Audio-Drama). I wrote dramas for the Moody Bible Radio Network for many years, then made a decidedly odd but rewarding transition to The Twilight Zone Radio Dramas, where I wrote both original stories and audio adaptations of the classic TV series. After The Twilight Zone went out of production, I wrote for an anthology horror series called Fangoria’s Dreadtime Stories, which was accessible via Fangoria Magazine’s website. I’ve been lucky enough to hear my work performed by such actors as Malcolm McDowell, Stacy Keach, Tim Kazurinsky, Sean Astin, Virginia Williams, and Kathy Garver.

Lately, I wrote a couple of television commercials that are scheduled to run around Christmas and wrote a pitch for a producer looking to sell a series to Netflix. My most recent project is adapting a script for television that was originally written for Fangoria’s Dreadtime Stories, but never got produced due to the show’s cancellation. If you know anyone who’s interested in an hour-long horror/detective noir hybrid that isn’t a pilot, let me know!

Thanks Barry. I love your dramatic overtures advice.

There is some great advice here.

A guest blog I wrote on writing audio drama has been posted today. You can find it in the Blog section. Feel free to comment with any questions!

What movie you wish you wrote its screenplay? It can be any movie you think of, from classics to the latest release to epic blockbusters... Also, what would you've done differently?

Hi Everyone! I'm Barry. I live in the Chicagoland area and have a background writing radio drama. I've written for everything from Christian radio to a horror anthology web series for Fangoria Magazine...with a stop in The Twilight Zone in between (that's not some kind of metaphor--I actually wrote several episodes of the Twilight Zone Radio Dramas). I'm transitioning into writing for television/film, and recently finished adapting one of my unproduced radio scripts as an episode for a television horror anthology. I've also embarked on a comedy feature film script. In the meantime, I was pleased to learn that one of my Twilight Zone scripts recently aired on BBC radio. An unexpected, but fun surprise!

I'm a writer from the Chicago, Illinois, area. I have experience in everything from journalism to copywriting to technical writing. But the bulk of the creative writing I've done for the past fifteen years has been radio drama. I've written for everything from The Moody Bible Radio Network to "The Twilight Zone Radio Dramas" to "Fangoria's Dreadtime Stories." One of my Fangoria episodes won the coveted "Listener Favorite of the Year" award. No trophy or cash prize was involved, but since the other contributors were accomplished writers like Max Allan Collins and Dennis Etchison, I felt quite honored nonetheless. I just completed an adaptation for television of a horror script I wrote for radio, and am knee-deep in writing a screenplay. If you're looking for a scriptwriter for your film/television/radio project, I'd love to talk to you about it. To hear samples of my work, the WGN Radio Theater here in Chicago recently rebroadcast a couple of episodes I wrote, and had me on to talk about them. The show is currently streaming at wgnradio.com or is available as a podcast (just search for "WGN Radio Theater" in your favorite podcatcher). It's the show from November 15th, 2015. Give a listen---I'd love to know what you think! Barry

The WGN Radio Theater, which showcases radio drama every Sunday night, will be featuring two episodes I wrote several years back for “The Twilight Zone Radio Dramas” and “Fangoria’s Dreadtime Stories.” The dramas—"There Goes The Neighborhood" and "The Dark Enforcer"—are performed by a superb ensemble of actors, including Stacy Keach, Tim Kazurinsky, Malcolm McDowell, Kurt Naebig, and T.J. Jagodowski. The show will air on Chicago's WGN Radio this Sunday night, November 15, from 11 PM to 2 AM CST. It will also be available for streaming the next day on WGN’s web site (wgnradio.com), or as a podcast (search for “WGN Radio Theater”). Tune in and let me know what you think!

Thanks for the invite, Brian. Nice to meet a fellow Second City alum!

I try to read screenplays every chance I get and I often find that the best ones are those that, when you're reading them, you forget that they're a screenplay. I'm currently reading the Gone Girl script and can't stop chuckling to myself. Gillian Flynn is able to get so much humour and wit into so few words, it really is a joy to read. What are everyone else's favourite screenplay reads?

Hi Karen. Thanks for the invitation!

Hi, Steve. Thanks for reaching out!

Hi, Anda! Thanks for the invitation!

Thanks for the invitation, Mikheil!

Thanks for the invitation, Massimo!