1ST SCENE SCREENPLAY READINGS
Winning screenplays. First scenes readings from features, and television specs.
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ACTION/SCI-FI Festival 1st Scene: HOW THE WORLD ENDS, by David Case
In a world where a Death Cloud has the power to destroy every last
human and man-made object, the toughest soldier on the planet, a woman, is unhinged by the memory of her father killing her mother when she was a kid.CAST LIST:
Narrator: Elizabeth Rose Morriss
Voice/Black: Steve Rizzo
Faith:... -
HORROR Festval 1st Scene Reading: LITTLE STEPS, by Jennifer LeBeau
Kathy, a failed writer, barely gets by selling "haunted" dolls online to gullible marks, writing elaborate backstories to up the selling price. Her quiet life is upended when she encounters the real deal: Clara Jane, a vintage doll possessed by a foul-mouthed spirit. Clara Jane makes Kathy questi...
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FANTASY/SCI-FI 1st Scene: THE EARTHLIEN, by Muli Glasberg
In a venture into an uncharted human civilization on Earth that evolved without sunlight, a checkered doctor must bridge - with a resilient local leader - science and ancient tradition to find a cure to a deadly disease, navigating together hostile landscapes, corporate grid, personal demons.
CA...
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CRIME/MYSTERY Festival 1st Scene: PEARL FISHER, by Suzanne Birrell
When a precocious mixed-race five-year-old wanders into a fire station with only a backpack and a cryptic note about her missing mother, she has no idea it will set off a chain of events that will reshape her life. The little girl, who refuses to give her name, is sent into foster care and given ...
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ENVIRONMENTAL Fest: Welcome to the Occupied States of America, by Sarah Cawdron
Ashley Kelly is your typical American young woman—or she would be if it weren’t for the cluster bomb that crippled her. Ten years after the alien invasion, over a hundred million Americans have been displaced by the war, with millions more dead. Ash has spent ten years learning to walk again, and...
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NYC Festival 1st Scene: RENEGADES, by Warner J. Miller
In an alternate 1831 Virginia, enslaved preacher Nat Turner, along with hundreds of enslaved Black people in the antebellum South, live with a horrifying truth: white townspeople and plantation owners led by the charismatic Pastor Sarx are ancient demonic beings who literally feed on Black flesh....
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FEMALE Festival 1st Scene: THE WATER CLOCK, by Sheil Seclearr
LOGLINE: Our reluctant Water Clock hero is bent on finding a scientist to teach the world about an ancient family relic, until the stone bowl’s mysterious force reveals a climate crisis no one sees coming: What if water is alive?
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Elizabeth Rose Morriss
Orinday: Steve Rizzo... -
ROMANCE Festival 1st Scene: THE ART OF THE MATTER, by Janna Jones
Two strangers meet and sparks fly, but when he accidentally discovers forged paintings at her house, he leaves abruptly. That would be the end of their story except for the fact that he's reported her to the FBI, and their children are marrying one another on Christmas day.
https://instagram.com...
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1st Scene Reading: Take Care, by Olivier Ross-Parent
Something has happenned in Mady's life. As an immigrant woman in America, she has achieved the American dream; A successful career as a doctor of psychology, a lavish home, nice car, and, most importantly a husband and two wonderful children, yet something is missing. Not knowing what it is, she ...
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1st Scene Reading: Angry Horses, by Jack Rice
The End of Days has arrived and the people of the world have formed a series of coalitions in order to achieve a false sense of economic prosperity and economic security. Along with this new world order, all thoughts of God are openly ridiculed and, when necessary suppressed. The creatures of thi...
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1st Scene Reading: The Ghosts of Rachel Young, by Shaun Mark Burrell
Haunted by a fatal mistake, a shattered vice cop reunites with a bright but brooding detective and his mysterious family to tame her frightening new power and protect it from the evil eager to control it.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Elizabeth Rose Morriss
Rachel: Val Cole
Brandon: Steve Rizzo -
LGBTQ+ TV 1st Scene Reading: AFTERLIFE ANONYMOUS, by Michael Kezele
A gay ghost haunting a West Hollywood house, along with his dysfunctional Grim Reaper friend, help a straight cop solve crimes.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Val Cole
Sal: Steve Rizzo
Shawn: Shawn Devlin
Corey: Andy Camp -
New York Feedback Festival Best Scene: Otherworldly, by Doug Stich
A young girl with special abilities skips several grades to enter high school early as her father leaves on the first manned mission to Mars and her mother contends with a family member's illness.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Val Cole
Emilio: Geoff Mays
Danny: Shawn Devlin -
FEMALE Festival 1st Scene: REWIRING JADE, by Jane DeFoe (interview)
A fierce forty-something woman tries to escape traumatic memories by participating in the Ironman triathlon, only to be diagnosed with CFS. As her life unravels, she clings to an unlikely friend who helps and then hinders her journey to recovery.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Hannah Ehman
Jade: Val Col... -
HORROR Stage Play Reading: Poor Players, by Ronald Kaehler
Five actors are summoned to an empty theater at a late hour to audition for an eccentric director's production of "Macbeth." As the night goes on, they realize this is no ordinary audition -- and there's more at stake than just getting a part.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Hannah Ehman
Sean's Voice/Tod... -
HORROR Festival Reading: Something in the Water, by Mike Kelso (interview)
Poisoned drinking water turns the town into vampire zombies.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Hannah Ehman
Barfly 1: Geoff Mays
Hunter: Shawn Devlin
Barfly 2: Steve RizzGet to know the writer:
1. What is your screenplay about?
It's about a small town that is suddenly struck by a strange disease and t... -
HORROR 1st Scene Reading: Killer Identity, by Sammy Vogel-Seidenberg
Sarah Light, a woman haunted by a lifetime of abuse, struggles with dissociative identity disorder, a condition that splinters her psyche into distinct personalities. Among them, Kristina, a ruthless vigilante driven by a thirst for justice, begins a campaign of violent retribution against figure...
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PROGRAMS, by Irina Vysotskaya. 1st Scene Reading. WILDsound Festival
Greta, a young Swedish actress, leaves her home and her twin flame, Clara, to pursue stardom, reinventing herself as the glamorous Margo Alba. Fame and success follow, but they come at the cost of the authenticity she left behind. Meanwhile, Clara embarks on a new chapter with Richard, a tech dev...
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KINKY GRACE, by Mitchell Ganem - 1st scene script reading - Female Festival
A lesbian couple engages the services of a sex guru to spice up their love life, with hysterically touching results.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Julie Sheppard
Kerry: Hannah Ehman
Ellen: Elizabeth Rose Morriss
Donald: Steve Rizzo -
SCI-FI/FANTASY Festival 1st Scene: THE COYOTE, by Michael Holliday
When a Native American scholar and a graduate student unearth a mysterious tomb, they find it contains the Navajo god Hasteshogan and soon find themselves embroiled in a cosmic battle between good and evil with the fate of humanity at stake.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Sean Ballantyne
Gina: Julie ... -
ROMANCE Festival 1st Scene: COLLATERAL HEARTS, by Stephanie Neroes (interview)
After spending their tenth wedding anniversary at the Mackinac Island, Jackson and Rebecca are in a tragic car accident which leaves her in a coma for 6 months and Jackson dead. After she wakes up, she has to grieve the loss and this takes a toll on her. She meets Patrick when he comes to the sch...
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LGBTQ+ Festival 1st Scene Script: Chrysalis, by Naz Tokgoz (interview)
"Chrysalis" navigates the story of Deniz, an enigmatic alien who, upon arriving on Earth, assumes the form of a 20-something girl. Driven by loneliness and curiosity, she becomes captivated by the vibrant Turkish culture. Alternating between the euphoria of her love with a Turkish woman, Melisa, ...
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COMEDY Screenplay Reaidng: 2 Wit Happens, by Shaun R Delliskave
“Wit Happens” is a dramedy blending sharp satire and heartfelt comedy, capturing the unlikely bond between two souls at different stages of life. As Jack learns to break out of his “one-trick pony” role, Barbara guides him in finding his unique voice—one that has the power to connect, heal, and i...
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CRIME/MYSTERY Fest Script: MADE IN PHILADELPHIA, by Matthew Clark (interview)
The untold true story of Phil Leonetti, the youngest underboss in mafia history, and how he brought down the mob. Set in one of the most brutal eras of the Philadelphia Crime Family, young Phil Leonetti rose through the ranks to become second-in-command to his uncle, Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarf...