As the entertainment industry rapidly evolves and becomes more accessible, creators have found themselves taking on multiple roles, from writing to acting to directing and everything in between.
On this special night, we team up with Cornell in Hollywood for a panel of five writers and actors (and Cornell alums) who will give their insight on how writing and acting intersect, how to honor a writer’s intention and still make a role entirely your own, and what it is like to take on both the jobs of writer and actor at once.
Panelists include:
Jake Allyn – Jake currently stars as BoJohn Folsom in BET’s hit 1-hour drama, THE QUAD, which was recently on The New York Times and The Hollywood Reporter lists for top new 2017 shows and will return with a second season in the Fall. His first leading role in film, Jake stars in the upcoming socially topical thriller, Overexposed, opposite Marguerite Moreau (Wet Hot American Summer). Jake’s TV credits also include roles on ABC, Lifetime, and The SyFy Channel.
Catherine Hicks – Catherine received her MFA in Acting at Cornell. She starred shortly after in Ryan’s Hope and then on Broadway in Tribute with Jack Lemmon. She then portrayed Marilyn Monroe in an Emmy-nominated performance. Her feature films include The Razors Edge with Bill Murray/Garbo Talks for Sidney Lumet/ Francis Coppola’s Peggy Sue Got Married/ Fever Pitch/ Star Trek IV / Childsplay and others. TV credits include 3 series… the last of which ran 11 years, 7th Heaven. Many small films followed. She recently wanted to ” follow the women’s march with meaningful activity… so is proudly working for Congressman Adam Schiff doing grunt work in his campaign office and The League of Women Voters…. on committee .. recently addressing homelessness in downtown LA.”
Amanda Idoko – Amanda is a writer-actor originally from the Bronx, NY. She got her break in the TV industry through the 2016 Disney-ABC Writing Program and was a writer on Imaginary Mary (ABC) and The Goldbergs (ABC).
Katelyn Pippy – Katelyn Pippy has been acting in various film, television, and theatre productions since the age of 9. She is perhaps most well-known for her tenure as a series regular on the Lifetime drama “Army Wives,” in which she filmed a total of 61 episodes alongside a rockstar cast including Sterling K. Brown, Kim Delaney, and Catherine Bell. While at Cornell, Katelyn majored in Performing and Media Arts in addition to playing on the Championship Varsity Women’s Ice Hockey team and staying active in the theatre and Greek life communities. Katelyn lives full time in Los Angeles now and is represented by Framework Entertainment, whose client list also includes Lucy Liu, Gina Torres, and Marcia Gay Harden.
Moderator: David Greenman – A native of Syracuse, NY, David shunned his pre-med training from Cornell University and moved to Los Angeles to be an actor before realizing his true love is writing. As an actor, David appeared alongside Kevin Hart in the film ABOUT LAST NIGHT and for three seasons as FBI Forensic Tech Marcus Geier on BONES. Other TV appearances include recurring as Fred the soux chef on GILMORE GIRLS, Danny McCall on GENERAL HOSPITAL, and guest spots on WEEDS, NCIS:LA,THE MENTALIST, ACCORDING TO JIM, CLOSE TO HOME, THE NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE, and MONK. David’s feature ROMANTAPHOBIA was a top ten finalist in the Final Draft Big Break Screenwriting Competition and his hit webseries CHECKED OUT was one of the Guardian’s 25 web shows to watch and featured in TVLine, The Insider, and Clicker, among others. He is currently developing multiple TV and films projects.
Doors open at 7:30pm. Event starts at 8pm.
All events advertised on our “Events” page are open to anyone who wants to buy a ticket – not just WGA members!
Proceeds benefit the Foundation’s library and archive and other outreach programs.