1ST SCENE SCREENPLAY READINGS

1ST SCENE SCREENPLAY READINGS

Winning screenplays. First scenes readings from features, and television specs.

1ST SCENE SCREENPLAY READINGS
  • CHICAGO Festival 1st Scene: Mina Plays The Game, by E. Wendell, R. M. Olivier

    A woman plays a poker game for a second shot at life, but what are the stakes and what is the real prize?

    CAST LIST:

    Narrator: Elizabeth Rose Morriss
    Mina: Hannah Ehman
    Bannister: Geoff Mays

  • HORROR Festival 1st Scene: BLACK GIRL MAGIC, by Sasha Kai

    Seizing a career-making opportunity, a trouble but talented jewelry designer joins a group of influencers on a California desert retreat, but quickly finds herself in a fight for her life when things take a sinister turn.

    CAST LIST:

    Narrator: Elizabeth Rose Morriss
    Randy: Sean Ballantyne
    Au...

  • FANTASY/SCI-FI 1st Scene: The Hoover 2000, by Steven Antonuccio

    The Hoover 2000 is an A.I. computer used by the FBI to track crimes as they happen in real time. Combing A.I. technology, cellphone tracking information with satellite photography, you can follow a crime from the moment it happens and also solve cold cases by replaying a crime that took place.

    C...

  • COMEDY Festival 1st Scene: HUSTLE FOR THE BUCKLE, by Ross Langil (interview)

    A down-on-their-luck women's rugby sevens team must win the prize money from the beer drinking-est rugby tournament, or else their club, and team, will fold.

    https://www.instagram.com/perspectivefilms1990/?hl=en

    CAST LIST:

    Narrator: Sean Ballantyne
    Char: Geoff Mays
    Jen: Hannah Ehman
    Asha: ...

  • HORROR Festival Best Scene: CURSED TO CONCEIVE, by Taissia Lomako (interview)

    When a New York City Nurse becomes trapped in the south because of their backwards bodily autonomy laws, she must brave the folks of Mississippi and the Appalachian Mountains in order to make it home.

    CAST LIST:

    Narrator: Elizabeth Rose Morriss
    Marie: Hannah Ehman
    Adam: Sean Ballantyne

    Get ...

  • Horror Fest Scene: THE NEW HIRE, by Matthew Summersgill, Mark Palgy (interview)

    Mike's beloved "Office Family" dynamic is ominously disrupted by a strange new hire who threatens to upend everything Mike has built.

    https://www.instagram.com/de4thrace/

    CAST LIST:

    Narrator: Elizabeth Rose Morriss
    Mike: Steve Rizzo
    Carol: Hannah Ehman
    Dale: Geoff Mays

    1. What is your s...

  • Chicago Festival 1st Scene Reading: Marah From Eilat, by Leiter Daniellson

    At the risk of losing his soul, a guilt ridden Deacon suffers the Devil's wrath after he refuses to complete her final demand.

    CAST LIST:

    Narrator: Geoff Mays
    Stanley: Steve Rizzo
    Sister Luciana: Hannah Ehman
    Julie Donaldson: Elizabeth Rose Morriss

  • FANTASY/SCI-FI Festival 1st Scene: DELTA STATION, by Ronald McQueen

    A rescue mission to a remote space station finds only one evasive crewman, an obstinate AI and the station cat still alive. With no explanation for the missing personnel and with members of the rescue crew beginning to die, suspicion grows that one of these three is responsible.

    CAST LIST:

    Nar...

  • ROMANCE Festival 1st Scene: All The Movies I Saw With Allyson, by Andy Maycock

    On the eve of his ex-girlfriend’s return from a year abroad, a heartbroken high school senior goes on a nightlong mission to find and revisit the five movies they watched together.

    CAST LIST:

    Narrator: Elizabeth Rose Morriss
    Adam: Sean Ballantyne
    Girl: Julie Sheppard

  • BEST Scene Readiing PIPPIN & LULU: Dog-Eared Dreams by Linda Federico-O'Murchu

    A young dog runs away from an abusive master and sets his sights on adventure throughout Europe, ultimately finding love and family on the magical streets of Paris.

    CAST LIST:

    Narrator: Steve Rizzo
    Raffle Lady: Julie Sheppard
    Pretty Young Woman: Hannah Ehman
    Crobbaduan: Sean Ballantyne

  • STUDENT Festival 1st Scene: The Artist’s Son, by Jack Amsler

    Logline: A struggling actor is supported by a father who was forced to give up his dreams when he had his son.

    CAST LIST:

    Narrator: Hannah Ehman
    Young Joseph: Sean Ballantyne
    Young Jessica: Val Cole

  • ROMANCE Festival 1st Scene: REKINDLING, by Suzanna Scorcia (interview)

    A Six Episode Web Series: When high school sweethearts Gwen and James cross paths 4 years following the mutual termination of their relationship, both individuals happily take a chance on revitalizing their young love, with the inevitable obstacles of statistics, past traumas, and fresh wounds wo...

  • LGBTQ+ Fest 1st Scene: My Name is Jonas, by Cory David Bortnicker (interview)

    A young gay songwriter in the grip of meth addiction must face his past when he learns he is actually a prophet who must save New York City from Judgement Day.

    CAST LIST:

    Narrator: Val Cole
    Mayor Bloomberg: Steve Rizzo
    Officer: Sean Ballantyne

    Get to know the writer:

    1. What is your screen...

  • ENVIRONMENTAL Festival Best Scene: BEAUTIFUL SPECIMEN, by Mitch Finn

    An estranged couple spends their lives searching for reconciliation and freedom as captives inside a gorilla exhibit as subjects of a reality TV show.

    http://www.mitchfinnwriter.com/

    CAST LIST:

    Narrator: Steve Rizzo
    Daryl: Sean Ballantyne
    Uta: Geoff Mays

  • Environmental Festival 1st Scene: DENDAN, by Ryan Patrick Doyle

    A headstrong marine cryptozoologist puts her career and life on the line to find a legendary sea monster that will completely rewrite the rules of marine biology. Ghostbusters meets Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.

    CAST LIST:

    Narrator: Hannah Ehman
    Rafiki: Sean Ballantyne
    Ahmed: ...

  • ACTION/ADVENTURE Festival 1st Scene: CARAMURU, by Tabata Godfrey

    Summary: In 2121, a disease spread across the globe and turned everyone over 18 blind. Emmett and their parents lead Caramuru

    CAST LIST:

    Narrator: Steve Rizzo
    Nazar: Sean Ballantyne
    Eagle #1/Oriana: Val Col
    Seider/Ulric: Geoff Mays

  • Winning Sci-Fi/Fantasy Festival Script Read: LUCID DREAMS, by Benjamin Neuberger

    In a post-apocalyptic future where citizens are addicted to a technology that allows them to live in their dreams, a grieving detective must stop the company's CEO from annihilating a portion of the population.

    CAST LIST:

    Narrator: Steve Rizzo
    Po Dillon/Otto McCabe: Sean Ballantyne
    Carmen...

  • CRIME/MYSTERY Festival 1st Scene Reading: REV, by Dante Savion (interview)

    When a petty car thief gets into a Monte Carlo he finds abandoned and running, he doesn't realize he's also getting into a $500,000 drug deal gone wrong. Will he be the hero of someone else's story, or will everyone be brought down by his hidden past?

    CAST LIST:

    Narrator: Val Cole
    Business Ma...

  • COMEDY 1st Scene Reading: PIECE OF CAKE, by Kevin Peter Irigoyen Penatello

    You may think that breaking up a wedding is a piece of cake, but sometimes you get a slice that's fully loaded.

    CAST LIST:

    Narrator: Val Cole
    News Caster: Andy Camp
    Gina: Hannah Ehman
    Mike: Sean Ballantyne

    Get to know the writer:

    1. What is your screenplay about?

    Piece of Cake follows Gi...

  • CHANCE MEETINGS, by John Woodard script reading - LA LGBTQ+ Festival

    Two gay men seek to find each other again after a lost encounter on a busy street. While one turns the city upside down, the other places a "Chance Meetings" add in the LA Weekly newspaper.

    CAST LIST:

    Narrator: Val Cole
    Chance: Geoff Mays
    Duey: Sean Ballantyne

  • DARK ARRIVAL, by John Berry, Ken Jones reading - Action/Adventure (interview)

    A worldwide disaster is created when a cloud of dark matter, a mysterious and powerful relic from the Big Bang, collides with modern day planet Earth.

    CAST LIST:

    Narrator: Sean Ballantyne
    Woman/Karla: Julie Sheppard
    Richard: Geoff Mays

    Writer Statement
    With Dark Arrival we hope to delive...

  • YOU ARE WHAT YOU LOVE 1st scene script read - Female Festival Winner (interview)

    Set against the backdrop of the OxyContin crisis, ‘Leah’s Choice’ unravels the true tale of Leah, a young woman entangled in a poignant queer love triangle. Caught between her soulmate and her best friend amidst her struggle with addiction, Leah’s journey is a harrowing blend of deep love and int...

  • 1st Scene Reading: Barstow, by Brittany Scott Smith, Arjay Smith

    Logline: It might seem like a quiet town, but don't get it twisted...Barstow's the new Vegas, and everyone wants a piece of the pie.

    CAST LIST:

    Narrator: Hannah Ehman
    Don: Geoff Mays
    Marc: Steve Rizzo
    Big Bud/Ratz: Sean Ballantyne

  • Female Festival 1st Scene: LOWLIFE, by Alexandra Watson (interview)

    Summary: AMELIA, a lawyer, returns home to visit her estranged father LIAM, whose health is rapidly declining. As she returns to their Texas land, she learns that the town has been ruined by fracking companies, which is starting to cause earthquakes, along with draining resources and money from t...