RETREATERS

A group of working-class New Englanders find themselves at odds with their neighbors after their apartment building is turned into a temporary shelter for “coastal elites” retreating from a rapidly disappearing shoreline, while two surfer teens try to hunt down a fossil fuel exec on the run ‘cause, brah, this dude needs some, like, serious healing.

  • Project Type:
    Television Script
  • Genres:
    Comedy, Dramedy
  • Number of Pages:
    33
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • First-time Screenwriter:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Phyllis B. Abrams Poetry Award
    University of Hartford
    September 1, 1994
    First Place Winner
  • Project Greenlight Screenplay Competition
    Los Angeles
    January 15, 2004
    Semi-finalist
  • San Diego International Film Fest Screenplay Competition
    San Diego, CA
    January 15, 2004
    Semi-finalist
  • Rhode Island International Film Fest Screenplay Competition
    Providence, Rhode Island
    June 15, 2004
    Semi-finalist
  • RI International Film Fest, Providence Film Fest
    Providence, Rhode Island
    June 15, 2008
    Second Place Winner, Best Film
  • Rhode Island State Council on the Arts
    Providence, Rhode Island
    September 1, 2010
    Screenwriting Merit Fellow
  • Rhode Island State Council on the Arts
    Providence, Rhode Island
    May 1, 2013
    Screenwriting Merit Fellow
  • PAGE International Screenwriting Competition
    Los Angeles, CA
    September 1, 2013
    Quarterfinalist
Writer Biography

Unlikely protagonist who once landed a book deal with Simon & Schuster with the help of a dearly departed English professor. Associate Producer of THE ATTICUS INSTITUTE (Anchor Bay), despite being a scaredy cat. Awards and placements include Nicholls quarterfinals, PAGE, RIIFF, and San Diego FF semifinals, and becoming a two-time Screenwriting Fellow through the State of Rhode Island. Former RISD screenwriting instructor. Conceived of and co-produced "Writing Climate: Pitchfest for TV and Film" as part of the Hollywood Climate Summit. Have worked production in a variety of positions in Los Angeles, New York, and Rhode Island. Creative projects have been featured in The Boston Globe, Outside, SPIN, Food Network magazine, Uppercase, and other publications. Dramedies, stories that amplify marginalized folks, and climate-forward scripts give me life.

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Writer Statement

Faced with a climate crisis of epic proportions, where every day we lose biodiversity, contend with mega-droughts, mega-storms, and mega-polluting corporations, and find ourselves grappling with related compound traumas, it may seem incongruous to champion comedy. But comedy puts us into a relaxed and receptive state, allowing writers to enlighten as they entertain. This is the impetus behind RETREATERS, my TV dramedy pilot which deals with climate-related migration, immigration, the right to repair, environmental justice, housing, and reclaiming one’s ancestral roots – all while (hopefully!) making you laugh.