Author: matthewtoffolo

Watch the Screenplay Reading: Tinu, an Indian woman in her 40s, is going through a divorce. Leaving her acting career in Los Angeles and moving in with her parents in Buffalo, NY, Tinu attempts to rebuild her life as she pursues her back up engineering career plan with a job as a Construction Inspector. What… Continue reading Screenwriter Nirali Shastri (TINU)

Watch the Screenplay Reading: One is confused. One is growing older. One is afraid of settling down. They all take their chances on rodeo weekend amid the dancing, riding, and drinking. CAST LIST: Narrator: Hannah Ehman Paul: Geoff Mays Martin: Steve Rizzo Get to know the writer: 1. What is your screenplay about? Nine people… Continue reading Screenwriter Bear Kosik (The Gay Rodeo Musical)

Watch the Screenplay Reading: After losing her job in NYC, Marylin and her daughter move away for a quieter life in Maine. Marylin hopes to fix her strained relationship with her daughter and find new purpose by restoring an old seaside cottage. What she didn’t anticipate was falling in love with the ghost that resides… Continue reading Screenwriter Stephanie Marie Couture (The Sea Captain’s Cottage)

Watch the Screenplay Reading: Merritt and Hylan are returning to their high school for their ten year reunion. Friends and roommates, the two complete each other in being completely different; Hylan — a confident, sexually active and adventurous extrovert, and Merritt — a shy, hopeless romantic who is struggling with her sexual identity. Unlike Hylan,… Continue reading Screenwriter Casey Seline (A-Okay)

Watch the Screenplay Reading: A woman with mental health issues, pressured by the insults of her own mother, attempts to stage the kidnapping of her daughter to prove she can make money… but the stunt goes wrong. CAST LIST: Narrator: Hannah Ehman Amanda: Elizabeth Rose Morriss Richard: Geoff Mays Rage: Sean Ballantyne Get to know… Continue reading Screenwriter André Meira (A Dangerous Gamble)

Watch the Poetry Reading: Performed by Steve Rizzo Get to know the poet: 1) What is the theme of your poem? My poem is about the passage from life to death. At this very moment, a legendary figure appears: the coachman of death. He is represented by a gruesome skeleton. He rides a noisy cart… Continue reading Poet Isabelle Le Roux (The Coachman of Death)

Watch the Poetry Reading: 1) What is the theme of your poem? Alcoholism 2) What motivated you to write this poem? Alcohol addiction is prominent in people very close to me. I see how it can destroy peoples lives. I also have seen there is light at the end of the tunnel (quitting, going sober)… Continue reading Poet Kim Farris (YOU USED TO MAKE ME HAPPY)

Watch the Poetry Reading: Narration by Steve Rizzo Get to know the poet: 1) What is the theme of your poem?The theme of this poem is the internal struggle of the fallen angel. 2) What motivated you to write this poem?A lot of my work has explored the idea of angels and the spirit world.… Continue reading Poet Jennifer Gulbrandsen (The Cruel Epitaph of the Fallen Seraph)

Watch the Poetry Reading: Narrated by Steve Rizzo Get to know the poet: 1) What is the theme of your poem? How we live and treat others, can serve us in life and in our deaths as well. 2) What motivated you to write this poem? I saw the contest online and I love horror,… Continue reading Poet Lawrence Bergman (I VISIT YOUR GRAVE)

Watch the Short Story Reading: romantic comedy Synopsis: A hardworking plumber admits that he’s not the brightest guy in the world, then struggles to understand why his lady friend is happy one minute, sad the next, and mad the next Performed by Val Cole Get to know the writer: What is your short story about?… Continue reading Writer John Porter (Not The Brightest Guy in the World)