About Jackson:

With a diploma in film from Capilano University, I am an emerging writer/filmmaker with experience in all facets of the filmmaking process. Getting my start in the visual effects industry, I have worked on several big-budget Hollywood films from Ad Astra to The New Mutants that have helped me hone my technical skills and abilities. Throughout all this, my passion for crafting compelling and engaging stories never faded as it eventually led me out of visual effects in order to pursue screenwriting. Growing up on character-driven dramedies and determined to have my stories told, my work focuses on identity while exploring nuanced and complex characters in hopes of understanding myself better as a second-generation Asian-Canadian. I have placed in multiple screenwriting competitions with my most recent being a finalist in the 2021 Page Awards, and have produced and directed unique, theme-focused short films that showcase my voice well as I continue to grow and learn.

What does being a part of the Scripted Series Lab mean to you?

Being a part of the 2022 Scripted Series Lab is an amazing opportunity as I’m grateful and excited to be working with such talented writers and getting the chance to learn from them. I can’t wait to collaborate and gain the experience of working in a writers’ room under the tutelage of a seasoned showrunner.

About Manny:

A self-taught filmmaker born and raised in Vancouver, I’ve learned everything about film and TV courtesy of the Vancouver Public Library. Mostly because I unfortunately got a library card instead of a Gameboy Color. But the end result was an obsession with storytelling. And I’ve gone on to learn everything about film production through independently creating over a dozen film projects through my production company, Sital Cinema Productions. These projects range from documentaries to narratives, shorts to features, and even avant-garde works.

Several of which have played at international film festivals, most notably the Vancouver International Film Festival on a consecutive run from 2016 to 2019, and 2021. My latest feature as a screenwriter, Portraits From a Fire, won Best Canadian Feature at the Edmonton International Film Festival and has been picked up for Canadian distribution by Photon Films.

What does being a part of the Scripted Series Lab mean to you?

Coming from the world of feature filmmaking, being a part of the Scripted Series Lab to me means an opportunity. An opportunity to learn the ins and outs from an experienced showrunner. An opportunity to work creatively and passionately with other talented local writers. And of course, an opportunity to participate in the ultimate modern day storytelling device: Television.

About Scott:

Scott Button (he/him) is an award-winning screenwriter and playwright. Recent highlights include Night Passing (narrative podcast, Arts Club Theatre Company) and For Now (in development with Green Thumb Theatre). His scripts have been shortlisted for many contests including being named a Second-Rounder at the Austin Film Festival. Scott is thrilled to be working on his half-hour comedy pilot Good Things with the Scripted Series Lab in 2022, and is focused on centring queer characters and storylines throughout his work. He is grateful to reside on the unceded, occupied land of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

What does being a part of the Scripted Series Lab mean to you?

I am really looking forward to joining Karen and my fellow writers in the Scripted Series Lab! I can’t wait to test-drive our ideas together. I feel so lucky to be gaining 5 new colleagues in the lonely business of writing. I’m nervous, excited and grateful to be taking part – many thanks to everyone at the PSP!

About Shauna:

Shauna grew up as the oldest of six kids in Edmonton. She became adept at entertaining herself through long winters, laughing with (and at) her siblings, and watching TV. Now she tells stories for a living.

Shauna is a writer, actor, and filmmaker whose stories navigate identity and belonging, with deep heart and dark humour. Her plays have been produced across Western Canada and in the US, including M is for Music, and Common Grace. Shauna’s current commission is a cheeky and heartwarming Christmas musical for Pacific Theatre called Mary: Mother of God.

As a filmmaker, Shauna made two award-winning films with the Crazy8s film festival: Bedbugs: A Musical Love Story and Trying. As an actor, Shauna can be seen in her own plays, as well as on programs such as The Babysitters Club (Netflix), When Calls the Heart (Hallmark) and Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever (Lifetime).

What does being a part of the Scripted Series Lab mean to you?

I am thrilled to be joining the Scripted Series Lab and to be working with Karen McClellan. Writing can be a lonely endeavour, and working with other creative, passionate storytellers – while learning more about craft and structure – feels like Writer’s Summer Camp. I can’t wait.

About Tammy:

Born and raised in Vancouver, BC, Tammy Tsang works as an Assistant Director in the Vancouver film industry. When not on set, Tammy moonlights as an independent filmmaker, writing and producing a number of short films. Her most recent projects include Rocking on Air (2019) which was selected by six film festivals, and Lauren in the Bathroom (2021) which won multiple awards in the Ultra Short Category of the Mighty Asian Moviemaking Marathon, including Best Screenplay, and screened at the Vancouver Asian Film Festival.

When not working, Tammy volunteers her time leading a Girl Guide unit and running 24-hr board game charity marathons. However, she never forgets to carve out space in her schedule for binge watching TV shows and reading comics.

What does being a part of the Scripted Series Lab mean to you?

I still can’t believe that I’ve been selected for the 2022 Scripted Series Lab! I’m looking forward to exercising and strengthening my creative muscles while experiencing the writers’ room dynamic. I’m especially looking forward to meeting and getting to know my peers in the program. By being a part of the Scripted Series Lab, I hope to showcase what Canadian writers can bring to the screen.

Facebook: atimoyoo
Instagram: photoguyinvancity
Instagram: ratimoyoo

Tell us about yourself and your writing/professional background in 5 sentences or less:

Ryan is a Cree First Nations writer/ filmmaker from Little Pine Reserve and holds a Joint MFA in Screenwriting and Film Production from The University of British Columbia. He has gathered numerous international awards and screenings including being a 2011 Semi Finalist in the Sundance Screenwriting Program. He has won numerous grants and awards for his writing and has recently won a Canada Council grant to direct his feature film “Sipihko–A Cree Ghost Story”. He has recently completed his first vfx, sci-fi short virtual reality film titled “Chord VR” and is looking forward to collaborating with other writers in the Pacific Screenwriting Program.

What excites you most about starting the Scripted Series Lab?

I’m excited to work with and learn from our mentor/show runner Will Pascoe as well as my fellow writers. I’m eager to collaberate and discover how to operate in a writer’s room as well how to pitch future projects. All in all, I’m grateful for the opportunity and eager to get started.

Twitter: emmafpeterson
Instagram: emmafpeterson

Tell us about yourself and your writing/professional background in 5 sentences or less:

I have always been in love with stories, a passion which led me to pursue a career as a filmmaker. For the past ten years, I have worked on a number of different productions in Vancouver, both on set and in the production office. At the same time I worked on my own projects, including an award-winning web

What excites you most about starting the Scripted Series Lab?

I am so very excited to have this opportunity to learn and develop as a writer, collaborating and telling stories with my fellow participants.

Twitter: save_my_script
Instagram: savemyscript
Facebook: is.not.that.strange
Website: jordanhall.ca

Tell us about yourself and your writing/professional background in 5 sentences or less:

Jordan Hall is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter whose work focuses on climate change, the exploration of genre, and feminist representation. Her first full-length play, Kayak, won Samuel French’s Canadian Playwrights Competition, and has been produced to critical acclaim across North America. Subsequent plays include How to Survive an Apocalypse (Flying Start 2016, Samuel French 2018), A Brief History of Human Extinction (with Mind of a Snail Puppet Theatre), and The Cupertino Effect—forthcoming, with support from the BCAC. As a screenwriter, Jordan co-created Carmilla: The Series (Winner: CSA, Digital Fiction) for SmokeBomb Entertainment, and was Carmilla’s lead writer for three seasons and the subsequent movie. She has been a finalist at the LA Comedy Fest, a winner of the Crazy8s Short Film Production Competition, and a 2019 recipient of a Corus Writer’s Apprentice Fellowship at Banff. She teaches screenwriting at Capilano University.

What excites you most about starting the Scripted Series Lab?

I’m really looking forward to the room–even if it winds up being a room that exists only in our minds. I’m excited to see a working showrunner in action and to learn everything I can from him. I’m excited for the effervescent sizzle of ideas that happens when you get a group of writers together, and for the sense of purpose that comes from working towards a collective goal. I can’t think of a better way to start 2021.

Facebook: Norman Yi Li

Tell us about yourself and your writing/professional background in 5 sentences or less:

I am an emerging screenwriter based in Vancouver BC. Prior to film, I went to UBC and graduated with a major in Cognitive Systems – an interdisciplinary science that studies human consciousness and machine intelligence. Although my degree informs my writing to this day, I realized storytelling is my true passion when I audited too many creative writing lectures I wasn’t even enrolled in. Previously I have worked as a BG Casting Associate; now I coordinate background performers on set. Aside from writing, I also direct and produce shorts such as Deep Take (2019) which screened at VAFF and VSFF last year.

What excites you most about starting the Scripted Series Lab?

I am beyond excited to collaborate with a room of talented writers under the guidance of our amazing showrunner Will Pascoe. The idea of developing a brand new show in the span of ten weeks is simultaneously intimidating and thrilling. In addition to honing my craft, I also look forward to getting a taste of how a real writer’s room operates.

Twitter: sarah_j_kelley
Instagram: Sjkelley33
Facebook: Sarah Kelley

Tell us about yourself and your writing/professional background in 5 sentences or less:

I’m Anishinaabe from Algonquins of Pikwakanagan in Golden Lake, Ontario. I’m an emerging writer and a lover of writing urban fantasy, sci-if and thriller.

What excites you most about starting the Scripted Series Lab?

I’m super excited to work with Will Pascoe and my other creative team members on developing a show and getting hands on work experience of what it’s like to work in a professional writer’s room!

Twitter: QFazal
Instagram: qaseemf

Tell us about yourself and your writing/professional background in 5 sentences or less:

I am a Canadian Ismaili-Muslim screenwriter. I am a graduate of the Langara Film Arts program as well as the Vancouver Film School’s Writing for Film and Television program. I am also a classically French trained chef and graduate of the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts. My comedic screenplays The Story of Harper Blair & some other people and The Family Value have placed in and won various competitions around the globe.

What excites you most about starting the Scripted Series Lab?

I’m excited to submerse myself in a writer’s room and work with a team of talented and diverse Vancouver-based writers. Also, I’m looking forward to working with a mentor who can help me develop my original pilot and take it to the next level. I think this will be tremendously impactful to my writing and growth as a screenwriter. 

Your PSP Project

What’s Normal Anyway? is a coming of age LGBTQ teen comedy with a supernatural element. An openly gay social outcast with the gift of talking to his dead, meddling Nana attempts to navigate his way through the ups and downs of middle school.

What are you up to now?

I’m writing a new pilot called Penis Cake. It’s a comedy set within a Pastry school in West Hollywood.

Twitter: AdamH1102

Tell us about yourself and your writing/professional background in 5 sentences or less:

Hi! I am a Vancouver based screenwriter and graduate of Vancouver Film School’s screenwriting program. I’ve written the TV movie The Killer Downstairs and sold another TV movie that is in development. I was also selected for the 2019 Praxis/Whistler Film Festival Screenwriters Lab. Prior to film school I had a career as a lawyer that may or may not have been a direct result of watching too many episodes of The Practice when I was younger.

What excites you most about starting the Scripted Series Lab?

I’m thrilled for the opportunity to work with this amazing group of writers. I am looking forward to learning from our incredibly talented and accomplished showrunner, as well the other writers in the group. The chance to sit with other writers and break story for ten weeks is really all I could ask for, so I can’t wait to get started. With that out of the way, I’m actually just looking forward to getting the answer to the most pressing question of our time: Is it writers room or writers’ room? Also, snacks.

Twitter: HuelahL
Instagram: Huelahlander

Tell us about yourself and your writing/professional background in 5 sentences or less:

I love writing about myself and I’m never sarcastic.

• Bullet point hype machine says:
• Recipient of Harold Greenberg shorts to features grant
• Gold Prize winner at Page and Grand Prize winner at Table read my Screenplay
• Winner of a Diversity of Voices fellowship to Banff
• Recipient of a PSP sponsored trip to the Toronto Screenwriting Conference
• Writers’ Assistant on Season 2 of The Order

I consider bullet point lists to be one run on sentence. I am a chronic sufferer of imposter syndrome.

What excites you most about starting the Scripted Series Lab?

I am so excited to work on Rob’s project in the writers’ room. I think it’s still hush hush but it is so up my alley we may need to call a tow truck. I’m also really excited to meet the other participants and create a network of Vancouver-based creatives. I’m also very excited to meet my mentor for the latter portion of the program and excited/nervous about the opportunity to pitch so many broadcasters and streamers.

Anything else you want to tell us?

My name is weird. I know. Say it however you want. But technically, it’s pronounced Hue (like when you are talking about colours) La (like a musical note).

Your PSP Project:

Adult Education is an hour-long family dramedy. When a former teen mom enrols in the same college as her 18-year-old daughter, it reawakens her long-buried desires and threatens her “good mom” status.

What are you up to now?

In between bouts of existential dread, Huelah is currently reworking and polishing some pilots (as in scripts, not the people who fly planes) and writing the next draft for her Harold Greenberg funded feature. She is also writing a thriller and some kids animated shorts under assignment while story editing a feature that will shoot in the fall.

Twitter: steve_neufeld
Facebook: Stephen Neufeld

Tell us about yourself and your writing/professional background in 5 sentences or less:

At 29, I quit my teaching job and moved to unceded Coast Salish territory (Vancouver) to take my Creative Writing MFA at UBC, where I finally watched The Wire, which convinced me that TV was the form for me. After that I wrote (and optioned) several spec scripts and created my own award-winning web series called Coded. After working in my first writers’ room last December, I spent this year writing a science fiction novel and another pilot. I am excited to spend this coming year working with my colleagues and mentors at the PSP!

What excites you most about starting the Scripted Series Lab?

I am absolutely thrilled to engage in the creative process with my team members, to glean tips, tricks and wisdom from them, to share anything I can, and to work together to craft a compelling, unbearably addictive show. I’m also super pumped to work under Rob Cooper’s leadership and learn from his wealth of experience and success.

Anything else you want to tell us?

I want to thank the PSP and its partners and supporters for making this happen. Furthermore, I’d like to single out Omnifilm Entertainment in particular for being such a supportive and encouraging part of my ongoing creative journey. I also make the best pancakes and waffles in the history of the universe. I defy anyone to prove me wrong.

Your PSP Project:

Title: Between, 1-hour drama
Logline: A brilliant but confused Ethiopian adoptee, caught between two worlds and struggling to come to terms with his complex identity, begins a journey of self-discovery when he abandons the adulthood his white parents had planned out for him.

What are you up to now?

Right now I’m working hard to get all my new projects out into the world. I’m meeting with production companies about my PSP show, Between, but also a few new comedies that the Covid lockdown gave me the time to develop. At the same time, I’m getting ready to pitch Home, a thriller I’m working on with Omnifilm Entertainment and Floyd Kane. To top it off, I just completed a YA Sci-Fi novel and have started looking for a publisher.

Twitter: renegade_run

Tell us about yourself and your writing/professional background in 5 sentences or less:

Renuka is an emerging writer who brings with her the ability to collaborate and strategize on story development with the focus on powerful female narratives. She was a 2019 Quarterfinalist in the ScreenCraft’s Horror Movie Screenplay and Horror Movie Concept competition and is particularly stoked by horror, thrillers and true crime. Her last project was Associate Producer and co-writer on the film, Past Never Dies.

What excites you most about starting the Scripted Series Lab?

I don’t know if ‘excites’ is the right word. I’m mostly scared! But I can’t wait to meet, work and learn from the show runner, industry professionals and the rest of the participants!

Your PSP project

Title: I Won’t Eat You
Logline: The lives of two best friends are forever changed when one of them is murdered and returns from the dead as a zombie. Together, they hunt for an elusive killer who has ties to the dark arts.
Genre: Supernatural horror
Length: 8 episodes x 45 minutes

What are you up to now?

Polishing two projects, a tv pilot, and a short horror script while working as a Story Editor for Network Entertainment.

Twitter: ToddIreland

Tell us about yourself and your writing/professional background in 5 sentences or less:

Todd Ireland is a Métis screenwriter based in Vancouver, BC. He is one of the writers of ReBoot:The Guardian Code and Continuum. He is a member of the Writers Guild of Canada Diverse Screenwriters Program.
He is the creator of Indie comics, Outnumbered and Redacted.

What excites you most about starting the Scripted Series Lab?

I am most excited about getting to work, learn and grow with other BC based writers to create a sustainable pool of talent in order to bring more writers rooms to Vancouver area. Working in BC is a dream come true and I want to make sure other writers get to experience it.

Project developed in the PSP

Title: QUANTUM SWITCH
Logline: An Indigenous cop is kidnapped by his corrupt comrades and sent into an alternate dimension where he inhabits another version of himself that has lived a very different life.
Genre: one hour Sci-Fi drama.

What are you up to now?

Polishing an animated feature film and prepping my next project… a heist movie featuring diverse characters.

Tell us about yourself and your writing/professional background in 5 sentences or less:

Hello! I’m a writer based in Vancouver and Toronto. I’ve written for shows like Mysticons, The Next Step, and Dino Dana, as well as a few other shows in development. I also like to take those online quizzes that tell you which Golden Girls character you are. I am Sophia.

What excites you most about starting the Scripted Series Lab?

I’m especially excited to work in a simulated writers room for a one hour format series. I’d like to learn how to sustain a serialized arc over a season while still keeping the story fresh episode to episode. I’m also hugely excited for stage 2, where we’ll get to work on our individual series pitches. It’s always valuable to get feedback on your samples from industry professionals. And of course, I want to meet the other participants and talk about story with them. I’d love to build a solid network of emerging writers in the west coast!

Project developed in the PSP

Horny Lover Boys (22-minute horror comedy): When his best friend gets possessed by a malevolent force, a teenage introvert joins forces with his school’s Gay Straight Alliance to exorcise it. Love Simon meets Stephen King.

What are you up to now?

I’m a story editor on two fantastic shows: one about Kpop (where I try to sneak BTS references wherever I can) and another more adult show called Family Law (where I try to sneak BTS references wherever I can). Recently, my project Horny Lover Boys won a grant as part of CBC’s Creative Relief Fund.

Twitter: mike_works

Tell us about yourself and your writing/professional background in 5 sentences or less:

Hi! I’m a graduate from UBC’s Creative Writing MFA program and UVic’s Creative Writing BFA program. A year ago I placed in the Top 5 of the Austin Film Festival’s spec script competition, which led to AFF inviting me to read for their competition this year. My debut short film The Yoga Bridge screened at some prominent LGBTQ film festivals in the States, and I’m currently developing a show about the salacious world of professional wrestling.

What excites you most about starting the Scripted Series Lab?

It can be really difficult to get in a writers’ room, especially in Vancouver. I know how many skilled and talented screenwriters there are in this city, so to get the opportunity to work alongside them in a professional setting is just so exciting. And then of course there’s the showrunner, who may still be under embargo when these answers go up, so I’ll just say the showrunner is super cool. Like, ultra super cool. But what excites me most is the potential for this program to be a flag staked on the moon of Vancouver’s screenwriting landscape, signifying that there’s real potential here for the film and TV writing industry to thrive.

Project Developed in the PSP

Title: Gary the Great
Log line: After a single parent is diagnosed with ALS, he embarks on a quest of role-playing and demon-slaying by joining a game of Dungeons & Dragons – a journey he hopes will bring him closer to his step daughter before his time runs out.
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Fantasy.
Length: 30-minute episodes.

What are you up to now?

Since completing PSP’s inaugural Scripted Series Lab, I’ve had my original project optioned by an LA-based producer and am currently developing its pitch deck to be taken out. I also signed a shopping agreement for a feature I wrote after the program. For work, I wrote original scripts for The Goldbergs: Back to the 80s mobile game, I’ve been writing script coverage for a Vancouver-based production company, and I’ve taught screenwriting courses at Vancouver Community College. For fun, I’ve been playing Animal Crossing, where there’s no pandemic. No pain. Only joy.

Twitter: katsieniuc
Instagram: katilllac

Tell us about yourself and your writing/professional background in 5 sentences or less:

Kat Sieniuc is an award-winning screenwriter who creates well-defined, complex characters. Kat began her career as a journalist covering local politics, crime and the courts in New York City and Toronto. Her legal dramedy pilot GUTS ‘N’ GLORY won the Gold Prize in the Page International Screenwriting Awards and the Grand Prize in the WeScreenplay Television Competition.

What excites you most about starting the Scripted Series Lab?

Kat is very excited to meet everyone and solve a crime together.