Pitch Practice Makes Perfect, Part 2

Learn how to hone your pitch with the help of experienced executives.

Five to six comedy/variety writers will have the opportunity to pitch in front of a live (virtual) audience of Writers Guild members. Each writer will be given constructive feedback and advice on moving their project forward.

About the Panelists

Genevieve Aniello is three-time WGA Award-winning writer for her work on HACKS and is currently in development on several projects including an hour-long UNTITLED TV PROJECT with Disney+ and GODDARD TEXTILES, a half-hour comedy with Fifth Season as well as an upcoming directorial debut on the feature with Strong Baby. She recently was a consultant on the feature MY OLD ASS, and a writer on the upcoming Steve Carell & Bill Lawrence HBO series.

Before writing, Genevieve was the Director of Development at Jax Media where she oversaw the development and/or production of several successful shows including, SEARCH PARTY, THE CHARACTERS (Netflix), DESUS & MERO (Showtime).

Over ten years, ALLY ENGELBERG has worked to transform Lorne Michaels’ Above Average from a shortform digital comedy brand into an Emmy-winning development and production company. As a creative- and talent-first producer with sharp comedy taste, she takes projects from conception and development through physical production and wrap. She’s earned the trust of talent, writers, directors, crew, reps, and networks to bring in, creatively shape, and produce premium comedy content across half hour scripted comedies, stand up specials, comedy features, scripted audio and digital.

Selected recent Producer and Executive Producer credits include: THE OTHER TWO (Emmy Nominated | HBO Max), OFFICE RACE (Comedy Central/Paramount+), ALEX EDELMAN: JUST FOR US (Emmy Winning | HBO), TIG NOTARO: HELLO AGAIN (Emmy Nominated | Amazon), PETE DAVIDSON: TURBO FONZARELLI (Netflix), ANTHONY JESELNIK: BONES AND ALL (Netflix), MATTEO LANE: THE AL DENTE SPECIAL (Hulu), ATSUKO OKATSUKA: FATHER (Hulu).

Franklin Leonard is a film and television producer, cultural commentator, and entrepreneur. He is the founder and CEO of The Black List, a company dedicated to identifying and supporting remarkable screenwriting and screenwriters through its annual survey, online marketplace, grants, labs, and fellowships.

Leonard has worked in feature film development at Universal Pictures and the production companies of Will Smith, Sydney Pollack & Anthony Minghella, and Leonardo DiCaprio. He’s been a juror at the Sundance, Toronto, and Mumbai film festivals. In 2019, the Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) presented him with the Evelyn Burkey award for elevating the honor and dignity of screenwriters.