Scripted Series Lab 2019 Participant, Mike Orlando, enjoys teaching screenwriting online for Vancouver Community College, as well as writing coverage for a local production company. He’s had an MOW optioned, as well as the script he developed while in the Scripted Series Lab. Of course, he’s always working on writing more scripts.
I asked Mike what his most lasting impressions from his time in the room were. Mike said, “I will always remember the naked person in the apartment building across the street from our room. The naked person always seemed to interrupt my pitching! But seriously, something I think about to this day is the incredible diversity of that room – the five of us and the Showrunner. Gender, orientation, ethnicity… It felt like everyone had a free-flowing role in the room. I really appreciated that and will always want to be in a diverse room.”
Mike’s main piece of advice for this year’s cohort is to maintain their relationships with both the group and the industry people they meet. He added, “When you hear how people get their breaks it usually ends up being a non linear line of relationships and putting yourself out there.”
Mike’s advice for people hoping to get into the program is to submit a sample that is “most unique to your voice.” He suggests that genre is less important than the script that shows specific strengths and is memorable. “Show something of who you are that a Showrunner would want to add to the room.”