1ST SCENE SCREENPLAY READINGS
Winning screenplays. First scenes readings from features, and television specs.
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FEMALE Festival 1st Scene: A Misnamed Fate, by Chelsea Lin
The dark side of relationships and suburban life, where secrets amongst friends ruin lives and betrayal has deadly consequences.
https://www.instagram.com/cheezylin
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Elizabeth Rose Morriss
Stacy: Val Cole
Dan: Geoff Mays -
WILDsound Festival 1st Scene: Blue Idaho, by Noah Zayn Mortier
A grieving widower and a trans nurse confront faith, loss, and identity on a road trip that forces them to reconcile their past with the possibility of love.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Val Cole
Richard: Geoff Mays
Blue: Elizabeth Rose Morriss -
THRILLER Festival 1st Scene: DHARMA, by Vee G Kumari
When an archeologist is murdered with a hindu statue, an art professor must get to the bottom of the death while revealing past mysteries.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Geoff Mays
Rekha: Val Cole -
FEMALE Festival 1st Scene: NEXT STOP: HELL'S END, by Walter Hochbrueckner
Nikki is in need of a new life, she flees from her abusive husband to become a stripper in a small town.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Geoff Mays
Eva: Elizabeth Rose Morris
Barb: Val Cole -
LGBTQ+ Festival 1st Scene: Sinner? I Barely Know Her!, by Adelaide Young
While trying to explore her sexuality, 17-year-old Maggie struggles with her religious OCD and comes face to face with questions that seem too hard to answer. What should we take from religion? What should we do when we feel religion is taking from us?
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Elizabeth Rose Morri...
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THRILLER/SUSPENSE Festival 1st Scene Reading: The Owners, by Nick Nelson
When a wildlife photographer’s bush plane crashes in remote Alaska, he and his girlfriend must survive a brutal game of cat & mouse with a family of fugitives eliminating witnesses, but the real danger may be what survival turns him into.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Val Cole
Nick: Geoff Mays
Sara: Eli... -
1st Scene TV Spec Script Reading of THE BEAR, by David Case (Comedy Festival)
On the anniversary of Mikey’s death Carmy gets news that his tormentor, David Fields, is coming to review the restaurant.. things derail when Carmy severely burns his arm.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Val Cole
Carmy: Geoff Mays
Richie: Shawn Devlin -
FEMALE Festival 1st Scene: The Stained Glass Window, by Kristin Francoeur
Lily Brannan, a very successful writer who lives in Boston, finds out that her hated great-aunt is dead. When the will is read, Lily is shocked that beside the expected inheritance, she also now owns a mysterious house in Vermont. Planning to go see it, then put it on the market, Lily visits the ...
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WILDsound 1st Scene Reading: The Twelve Days, by Brent L.Peterson
A small-town Christmas shop owner is devastated on Christmas Eve when she finds out she can not have children. The next morning she wakes up in an apocalyptic future where only children remain. There, she works to restore peace between two warring tribes of kids by teaching them the gift-giving t...
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HORROR Festival Best Scene Reading: Friend, by Gordon Graveley
https://youtu.be/EWGQUH6nsuk
"Friend" follows the heading-for-divorce parents of a precocious nine-year-old who befriends an older, intellectually disabled man. Friend is in a great place—well written and with a strong premise.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Geoff Mays
Reagan: Elizabeth Rose Morriss
K... -
FANTASY/SCI-FI Festival 1st Scene: THE LAST BLOCK, by Miguel Camacho
In 2140, a "perfect" existence is maintained by advanced AI. As the defining "Last Block" event looms, Elian is compelled to seek true reality, whatever its cost.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Val Cole
AI Voice: Shawn Devlin
Elian: Geoff Mays -
1st Scene: THE BREAKING OF BOB HOWARD TV Pilot by George R Strayton (interview)
Pilot Episode: "Black Luck and Red Doom"
In 1930s Texas, pulp fiction writer Robert E. Howard battles both external pressures and internal demons as he creates the legendary Conan the Barbarian. When his beloved mother Hester falls gravely ill with tuberculosis, Bob struggles to maintain his sani... -
FEMALE Festival 1st Scene: The Art of Denial, by Hannah Augenstine
The Art of Denial follows Emily, a playwright who finds the courage to write and put herself out there after the death of her father figure/ mentor. The Art of Denial has a sweet premise but lacks specific character motives, a strong setup, and a realistic arc.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Elizabeth ...
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LGBTQ+ Festival First Scene: The Urning - Life and Times of a Gay Rights Pioneer
"Hambach Awakening" - Pilot episode of a limited series on the life and times of Karl Heinrichs Ulrichs - a German gay rights pioneer and scholar who wrote the first queer theory known to the LGBTQ movement, published the first gay magazine, and used his privilege and law degree to go into battle...
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DRAMA Festival 1st Scene Reading: The Lonely Wish, by Nick McCabe
When a troubled teen’s wish to make everyone disappear comes true, she risks losing them permanently and must rely on an unlikely ally to save her town – the school bully.
CAST LIST:
Narration: Sean Ballantyne
Miriam; Val Cole
Linda: Elizabeth Rose MorrissGet to know the writer:
1. What is...
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ROMANCE Festival 1st Scene: The Labyrinth, by Nicholas J. Szegedi (interview)
When a successful aerospace engineer is sabotaged by a vengeful business rival and haunted by two failed marriages, he embarks on an international journey of self-discovery with newfound hope and determination. Based on actual events.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Hannah Ehman
Michael: Shawn Devlin
Dav... -
FANTASY/SCI-FI Festival 1st Scene:The Octopus's Garden, by Ed Moran (interview)
A delightful blend of adventure and emotional depth, reminiscent of films like "Finding Nemo," where the bond between characters drives the narrative through perilous waters. I thought of "The Shape of Water" as well, with its unique exploration of relationships between humans and extraordinary c...
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ACTION/SCI-FI Festival 1st Scene Reading: VITRUVIAN WOMAN, by L. Petruska
Jack Teller is an established science writer whose young scientist mother died of a terrible poisoning shortly after he was born. His father lived in complete denial and also groomed Jack not to ask questions about his mother at all. Now a grown man in his 50s, Jack receives a cryptic email from ...
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HORROR Festival 1st Scene: LIFELESS "The Crown Falls" TV, by Meredith Stack
Over two decades since the resurrection of the dead, survivors revert back to the medieval times for survival. Kingdoms are built and fall. Survivors must learn to survive in a world where new leaders are raised into power and the new evolution of the dead.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Hannah Ehman
Re... -
HORROR Festival 1st Scene Reading: Grad Nite, by Sion-Raize (interview)
While enjoying an overnight celebration at a regional theme park, a group of graduating high school students are targeted by a vicious killer wearing a dragon mask.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Elizabeth Rose Morriss
Mr. Randol: Sean Ballantyne
Gracyn: Geoff MaysGet to know the writer:
1. What is ...
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EXPERIMENTAL Festival First Scene: Death in Poland, by Grant Huffman
An unflinching, brutally honest portrayal of the Holocaust's most infamous death camps, *Death in Poland* chronicles the systematic machinery of genocide through a series of interwoven scenes of cruelty, precision, and silence—where memory is the only thing left standing.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: ...
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LGBTQ+ 1st Scene Reading: Canoe, by Ron Wayne Kennell
When a hot shot architect inherits his grandfather’s remote cabin, the locals become restless and reveal secrets he can no longer ignore.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Elizabeth Rose Morriss
Trudy: Hannah Ehman
Tristan: Geoff Mays -
FEMALE Festival 1st Scene: WALKING OVER WET PAINT, by Judy Taylor
A snarky book nerd may find love, but only if she's willing to come out of her oh-so-cozy she..
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Julie Sheppard
Trisha: Val Cole
Henry: Shawn Delvin -
LGBTQ+ Festival 1st Scene: MAD HOUSE, by Katie Arias
Autumn is struggling to keep her financial situation above the poverty line. With a crappy apartment, no real stability or even groceries her apartment seems to be the hub of entertainment for Saira & Malcolm even though they are much better off.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Julie Sheppard
Malcolm: Sha...