A decade of UNC’s minor in screen and stage writing

Students and facility members celebrated the 10th anniversary of UNC’s writing for the screen and stage minor with the annual performance of “Long Story Shorts” on Friday and Saturday, a collection of student-written plays.

Dana Coen, the director of the minor, started the event to give students the opportunity to collaborate with working professional actors.

“We believe it to be the only undergraduate program writing program of this type in the country,” Coen said.

He said he hopes the program will help students prepare for work in the entertainment industry by focusing on the art of dramatic writing. The program requires students to take courses in both screenwriting and play analysis.

One alumna said she felt more prepared entering the screenwriting industry with the skills she learned from classes and performances like “Long Story Shorts.”

Meghan Gambling, who graduated from the program in 2005, has gone on to become an associate producer for the show “Fast N’ Loud,” which is featured on the Discovery Channel. In addition, her play “The Kitchen Sink” eventually became a film and is now available on Netflix.

“I think the program affected us in ways we really didn’t understand,” Gambling said.

Many of the student playwrights who wrote scripts for “Long Story Shorts” said the event featured an eclectic mix between dramatic, hilarious and heart-breaking.

Senior Bronwen Clark wrote about two coal minors who met a third person while trapped in the mine. Like the other playwrights, she collaborated with actors and her fellow students throughout the creative process.

“It’s kind of surreal seeing your work brought to the stage,” Clark said. “All the actors bring such a unique voice to the characters and seeing them interpret the words you’ve written is really awesome.”

While the writing for the screen and stage minor and the creative writing minor are closely linked, Coen said there are fundamental differences between the two.

“In prose, the writer has the opportunity to explain to the reader how the characters are feeling,” Coen said. “In dramatic writing, the characters make choices that reveal that inner state.”

Michael Piller, a UNC alumnus known for his role as an executive producer for “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and helping to start later “Star Trek” spin-offs, provided the funds to establish the minor. Over 100 students have graduated from the program since its inception.

“This minor doesn’t have a huge presence on campus, but it is getting bigger each year,” Clark said.

Gambling said she believes that the program pushed her to refine her writing skills and prepared her for the screenwriting industry.

“You have no control of anyone except yourself when you come to Los Angeles,” Gambling said, “But you can write at any age and be successful at any age.”

arts@dailytarheel.com