The Vestals (Episode 2): Choices

I. Work Experience ---------------

Professional Writer/Analyst/Script Reader

A. Seasoned writer, Analyst, Manager, Consultant for the U.S. Defense Department (35+ years)

- authored assessments, position papers, intelligence reports, strategy papers; translated Russian language textual materials;

B. Screenwriter

- authored a one-hour TV pilot that made the 2012 and 2013 SEMIFINALS of the NexTV Screenwriting Competition as well as the quart- and semifinals of the 34th WriteMovies International Screenwriting Contest; when a written pitch was reviewed by a noted story/career consultant recently, the response was, "I love the character, the starting dilemma, and the world.

Show More

I. Work Experience ---------------

Professional Writer/Analyst/Script Reader

A. Seasoned writer, Analyst, Manager, Consultant for the U.S. Defense Department (35+ years)

- authored assessments, position papers, intelligence reports, strategy papers; translated Russian language textual materials;

B. Screenwriter

- authored a one-hour TV pilot that made the 2012 and 2013 SEMIFINALS of the NexTV Screenwriting Competition as well as the quart- and semifinals of the 34th WriteMovies International Screenwriting Contest; when a written pitch was reviewed by a noted story/career consultant recently, the response was, "I love the character, the starting dilemma, and the world." Preliminary feedback in August 2012 from the Slamdance Competition read, "The idea is solid enough and it's in line with such recent shows as Spartacus, Rome and even Game of Thrones. The structure is excellent." Episode 2 has been completed and Episode 3 is in progress.

- authored feature-length script that made the 2009 Exposurama Screenplay Competition's Top 100 scripts, ranking in the Top 10 Scripts in the Family Drama Category; made the TOP 100 SCRIPTS/SEMIFINALIST in the Writemovies International Competition (2009); made the QUARTERFINALS in the 16th Annual Writer's Network Screenplay & Fiction Competition; made the QUARTERFINALS in the Back in the Box Screenwriting Competition (2009); made the top 25% in the 2009 Page International Screenwriting Awards Competition;

C. Script Reader

- script reader for the 2012 Film Writer Screenplay Contest; my script assessments and story development notes have received consistent accolades: One recipient of my feedback wrote the sponsors of the contest to say, "My competition feedback was amazing. It was so motivational and way, way more than I could have expected." About my work, the contest sponsor has remarked, "Your writes-up I feel are extremely helpful for the writer... I'm really pleased with your work!...I really trust your feedback!"

- script reader for 2013 Film Writer Character Challenge Contest;

- script reader for the 2012 Bluecat Screenplay Competition; provided feedback and story development notes;

II. Coursework Related to Screenwriting -----------------------------------

- Robert McKee's Story Seminar

- 21 Steps to a Powerful Rewrite

- Telling and Selling the TV Pilot

- Story Development and Pitching to the Executives

- How to Get an Agent or Manager?

III. More about the TV Pilot -----------------------

Entitled "The Vestals: Do You Hear What I Hear?", the pilot establishes the premise for the series -- the conflicts that arise when a young girl is forced against her will into a secretive religious society following the overthrow of her father, the king of Latium. The society is the Sisterhood of the Vestal Virgins, a religious community of young women established in Latium (west-central Italy) hundreds of years before the founding of Rome. The pilot script has already placed in the How could I not be passionate about this story?

The pilot unfolds in the year 750 B.C., a few years before the establishment of Rome, and follows the girl's journey of self-discovery as she struggles to overcome her bitterness at being condemned to a life of solitude and isolation. From the start, she loathes the Vestal life, which outwardly values flawless beauty and solemn ritual but is, in fact, one of great inner cruelty and brutal, life-or-death competitiveness.

Conflict arises on several levels: Most immediate is the girl's struggle to reconcile herself to her fate and make sense of her relationship with the gods in light of the cruel twist they have meted out. In exchange for her 14 years of naïve devotion and her belief that the Gods have a plan and will always take care of her, she is betrayed. Her former world of security, wealth, and normalcy has been replaced by one of isolation, distrust and darkness: Not only does the Vestal High Priestess immediately pit herself against the girl whom she has been forced to take in as a Vestal candidate, but other Vestal candidates who feign friendship shower her with half-truths until she does not know whom to trust. The pilot, then, provides the conflicts that surface at the beginning of her journey as well as her initiation into the world of the Vestals.

While the pilot establishes the central character's struggles as she negotiates her way through an enigmatic and mysterious environment, the series follows her rise through the ranks of the Sisterhood to become one of the most powerful figures in ancient history. Subsequent episodes show her battles with the Vestal High Priestess; her quest to find out whether her young brother was murdered or somehow survived when her father was overthrown; her struggles to see her father restored to the throne; her shock and confusion as she is chosen by the Gods to give birth to Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome; and her legacy following her death as ancient magic allows her to reach across space and time to provide guidance to future Vestals.

The "Vestals: The Beginning" also establishes the primary themes of the series and immediately sets up the conflict which fuels their exploration. The first is the struggle of women for equality in society run by men, and the relationship among women put in that situation. The second theme is the relationship between the Gods and mortals. In the pilot episode, the young Vestal candidate believes that she inexplicably hears the voice of Vesta. Could the Goddess have taken pity on her? Should she submit to Vesta's will? If she does, will she then become the pawn of all the Gods? Perhaps she will discover that the Goddess, as all deities, is, in fact, fickle and manipulating her fate for her own amusement or out of petty jealousy. Or will she realize that there actually is no supreme being controlling her fate, and that the voices she hears are those of her inner self that is urging her to understand that her destiny lies in her own hands?

Bitter over her fate and irritated at the duplicity of the Sisterhood, the young Vestal candidate prays to the gods to deliver her from the fate that the Goddess Vesta has dealt her. Vesta scoffs: Do you really think that I am acting alone? Our protagonist vows to fight the gods - challenge all of them -- for control over her own fate. She doesn't yet know how, and, further, she does not yet know that the Gods have much more in store for her.

Show Less