Published Words

My original dramedy pilot Belly Up advanced to the semifinals of the ScreenCraft TV Pilot Script Competition

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What We Do in the Shadows spec script advanced to the Second Round in the Austin Film Festival contest

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"Reaching Through Time"

Everyone inhales as the conductor raises his arms. There, holding the baton, his hand glitters, reflecting the light overhead.  The hand is not made of skin, but of metal and bolts. 

This script was published on Underwater New York as the winner of their Brooklyn Book Festival writing competition.

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"The Secret Life of the Pit Musician"

We’re one of the most audible parts of a production and definitely the most hidden.

The true story of when the pit musicians had to play onstage was published on Thought Exhibit and GainesvilleScene.com

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"Andrew Tyson: Note-by-Note, City-by-City"

At a sole piano singing at the base of a tiered audience, he began arched over the keys, the way one would toil over a meaningful project.

The full interview with pianist Andrew Tyson can be found here. This was originally published on GainesvilleScene.com

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"Rachel Barton Pine: From Baroque to Heavy Metal"

She played all of Bach’s Partitas and Sonatas from memory, a program that only a few other violinists on Earth can manage.

This interview with a renowned violinist of our time was published on GainesvilleScene.com

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"The Human Behind Humans of New York"

With thousands staring and The Phillips Center’s stage acting as the perfect picture frame, it was as if the lens had turned around and he was one of his photographs springing to life.

Brandon Stanton's visit to UF was published on GainesvilleScene.com

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"Welcome Home, Suckers"

What do I want, a fruit basket for the road? No. I mean, yes, but I’m a realist.

This piece about the difficulties of apartment life and moving was published on GainesvilleScene.com

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"Don't Tempt Fate: My Week with the Flu"

I didn't see sunlight until that weekend, when I stepped out to check the mail, and felt like a mental patient on the loose.

This real-life nightmare was published on GainesvilleScene.com

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"Midnight Memories: Turning 21 at a 1-D Concert"

“Ugh, he’s so hot!” an eight-year-old girl exclaimed….When I was eight, the only thing I referred to as “hot” were Bagel Bites fresh out of the microwave.

This experience was published on GainesvilleScene.com

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"Tara's Informal Guide to Gainesville Theatre: Clybourne Park"

The Premiere Article of my theatre column: Tara's Informal Guide to Gainesville Theatre!

Act I is like an episode of “Mad Men” if Don Draper took the day off, and Act II is like a particularly raunchy episode of “Friends.”

This review was published on GainesvilleScene.com

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"Life Lessons from Van Gogh"

Painting the world’s overlooked details, [van Gogh] develops a new style the public does not yet understand or appreciate. Because of this, he only sells one painting during his lifetime.

We know how the story ends from here.

...he is a success.

And in his grave somewhere, van Gogh is saying, “Haters gonna hate.”

This article was published on GainesvilleScene.com.

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"Sheryl Crow is My Summer Professor"

"In what has been the weirdest fluke of a summer, a prodigious chunk of my friend group went on glorious transatlantic adventures, while my epic travel intentions (weekend trips! Train rides to random destinations! Overseas workshops!) dwindled to one underwhelming afternoon drive across city borders.

...if I had to learn the meaning of Sheryl Crow’s immortal words: “It’s not having what you want/It’s wanting what you’ve got,” then so help me, may it be in Gainesville."

This article was published on GainesvilleScene.com.

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"Uncharted Backwoods"

A poem written during Syracuse University's Summer College Creative Writing Class.  One of five poems published in I Am From Berlin.

"Perhaps you remain lost in this forest, In this desert, But the time will arrive when Those alien destinations become familiar.  Even comfortable."

Read the entire poem here.

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"An Afternoon's Elegy"

A short story about the death of my beloved Siberian Husky, Bella.  It won first place in the nonfiction category for the Hillsborough Council of Teachers of English writing contest in 2011.  It was published in the book of winning entries titled Feelings, Facts, and Fantasies.

"Barely audible underneath the rhythm I was rehearsing [on my violin]was the sound of howling.  I slung my bow off of the strings to listen to my surroundings as the vibrations under my chin clamored until they were inaudible.  Had that noise just come from Bella?  “Bella, what’s wrong?”  My mom asked.  “What’s the matter sweetie?”  She continued as her silhouette disappeared into the living room.

    When I reached the family room, Mom was crouching over Bella and stroking the top of her head, which was unnaturally lying on the wooden shelf of a piece of furniture.  Her chest was unsteadily and stiffly heaving.  Even my violin appeared uncomfortable as I set it down against a pillow on the stiff living room couch.  It was impossible in that moment to perceive the symbolism it would later hold when I returned home and found it calmly laying right where I had left it; a bold statement as it seemed so exposed and lonely on the starch white couch."

Read the entire short story here.