2007: The Directors and Writers Thread

[Sylph]

Who knows if there’s any sense transcribing them when they’re so changeable... Will they announce the HW team already?

[Addison Montgomery]

Breakdowns: Addie Walsh, Chip Hayes, Stephen Demorest, Michelle Patrick, Amanda Beall

Editor: Jeff Beldner

Scripts: Karen Lewis, Rebecca Taylor, Marla Kanelos, Courtney Bugler, Joanna Cohen

[Toups]

OLTL:

- Ron Carlivati last listed as Associate Head Writer on May 7

- Ron Carlivati first listed as Co-Head Writer on May 8

[Dr. Jay S.W.]

That made my day.

[Sylph]

Jay, don't get your hopes high yet. Didn't you read the interview with Frank Valentini?

[Dr. Jay S.W.]

Yes. I did indeed. I read loud and clear, if that is possible, Frank saying that he was under Dena, but I have a source who is saying that OLTL actors recognize him as Co-HW , as well as Frank Valentini, and Frons. My source is saying that Ron was given the duty of re-writing the teen storyline in that quick time. Frank did not want to publicly embarass his shows HW, or give a clue to higley's "future" on the show. I was talking to her last night after the Radio show, because she hear Ryan and I talking about it. One other hopefully true thing she told me was that, OLTL is undergoing major rewrites, which we know, and Ron Carlivati is in charge of rewriting the stuff of Dena's that Brian vetoed.

[dm.]

Can anyone transcribe the current credits for DAYS OF OUR LIVES? It would really help me.

[Sylph]

Well, Jay, now you made my day.

[Toups]

Head Writers

Hogan Sheffer

Meg Kelly

Associate Head Writers

Beth Milstein

Frederick Johnson

Gordon Rayfield

Tom Casiello

Script Editors

Barbara Esesten

James Harmon Brown

Script Writers

Jodie Scholz

Mike Cohen

Bettina F. Bradbury

Jeanne Marie Ford

Cydney Kelley

Judith Donato

[R Sinclair]

Talk about soap writing being freakin' incestuous! For a second I thought I was looking at AMC's writing staff.

[Addison Montgomery]

It's funny you should say that, R Sinclair, because I've been working on compiling a 'tracking list' with all the current soap writers. Basically a report of their soap writing history. This should give everyone an idea how the world of soap writing is basically one giant INCEST pool.

This list is not complete (The AMC, ATWT, Days, and GH ones are, as far as I can tell. I'll finish it later).

It looks like the Cullitons win the "Unable to Hold a Job" Award. Heck, the whole ATWT staff could practically vie for that one.

Addie Walsh -- GL, SFT, OLTL, Loving, ATWT, Days, AMC, Days, AMC

Stephen Demorest -- GL, ATWT, GH, AW, ATWT, OLTL, AMC

Chip Hayes -- Y&R, GH, AMC

Michelle Patrick -- AMC, GH, AMC

Jeff Beldner -- AMC, ATWT, AMC

Amanda Beall -- PC, AMC

Marla Kanelos -- GH, PC, AMC

Karen Lewis -- AMC, ATWT, AMC

Rebecca Taylor -- AMC

Courtney Bugler -- AMC

Joanna Cohen -- AMC

Jean Passanante -- OLTL, AW, AMC, ATWT

Anna Cascio -- OLTL, AMC, OLTL, ATWT

Lisa Connor -- GL, ATWT, OLTL, ATWT, AMC, ATWT

Chris Whitesell -- GL, AW, ATWT, OLTL, AW, GH, SuBe, OLTL, ATWT

David Levinson -- SuBe, OLTL, AMC, ATWT

Gary Sunshine -- ATWT

Leah Laiman -- GH, Days, OLTL, GL, OLTL, ATWT, AW, ATWT, ATWT

Courtney Simon -- SFT, SB, Loving, GL, AMC, GH, AW, ATWT

Mimi Leahey -- AW, AMC, ATWT

Judy Tate -- AW, ATWT

Susan Dansby -- GL, Generations, GH, PC, ATWT, ATWT

Elizabeth Page -- AW, AMC, AW, AMC, ATWT

Richard Culliton -- Texas, GL, AW, SB, AMC, ATWT, GH, PC, AW, SuBe, Days, AMC, ATWT

Patrick Mulcahey -- Texas, GL, SB, GL, GH, B&B

Hogan Sheffer -- ATWT, Days

Meg Kelly -- ATWT, OLTL, Days

Beth Milstein -- Days, SuBe, B&B, Days

Frederick Johnson -- B&B, Y&R, AMC, GL, AMC, ATWT, B&B, Days

Gordon Rayfield -- OLTL, AW, AMC, OLTL, Days

Tom Casiello -- ATWT, OLTL, Y&R, Days

Brown/Esensten -- GL, Loving, The City, GL, PC, OLTL, Days

Jodie Scholz -- SuBe, PC, Days

Bettina Bradbury -- Capitol, SB, AMC, OLTL, ATWT, Days

Judith Donato -- AW, AMC, ATWT, Days

Mike Cohen -- Days, OLTL, SuBe, PC, GL, Days

Jeanne Marie Ford -- Days

Cydney Kelly -- Days

Robert Guza, Jr. -- GH, SB, Loving, GH, SuBe, GH, GH

Mary Sue Price -- ATWT, AW, GH

Michael Conforti -- GL, AMC, GH

David Goldschmid -- GH

Garin Wolf -- ATWT, GH

Karen Harris -- GH, PC, PC, AMC, GH

Michele Val Jean -- Generations, SB, PC, GH, GH

Susan Wald -- GH

Tracy Thomson -- GH

Royal Miller -- Loving, The City, PC, AMC, ATWT, GL

Christopher Dunn --

Lloyd Gold -- OLTL, GL

Charlotte Gibson -- AMC, ATWT, GL

Penelope Koechel -- ATWT, GL

David Smilow -- OLTL, GL

Dena Higley -- Days, OLTL

Victor Gialanella -- GL, Days, OLTL

Shelly Altman -- AW, OLTL

Janet Iacobuzio -- AW, AMC, AW, GH, SuBe, AMC, OLTL

Michelle P. Lisanti -- SFT, Days, AW, Days, SuBe, OLTL

Carolyn Culliton -- GL, AW, AMC, AW, GL, Loving, The City, GH, PC, AW, SuBe, ATWT, GL, ATWT, OLTL

Fran Myers -- AW, OLTL, Days, OLTL

Leslie Nipkow -- OLTL

Ron Carlivati -- OLTL

Chris Van Etten -- OLTL

[jfung79]

There's nothing wrong with soaps using writers who have had experience on other soaps. I think that's the last thing daytime needs to worry about. They also still do use new writers so it's not like it's all the same people, all the time, everywhere.

Doug Marland wrote for many different soaps as well.

Irna Phillips created a good chunk of these soaps, and Agnes Nixon created a good chunk of other ones after working on several of Irna's soaps.

Would daytime only be less "incestuous" if each had only created and worked on one soap?

This is not a problem. The real issue is writer quality -- are the writers good?

Looking at that list, I don't think there's a clear pattern as to whether the writers who have been on only a couple shows, are better than writers who have been on mulitiple shows. So I don't think daytime being "incestuous" -- which could also more positively be called there being a community or network of experienced daytime writers -- is particularly helping or harming it.

Thanks for compiling that list though!

[skiman12082004]

Beth Milstein also wrote for Port Charles

[R Sinclair]

First of all, Phillips, Marland and Nixon are clearly exceptions to the rule. They are daytime legends... Icons. So comparing their writing for mulitiple soaps with any one of the people on this list is a disservice. Most of the people on this list aren't in the same league.

That said.

I still don't understand why you don't think daytime sharing the same pool of writers over the last 30 years is neither helping nor harming the genre. You want to positively call it a community or network of experienced daytime writers? Marvelous! But still... how does that change the fact that it's hard to get fresh ideas when you have a staff comprised of a majority of people who have worked on three to five to EIGHT different soaps? And not only that, but some of them have worked on other soaps together?

I think the genre needs people who do appreciate it, but also have had different or fresher life experiences other than soap writing. Not necessarily younger folks, but people who haven't had the last 30 years of their lives spent in the writing room of six-seven different soaps. That's the problem. Once you keep a stable of people in that stable, all you get are ideas that don't venture very far from those confines. No matter how experienced they may be.

[jfung79]

There are still new writers with fresh ideas. Hogan Sheffer was new a few years ago, Gary Sunshine was just added to the ATWT writing staff from a playwright background, [s.W.S.N.B.N.] was a new writer writing for Days until the media hounded her out, and David Kreizman only ever worked on GL. Even people who hate Kreizman admit that he has tried new things, such as the ITL episodes.

There's a balance of experience with freshness -- it's not a closed community.

Also, there have been several disasters resulting from new writers too -- such as Stern and Black, and Jessica Klein.

Sounds great, but who would this be exactly? Soap fans? Maybe some of the people here on this board would be good, but in general I find soap fans to be very attached to their favorite couples and even more immersed in soap cliches than the writers are.