1ST SCENE SCREENPLAY READINGS

1ST SCENE SCREENPLAY READINGS

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

1ST SCENE SCREENPLAY READINGS
  • 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...

  • LGBTQ+ Festival 1st Scene: THE OUTRAGEOUS LIFE OF HENRY FAULKNER, by Jim Hall

    The colourful and adventurous life of one of America’s most talented unknown gay artists and his quest for self-expression and respect.

    CAST LIST:

    Narrator: Val Cole
    Jamie: Shawn Devlin
    Henry: Sean Ballantyne

  • WILDsound Festival 1st Scene: TRINITY WEST, by MG Hardie

    A drama set in the heart of a Southern Baptist congregation, where personal conflicts, church politics, and family legacies intertwine as they fight for the survival of The Church.

    CAST LIST:

    Eleanora: Julie Sheppard
    Erin: Val Cole
    Narrator: Sean Ballatyne

    Get to know the writer:

    1. What is...

  • COMEDY Festival 1st Scene: Tom Hanks Must Die!, by Evan Neill

    When a bitter nobody becomes convinced that Tom Hanks is the cosmic reason his life sucks, he drags a new friend on a chaotic cross-country mission to confront destiny-and maybe punch America's dad in the face.

    CAST LIST:

    Narrator: Julie Sheppard
    Margaret: Val Cole
    Jeff: Sean Ballantyne

  • 1st Scene: YOU WERE WRONG ABOUT THE JELLYFISH, by Andy Carpenter (interview)

    When an unnamed virus begins to kill off human males, a family takes refuge on a sailboat in hopes they can escape the virus.

    CAST LIST:

    Narration: Sean Ballantyne
    Mila: Hannah Ehman
    Erica: Val Cole

    Get to know the writer:

    1. What is your screenplay about?

    This story, like all of the stor...

  • Crime/Mystery Festival 1st Scene Reading: MURDER ON MARS, by Patrick McKinley

    In 2058, A murder investigation leads two police detectives down a dangerous path during the early days of the colonization of Mars.

    CAST LIST:

    Narrator: Hannah Ehman
    Daryl: Shawn Devlin
    Matt: Sean Ballantyne

  • WILDsound Best Scene Reading: JAMES LEE, by Hugh Brownlie

    Glasgow teenager Jimmy Lee acquires unwelcomed physical enhancements. After mistakenly injuring a young child he emigrates to Toronto for a fresh start.

    In later life he crosses paths with a dogged detective who attempts to link his curious goings on with other small-time illegalities.

    Convergi...

  • FEMALE Festival 1st Scene: In The House That Elle Built, by Lauren Hackney

    Elizabeth has her hands full with her two foster kids, a roommate and a new love interest that she's not sure can handle her lifestyle.

    CAST LIST:

    Narrator: Sean Ballantyne
    Elizabeth: Hannah Ehman
    Elle/Lizzy: Julie Sheppard

  • FEMALE Festival Best Scene: HACKED BY LOVE, by Rosemary Lokhorst

    A major Esports event is in full swing, with a dynamic A.
    I host partnering with a legendary player. When the massive prize
    money is threatened by a bomb threat, the event begins to descend
    into chaos; forcing the resident A. I and a star player team up with
    the F.B.I. to unravel the conspiracy.
    ...

  • ENVIRONMENTAL Festival 1st Scene: FIRST LIGHT, by Dylan Brody

    A bright child in northern California betrays his Catholic upbringing and protective parents to join forces with a local druid who believes he might just be the one who can save the world from humanity's worst impulses.

    CAST LIST:

    Narrator: Hannah Ehman
    William: Sean Ballantyne
    Marty: Shawn De...

  • FANTASY/SCI-FI Best Scene Reading: ETERNAL LIFE, by Jaaered Brown (interview)

    Waking in a future with floating cities topping thousands of stories, run by radioactive intelligence, where imagination blends with machine, an amnesiac finds her destiny.

    CAST LIST:

    Narrator: Julie Sheppard
    Alis: Hannah Ehman
    Anne-Marie: Val Cole

    Get to know the writer:

    1. What is your sc...

  • HORROR Festival 1st Scene Script: ANXIETY, by Meredith Stack (interview)

    Emily suffers from extreme anxiety. Her younger sister, Meredith, is the only one who can calm her but when Meredith dies unexpectedly, Emily's anxiety takes a dark turn exposing terrifying secrets from her family's past and creating a sinister way of dealing with her fears.

    CAST LIST:

    Narrati...

  • COMEDY Festival 1st Scene: THE EXTRA'S EXTRA, by Mary Haarmeyer, Craig Beeman

    Zach Roberts is fine with his mediocre existence until his new charity case, Gloria, leaves in search of “bigger things,” leaving him with her annoying devil dog, Jitters. Trying to win Gloria back and revive his YouTube channel, Zach’s older friend Jerry convinces him to join him on a movie set ...

  • ACTION/FANTASY Festival: The Piper, by J. Aldric Gaudet

    A darkly twisted re-rendering of the Pied Piper legend told through the eyes of an estranged father and son. The boy is struggling to manhood while they both suffer the pangs of their wife/mother’s suicide years earlier. When the Piper takes the children the father sets out with the village midwi...

  • HORROR Festval 1st Scene: HOW TO SAVE A DYING WORLD, by Ronnie Figueoa

    It’s about an alien named Jophar whose ancestry is from Earth and his encounters while living here. Also, a higher evolved alien species is trying to help him save the planet from inevitable destruction due to an impending bio genetic mutation.

    CAST LIST:
    Narration: Sean Ballantyne
    Jessy: Eliza...

  • THRILLER/SUSPENSE Festival: FROZEN LIES, by Eric Lotter (interview)

    When a woman discovers her new boyfriend is hiding a body in the trunk, her road trip spirals into a nightmare of buried secrets, survival instincts, and a past frozen in lies. Based on a true story.

    CAST LIST

    Narrator: Elizabeth Rose Morris
    Daisy: Hannah Ehman
    Patrick: Geoff Mays

    -----

    Get t...

  • FEMALE Festival 1st Scene: ORIGIN STORY, by Ama Adair (interview)

    The vicious attack that almost killed her erased all that she was. But not what she did. Elyse Tysoni s shocked to learn her taped confessions remove any hope of escaping her nightmare. Desperate for a lifeline, her only option is to be studied by Doctor Steve Bennett, a psychologist who speciali...

  • LGBTQ+ Festival 1st Scene: BLUE IDAHO, by Noah Zayn Mortier

    Blue (formerly Logan) is a gifted transgender surgical nurse whose life spirals after a violent romance exposes her truth. Surviving a suicide attempt, she's sent to an off-grid trauma retreat, where healing begins amid a web of broken souls, betrayal, and revelation. Returning home to confront f...

  • LGBTQ+ Festival 1st Scene: LESBIANS OF BUSHWICK, by Olive Persimmon

    Margot sneaks into the Premier lounge, and obnoxiously pitches her fake reality show idea to Arbuckle. He gets her kicked out. A video circulates of him saying a gay slur. He pitches her show to Ronnie, who's ready to drop him. He emails Margot. She convinces Alex to help her shoot the pilot. He ...

  • LGBTQ+ Festival 1st Scene Reading: SHRINK, by Teddy K. Andrews

    A young man attends the final session of his compensated work therapy program. The therapist remains ever oblivious as his lies begins to swallow the room whole.

    CAST LIST:

    Narrator: Val Cole
    Voice/Ashton: Geoff Mays
    Therapist: Hannah Ehman

  • WILDsound Festival 1st Scene: THE VILLAGE PHANTOM, by A.E. Guaaker (interview)

    Fiona Haegerbergh, a journalist for The Metro Standard, arrives in a rural Norwegian town to investigate rising drug use. Officially, she’s there to produce a webcast— but Fiona has her own agenda: uncovering the truth behind the recent suspicious death of a local drug dealer. Fiona’s editor urge...

  • WILDsound Festival 1st Scene: MARAH FROM EILAT, by Leiter S Daniellson

    Haunted by a perilous deal with a ruthless demon, a troubled Catholic Deacon must protect an ancient religious decree from demonic forces while confronting the inner demons that threaten to consume him.

    CAST LIST:

    Narrator: Val Cole
    Stanley: Geoff Mays
    Tara: Hannah Ehman

  • WILDsound 1st Scene Reading: CHERISHED VICIOUSNESS, by Daniel Arreola

    In a witty and elusive interaction among two intellectual career pros, Sophie and Alan meet at a bar and hit it off and create an impenetrable bond neither has experienced. As their relationship grows strong, they can't escape who they are and the secrets they carry and where they may end up.

    CA...