Derek Lee McPhatter

Playwright, Producer and Screenwriter

Chicago, Illinois

Member Since:
October 2011

Last online:
> 2 weeks ago

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About Derek

Derek’s a good listener and gets the tea – on family, friends, frenemies and especially his former colleagues in the legal, nonprofit and academic fields. He often relies on sci-fi and fantasy conventions to keep his stories from getting him into trouble.

Recently, Derek wrote and co-produced Trace (a proof-of-concept for an original sci fi digital series). It was a featured selection at Series Fest, Miami Webfest and is currently available on OTV | Open Television. Since then, he’s received several awards to develop his cyberpunk rock opera for the stage - water riot - slated for a 2026 premiere in NYC.

After helping launch two platforms to incubate emerging, BIPOC writers (first for theater, then for TV/Film), Derek is prioritizing his own work with support from mentors and peers he’s met along the way, including Patric Verrone, Andrew Hinderaker, and Lilly Wachowski. He’s originally from Pickerington Ohio and splits his time between Chicago, Los Angeles and NYC.

Gender:
Male

Ethnicity:
African American

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Loglines

CLONE (k.l.o.n.) Sci-fi ⋄ Comedy To save his family from a mysterious disease, an impulsive young dad finds himself locked in the lab with his mad scientist in-laws.
Uptown Tonight Comedy ⋄ Musical An ambitious lawyer returns to Harlem to follow his dreams of running a famous Black theater. But keeping this place in business means choosing chaos with the aspiring stars, fading entertainers, jaded staff and unruly audiences that make this stage so legendary.