What better way to understand the mechanics of film and TV writing than to sit down with a writer and break down a script with them?
In this virtual event series, the WGF Library team gathers acclaimed writers for the ultimate script dissection. Hosted by WGF Librarians Javier Barrios and Lauren O'Connor, we'll take a painstaking look at scripts on screen to analyze and learn about description, dialogue, character voice, text on screen, plus much more.
For this session, we welcome Tony Phelan and Joan Rater, the creators, writers, and executive producers of A Small Light, National Geographic’s limited series about the life of Miep Gies. We’ll examine the series’ first episode script to learn how the writing team approached introducing the story about the Dutch woman who sheltered Anne Frank’s family during World War II.
The Zoom webinar starts at 4:00pm Pacific time.
After signing up, you’ll receive information on how to access the Zoom panel.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us at events@wgfoundation.org.
To read the pilot episode script ahead of the event, click here.
Click here to watch previous sessions of WGF Library Script Breakdown.
about the panelists
TONY PHELAN - Creator, Showrunner, Executive Producer, Writer (101, 102, 108), Director (106, 107, 108)
JOAN RATER - Creator, Showrunner, Executive Producer, Writer (101, 102, 108)
After joining “Grey’s Anatomy” as a writing team at the start of season two, Tony Phelan and Joan Rater rose through the ranks and co-ran the show alongside creator Shonda Rhimes for seasons seven through 10. Over their nine seasons, they wrote 18 episodes and Phelan directed 14. For their work on “Grey’s Anatomy,” they earned a WGA Award for Best New Series in Television in 2005 and were nominated for two Emmy® Awards in 2006 and 2007, both for Outstanding Drama Series.
Since 2016, Phelan and Rater have been developing and running their own shows, including “Council of Dads” for NBC as well as “Doubt” and the upcoming season of “Fire Country” for CBS.
The husband and wife team enjoyed a successful off-Broadway run with their stage play “Good Will” at The Director’s Company in 1998. The New York Times gave it a rave review, hailing it as “touching and thought-provoking.”
Phelan is an alum of Yale University. Rater is an alum of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. They live in Pasadena with their dogs, Reggie and Lola, and don’t see enough of their grown children, Tom and Sally.