Welcome to the Write Club

DEADLINE with Paula Killen

DEADLINE RETURNS IN JULY

SIGN UP NOW!

July 23rd-26th
DEADLINE
FOUR DAYS

Commit to one weekend and you can change your creative life forever.

This crash course will give you the opportunity to write and perform a monologue or performance piece over the course of a single weekend. Even if you have no idea what you might write about when we begin on Friday, you will be performing a completed piece on Monday, guaranteed.

This intensive process will give you the tools to turn any story into a great performance piece.
Working in a group environment you will learn from everyone's experience, spending enormous amounts of time on stage, developing your own voice and stage persona.

Learn techniques to help you memorize your material as well as learn how to better work with an audience and home your abilities as an actor.

Use your new skills to create viable material in class and apply those skills to:
solo pieces,
plays,
sketches,
short/feature films,
TV pitch, shows

You will work hard, but the results will give you the confidence to continue creating.

This weekend will be a kickass good time and at the end of it all, you can invite your friends to see you perform at the fanaticSalon.

Friday July 23rd 2-5pm

Saturday July 24th 12-4pm

Sunday July 25th 12-4pm

Monday July 26 5-7pm

Performance Monday July 26th 8pm

Class space is limited/first come first served

Your check/money order or paypal payment secures your spot.
$225.00

Call 213 400 7953 for more information about the class or to enroll.

Or Call the fanaticSalon

WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT 'DEADLINE' WITH PAULA KILLEN:

"I've taken Deadline with Paula Killen three times, and each time I've created a new solo performance piece that I've been able to add to my international touring repertoire right away. Paula gives clear and straightforward direction along with great notes and feedback to keep you moving forward throughout the workshop. She has a particular genius for pulling stories out of people who don't think they have any stories. If you ever need to get your butt kicked and get a piece out, this is the thing for you."-Antonio Sacre

" Paula's class is the perfect fusion of artistic expression and catharsis. Paula has a unique ability to pull out your inner-most thoughts and somehow magically make you believe that its ok to spill your guts across the stage. Maybe its her unwavering confidence in her student's, or maybe its that she admits to being as crazy as the rest of us. Either way, her class makes for a life-changing experience." -Elena Zaretsky

Upcoming Shows

OUR NEXT SHOW WILL BE ON

July 2nd!

Ramsey Brown

Kate O'Neal

Jim Rasfeld

and MORE!

HOSTED BY

PAULA KILLEN

Sobbing because it's $10? Pull yourself together, our shows are worth every penny. But you can get in with a lovely 2 for 1 $5 each by finding a Write Club member in the lobby with a coupon for you.

The ImprovOlympic West

6366 West Hollywood Blvd

Hollywood 90028

Call: 323 262 7560

Visit us on our FACEBOOK page so we can SEE YOU COMING!

Who Are These People?

The Write Club members
Click on the performers name to find even more!

Paula Killen
Writer/performer/instructor, Paula currently directs the popular performance collective, The Write Club (regulars at the IO West, Celebration Theatre, FanaticSalon and currently performing at the Comedy Central Workspace). She also facilitates writing/performing workshops at the Improv Olympic, the Actor's Gang, The Comedy Union, and Wordspace. Killen is a private coach for many different types of projects, including Adria Tennor (Strip Search, Acme LA), Meera Simhan (Miss India America, Acme LA), Kimleigh Smith (Totally Kimleigh, fanaticSalon, NYC Tour) , Sarah Thyre (author Dark at the Roots), Melanie Hutsell (Party Mom, Upright Citizens Brigade) and the Quarterly Report (multiple shows, Highways Performance Space, Fake Gallery, Evidence Room) and more.

Killen's two person show (with Lisa Orkin) Fully Loaded sold out for over a year at the Upright Citizen's Brigade and went on to become a feature film directed by Shira Piven and Executive produced by Adam McKay/Sanchez Productions. Killen is also writing a feature film for Will Ferrell/Paramount Pictures. Currently, Killen is co-producing Mom's the Word with Cathy Schenkelberg at the El Portal Forum Theatre in North Hollywood.

Antonio Sacre

Antonio Sacre is an internationally touring, award-winning solo performance artist based in Los Angeles. A two-time Best In Fringe Festival winner at the New York International Fringe Theater Festival, Sacre has created eight solo shows, performing them to critical and popular acclaim at the New York International Fringe Festival, PS 122 and PS NBC in New York City; the San Francisco Fringe Theater Festival in San Francisco; the HBO Workspace, The Comedy Central Workspace, the Knitting Factory, Edgefest, and Area 51 in Los Angeles; the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Rhinoceros Theater Festival in Chicago; the Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian in Washington DC; and various festivals internationally.

Antonio Sacre has been with the Write Club for the last year.

Jane Morris Founder of the Second City ETC stage in Chicago, Jane is a writer, performer and director. She has taught improvisation for the Second City and in her own venues for the past 20 years. Dubbed "The Harriet Tubman of Comedy" by friends, Jane and her husband Jeff Michalski have owned and operated UpFront Comedy and the Comedy Underground in Santa Monica and is currently the owner and managing director of the fanaticSalon in Culver City. She has been performing with the Write Club for over two years.

For Jane's full list of television and movie credits, visit her IMBD page.

Bess Fanning Since moving to Los Angeles in 1996 Bess Fanning has had television roles. She has been seen on NBC's MY NAME IS EARL (white trash female wrestler), PROMISED LAND (a harried HMO doctor) and a recurring role as Karen's sassy assistant on the critically acclaimed ONCE & AGAIN on ABC. She also recently co-starred on the Web Series “Quarterlife,” directed by Eric Stoltz. In the film short "The Recipe," she played a wife who exacts revenge on her philandering husband by adding a special ingredient to the lasagna. Some of her commercial appearances include Progresso Soup, Singulair, Special K, and Hardees. New additions to her theatre resume include Susie the nurse in WIT, Nadine and Juanita in DEARLY DEPARTED, and Lovey the Fairy Godmother in LOVE IN PIECES. Bess has written several one woman shows and performed them locally in Los Angeles. She also recently wrote, Executive Produced, and starred in “An Excellent Choice,” a short film that was accepted to three film festivals in 2007, including the Newport Beach Film Festival and San Diego International Film Festival. For more information on the film, visit www.AnExcellentChoiceTheMovie.com.

Bess has been performing with the Write Club for two years.

Clara York began writing poems and leaving them on her mother’s bed during an identity crisis at age 10. She wrote and produced her first play, ‘Pressure Points’ for Theater of NOTE. Her second play, “The Stain” received critical acclaim during its run at The Alliance Theater. She appeared with really big hair on Night Court, Wings, Mad TV, CSI, Days of Our Lives and some horror flicks before moving to the bay area where her husband attended law school. Clara didn’t tell her agent about the move and commuted to auditions in L.A., also working as a petite model, and in commercials and theater in San Francisco. After 3 years in the Bay Area, Clara moved to Chicago where she enjoyed her richest and most profound theater experiences. She performed with the Terrapin Theater Co., at Café Voltaire, and at the Red Bones Theater. While in Chicago, Clara also guest starred on “The Untouchables.” After returning to L.A. shortly before September 11, Clara and her husband wrote and produced the full length feature ‘Man with a Red Moustache.’ It was carpe diem times two: the world might be ending and they were going to have a baby. After the movie was in the can, they went to China to get their daughter. Now Clara happily receives notes and stories written by her daughter age 8 and braces herself for her daughter’s upcoming identity crisis.

Jessica Lee Williamson is one of the Write Club's newest members. She grew up on Maryland's Eastern shore, in a small town best known for it's super sized Dairy Queen and Annual Water Foul Festival. She graduated from The Second City Conservatory in Los Angeles, but has yet to earn a bachelors degree. She loves making things and writing too, you can see more of her work

James Schneider has performed his monologues and songs in Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles and Brussels, Belgium. His "Clowns, Goddesses & Tough Guys" played with a live funk band, which also released two CDs of original songs. James has written and/or directed several short films, including "Roadside Sex", "The Seventh Man" and "In Search of Work". (Watch James' short films here.) As an actor, he appears in "Oceans 12", guest starred on the series "The Untouchables", and navigates his way to nowhere in "Brit In". Additionally, he has done improv with the Upright Citizens Brigade and in Chicago with the Improv Olympic and the Annoyance Theatre. James performed in countless Chicago theatre productions, such as the long-running Barto Productions' "Under Milk Wood", and several with Famous Door Theatre, including the American premiere of "Conquest of the South Pole". James has performed with the Write Club since January 2009, and is also the de facto Write Club photographer.

Lauri Fraser is a voice over actress, writer and creator of "I Love a Good Story". She is the voice of Jane Jetson and can be heard on cartoons, animated features and commercials, and most recently as the voice of Earth on Eikosphere. Just as Superman paid the bills as a newspaper reported, Lauri's real world disguise is as a hair stylist and colorist in Beverly Hills. She is also a real cool chick, according to her imaginery friend Carlotta. Bookings: Imperium 7 323 931 9099. Hair: Tina Cassaday's Hair Studio: 310 271 1591.

Meleney Humphrey aspires to walk in Jane Morris’s footsteps since Jane was one of Melaney's first teachers at Second City way back when. There, she followed Jane to Upfront Comedy where Melanie began her illustrious stage career.

Starring in an off off (Award winning) Broadway production of “Blake da Muscial”. She has toured with the Troubadour Theater Company and starred in such productions as “Romeo Hall & Juliet Oats” and “Midsummer Saturday Night Fever’s Dream”. She played a porn star in “Shitty Day” and won an award for “Butt Pirates of the Caribbean”. Yes, adult content is what she loves best. Stand up is where she shines and doing that for the last 10 years has brought her to the Write Club (4 years ago) under the direction of Paula Killen. Paula has taught and has inspired her to write her bawdy stories more …eloquently.

Shelley Wenk Shelley Wenk is an actor, a director and sometimes a writer. In addition to working with Write Club, she has done lots of improv, was a writer and performer with the sketch comedy group Foe Pa, and was a founding member of Sacred Fools Theater. Now she's a mother, which means less time for all that other stuff for now. But it ain't over 'till it's over.

Lisa Ann Orkin

Writer-performer Lisa Ann Orkin started her career as a classically-trained actress in London . Then to Germany , acting and dancing in various German State Theatre productions, including Evita, Loves Labors Lost, and The Boyfriend.

Arriving in Los Angeles, Lisa joined The Renegade Theatre Co. and Actors Alley, performing in everything from Shakespeare to musical comedy.

On a dare, Lisa auditioned for KFI AM640’s Stand-up Comedy Contest and won a case of fat-free wieners. Soon Lisa was paid regular at The Comedy Store on the Sunset Strip, leading to numerous episodic television appearances. Guest-starring roles on Becker, Titus, and a recurring role on Keenan & Kel paid the bills. ABC Nightly News featured Lisa with Peter Jennings in a politics and comedy discussion.

In the past few years, Lisa has enjoyed her popularity as a Comedic Storyteller, performing in such live LA venues as UCB, Tongue and Groove, Story Salon, Tarfest, Max Ten, and NPR Radio.

Lisa has also developed and staged a series of Storytelling / Rock & Roll Musicals.

Teetering on the Edge (El Portal Theatre, Gardenia, NOHO Arts Festival), Housewife in Blue (Billboard Live, Gardenia, White Fire Theatre) and her current show, Sex, Drugs and Minivans (Fake Gallery, Two Roads Theatre) have all enjoyed critical acclaim.

Most recently, Lisa completed filming of her feature, Fully Loaded, based on the stage production of the same name. Lisa co-wrote and stars with Paula Killen in the film, produced by Adam McKay and Will Ferrell.

Rose Vaswani is a actor/writer of 20 years that has worked in Puerto Rico, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. Her television appearances include Law and Order, Everybody Hates Chris, 100 Centre Street where she got to meet the wonderful Sydney Lumet and Third Watch. She’s also appeared in numerous commercials. The writing started way back in highschool where she wrote and performed her own award winning monologues. Rose has worked off and on for the past 10 years with Paula Killen and she has been a member of the Write Club since 2008.

About Our Work

Founded by writer, director and performer Paula Killen in 2007, The Write Club is a workshop comprised of approximately 25 very talented writer/performers. Originally a group of women of all races, the Write Club has recently grown to include men.

All of the members of Write Club work on their solo pieces in this collective environment, committing to their work through re-writes, edits, final staging and, finally, live performance, off book and fully realized.

Each artist is encouraged to find their own voice, capitalize on personal experiences, explore characters and commit to the unique experience of real communication with the audience.

Paula Killen explains, “I created original work for years in Chicago (and)...had hoped to inspire folks to move towards their best selves—the message, the meaning, the humor, the heartbreak—all as a way to commune with the planet, have a good time on stage and take their careers back from the thieves that say a crumby TV guest spot is the only validation an actor can expect to achieve. A way to stay sharp and accessible.”

The Write Club performs on the first Friday of each month at the Improv Olympic West in Hollywood and periodically at the fanaticSalon in Culver City and the Celebration Theater in Hollywood.

How do I join?

Give us a call. Sit in on class once. The Write Club meets every Tuesday evening at 7pm in downtown Los Angeles at Art Share 801 E 4th St. 90013. The fee is only $100 per month.

Call 622 2046 and talk to Jane Morris or click on Paula's picture to talk with her.

The Write Club at Work

Watch the Write Club at work.




Jane Morris "The New Head Theory" February 2009 at the IO West Monthly Write Club Show

Clara York performs "Fire in the Hole" March 2010 at the IO West.



Bess Fanning "Hating Rachel Ray" performed at the February 2009 IO West Monthly Write Club Show



James Schneider "Penifesto" performed at the August 2009 IO West Monthly Write Club show footage shot by RustyCanProductions

Testify! Our Audience Speaks

“The Write Club is the right club for exploring new literary and performance vistas: internal and external.

The writer/performers find out things they never knew about themselves and exposing that stuff in eye-opening ways.

They think before blabbing; so unusual in today’s world. What a concept!” -- Edie McClurg

Amazing Writers and Performers! Book these guys wherever you can! Their stuff is deep, fresh, hysterical, moving and super relate-able. They dig deep and leave their hearts on the stage. Always a memorable experience. Not to be missed! Wendee Lee

I've seen three of their performances and each time I've been riveted and amazed. The writing, personal stories that through the talent of the actors, broaden ones understanding and subsequently become universal themes, are profound and often very funny as well. A remarkably gifted group that will nourish all who attend. Mary Presby

The show I saw at The Hudson was the most entertaining show I saw in all 2009. Hilarious! Jamie Franklin

They are amazing, authentic, and a lovely breath of fresh air. The show is diverse, energetic, and definitely comes from the heart. How do they memorize all of that stuff?!! Very very talented people. Melba Watson

Went to see the show and LOVED it. It made my husband and I have faith in going to the theater again. We laughed our tushies off and plan to take our non-theater friends and family to one of their shows so they can know how great LA theater can be. Maria McCann

Seen the Write Club lately? Leave your praise and snarky opinions in the comment section below.