The write stuff

With a major screenplay under his belt, Chris Conway ('95) of Richmond has proven that he's got the "write stuff." He won the Virginia Governor's Screenwriting Award and Pollak Prize for his original screenplay, This One Last Thing.

Conway says, "These awards have been invaluable in jump-starting my writing career. The artistic director of the Barksdale Theater has offered to set up a staged reading of my play. I hope this will draw the attention of some local producers, but if not, it's still a great opportunity to showcase my work."

A mass communications major, Conway wrote his first 30-minute sitcom for one of his JMU screenwriting classes. "I'm not sure if it was very good, but I had fun writing it," he says.

Using ideas from the project, he submitted his first 30-minute script to the producers of the NBC television program, Seinfeld. With some national exposure, Conway then decided he'd like to write feature-length screenplays. His first, It's All Relative, is a romantic comedy that was a finalist in the 1998 Virginia Governor's Screenwriting Competition and an honorable mention in the 1999 Writer's Network screenplay competition.

Receiving recognition for his first two feature screenplays helped Conway decide to continue living in Richmond. He explains, "Richmond has a wonderful, yet underappreciated arts scene, and my goals don't seem so far out of reach here. If I lived in New York, though, I'd be focused more on getting the rent paid than on writing."

To "underwrite" his budding career, Conway tends bar at Ruby Tuesday's restaurant. He is currently drafting a new script that deals with the decisions a father makes when he decides to rig a children's game show so his son can win.

Conway is also working on his first short script about a man who returns home from a trip with death certificates for his family instead of traditional gifts.

"It's written in an Alfred Hitchcock kind of style," says Conway, "and I would love to produce and direct it myself. As soon as I have a firm grasp on screenwriting, I want to learn how to best translate that to the screen through a director's eyes."

Does he have the "write stuff?" Conway says, "All I can do is get my scripts into the hands of as many people as possible and hope that they reach someone who is as enthusiastic about the project as I am."

By Melissa Reynolds ('01)