Introduce Yourself : An open vista ahead by Richard Morell

Hello to you amazing creatives!

Writing this post from Fairfield, Iowa--home of the Maharishi International University and the online school David Lynch Screenwriting MFA program. Last time I was here, I was about to graduate. Now, I have my Screenwriting MFA (to accompany a Dramatic Writing MFA from NYU), and like all's-y'alls, facing the current reality of the Writers and Actors tandem strike. I'm thoughtful about having received a degree at this uncertain time.

Nonetheless, I am taking a scene from my MFA Thesis project JACKSON, WYOMING, and expanding it to become a short film/proof of concept. I took some time off of writing after graduating, and now I'm back into it. In addition to the short, I'm working on a script that I've been putting together in between terms of my grad program. I hope to get it done by the end of the year.

My original plan was to graduate and then stay here in Iowa for a couple of months and hightail it for L.A. Part of that plan included finishing up this 2-week spiritual course I'd signed up for at MIU. But the Writers Strike (now in tandem with the Actors Strike), along with the need to postpone the 2-week course until December, have caused me to decide on staying in Iowa until February 2024. There are pluses and minuses for getting there in September vs. February, but I chose to stay in Iowa more to save money before the Cali sojourn. I will also have hopefully completed the short I intend to me. (It's a winter scene, so Iowa would probably be better than California just for that reason alone.)

I would love to connect with everyon, but especially people in Iowa and writers and actors with a connection to the Mountain West. I consider myself a regional writer, and that's where most of my scripts take place.