On Screenwriting and Media with Dr. Rosanne Welch

Recently, I was asked to make a short presentation to the faculty of Stephens College about the newest book I edited alongside my dear friend and Screenwriting Research colleague Rose Ferrell. Shaping Global Cultures Through Screenwriting: Women Who Write Our Worlds. I was happy to discuss the inspiration for the book, which came from a conversation Rose and I had during a conference. That’s one of the best things about gathering for conferences – the casual conversations that create new collaborations. I was also happy to discuss the way we arranged the book in “Worlds” because continents are the easiest classification. I give a quick thumbnail of one chapter in each of those Worlds to highlight what type of social or legal advocacy the screenwriter in discussion addressed. It was lovely to be reminded of all the interesting stories told by the writers of each chapter and to appreciate the cultural diversity of storytelling around the world that Intellect made possible by publishing the book. Chapters cover a spectrum of storytelling from artists offering a window into how women around the world use the screen to advocate for social or legal change. For example, the Samoan performance artist Angela Tiatia, known for her 2014 work, ‘Walking the Wall.” Tiatia displays her Malu Tatau tattoo, which symbolizes the preservation and documentation of cultural practice and identity in online spaces. One chapter focuses on a junior Pacific Islander lawyer who created a music video calling on the International Court of Justice to issue an advisory opinion on climate change, a matter of concern as rising sea levels threaten the homes and histories of island communities. Other readings in the book examine the film “Kajillionaire” by Miranda July as a platform for imagining queer utopias, the transformative power of the female gaze in the Italian documentary “Trial for Rape,” and the frequently ignored creative roles and contributions that women make behind the scenes of the beloved children’s television show “Bluey.” It was a pleasure to make this presentation for my colleagues. I hope you enjoy it, too. Related posts: Dolores Huerta: A Life in American History by April Tellez, Edited by Dr. Rosanne Welch an Dr. Peg Lamphier [Books] 14 Joan Harrison From Women in Early TV for the American Women Writers National Museum [Video] From The Journal Of Screenwriting V10 Issue 3: From dialogue writer to screenwriter: Pier Paolo Pasolini at work for Federico Fellini by Claudia Romanelli

In the Silent Era, before the existence of the Hays Code (and largely a cause for it), many female screenwriters wrote heroines who flouted the brazen sexual freedom of the new century, a specialty of Josephine “Jo” Lovett. Born in October 1877 in San Francisco Lovett would spend some time as a lead actress on the Broadway stage before moving to Los Angeles to both act and write what were called scenarios for the bulk of her career. Read Sexual Liberation 1920s Style: The Screenwriting Career of Josephine Lovett Read about more women from early Hollywood   Related posts: From Missouri to Musicals: The Screenwriting Career of Dorothy Yost – Dr. Rosanne Welch, Script Magazine, November 2025 Lois Weber: More than a Writer-Director She’s the Auteur Activist of Early Cinema – Dr. Rosanne Welch, Script Magazine, April 2025 Focused on Sin and Redemption Before the Hays Code: The Screenwriting Career of Alice D.G. Miller – Dr. Rosanne Welch, Script Magazine, September 2025

Born on April 25, 1899 in St. Louis, Missouri to Alice Kern and Robert M. Yost, Dorothy moved to Los Angeles to work in the burgeoning film industry and clearly succeeded in that goal.  By the time she died in 1967 Yost had written over 80 films and achieved what many other writers did not – thriving in both Silent Films and into the Sound Era. Interestingly, it was her foray into film that brought her journalist brother Robert Yost into the film industry after she found her footing there. Her first screenwriting credit came in 1920, his in 1935 after some years on the staff of local newspapers, as publicity director for Fox West Coast Studios and finally head of the scenario department for Fox. Read From Missouri to Musicals: The Screenwriting Career of Dorothy Yost Read about more women from early Hollywood Related posts: Lois Weber: More than a Writer-Director She’s the Auteur Activist of Early Cinema – Dr. Rosanne Welch, Script Magazine, April 2025 Writing Successful Films into her 60s? Zelda Sears Did It! – Dr. Rosanne Welch, Script Magazine, March 2024 Her Career Outlasted the Hays Code: Kathryn Scola – Dr. Rosanne Welch, Script Magazine, March 2025

This season the CW has been airing a new documentary style series called TV We Love which has covers a popular TV show from each decade from I Love Lucy for the 1960s to Happy Days for the 1970s and Dynasty for the 1980s. The last of 8 episodes covered Touched by an Angel (where I served as a Writer-Producer for 6 years). I show up a few times in the hour, discussing writing for the show and why we think it still resonates. It felt odd to be on the other side of the camera, considering I had researched, written, and filmed a documentary in 1998 with my friend Dan Forer for ABC NEWS/Nightline called “Boys to Men: Bill Clinton and the Boys Nation Class of 1963,” so being the one answering questions was interesting. It helped me think deeply about my responses – trying to make sure they were in full sentences, that they used emotional verbs, that they were stories unique to me, so no other interviewee could be used for that point. And, of course, I tried not to fill empty spaces with “um” or “like”. A very fascinating experience – and then seeing the final product it was fun to put on my producer hat and recognize what director Megan Harding chose both of the quotes and of the B-roll. She interviewed me for a couple of hours and distilled that into several appearances. My favorite part was being able to tell the story of how star Roma Downey let my 2-year-old son Joseph join her 4-year-old daughter (and her nanny) to play in her trailer for a while since the kids were both so bored on set. Heck, I was often bored on set, but I was at work, I couldn’t run off to a trailer with coloring books and have goldfish crackers for a snack. But he could – and thanks to Roma’s generosity, we have that memory. What I’m most proud of is the chance to say things that reflect on my professional goals of creating more female-focused stories about women who make a difference in people’s lives. I used to say the show was Cagney and Lacey without guns, and I was proud of that. For the interview, I kept my focus on how amazing it was to be able to write for two powerful female characters portrayed by two high-quality actresses (heck, Della Reese was already a legend). I’m happy they used this quote: “It was getting to write for female characters who had something important to say. That was a dream job.” That broadens my mission with the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting. Near the end, they used a quote that I hope defines the themes of most all the episodes I’ve written for this show and others: “All of us need to believe in ourselves and in our community and to understand that all of us have the ability to make change.” If you don’t have the CW you can see this episode (and any of the others that interest you) on their website at TV We Love. Related posts: 29 Executives and Writers from Worry and Wonder | The Courier Thirteen Podcast [Video] Watch Dr. Rosanne Welch on What Is a Western? Interview Series: When Women Wrote Westerns from the Autry Museum of the American West [Video] (27 minutes) Announcing the Journal of Screenwriting Special Issue: Women in Screenwriting with Editors, Dr. Rosanne Welch and Dr. Rose Ferrell

Just finished my rainy weekend read and I highly recommend it: “The Last Secret Agent: My Life as a Spy Behind Nazi Lines” It’s the story of Pippa Latour, the last surviving female radio operator who was parachuted into occupied France to travel from hidden radio to hidden radio, sending back information to help the Allies land in Normandy on D-Day. She wasn’t going to tell her story until her sons convinced her it would help people understand those times and the ultimate sacrifice many other radio operators made. As a Doctor Who fan it was cool to see Noor Inayat Khan mentioned as she appeared as a historic figure in the Jodie Whittaker era in “Spyfall, Part 2”, the 2nd episode of series 12. I mention Noor, in a lecture I’ve given about all the feminism show runner Chris Chibnall put into that era, including having the Doctor meet a strong collection of historic females: “She is Wise and Unafraid: Writing the 1st Female Doctor and a Diverse Universe for her to Protect”: In September 1944 Noor was executed at the Dachau concentration camp along with fellow agents Yolande Beekman, Madeleine Damerment and Eliane Plewman – all women who had volunteered for these deeply dangerous missions. Reading books about female heroes is a great way to spend a rainy day – and find some more amazing stories that ought to be adapted into films or included in our other writing as often as possible! Related posts: From Silent Murder Mysteries to Andy Hardy’s Americana, Agnes Christine Johnston Wrote it All – Dr. Rosanne Welch, Script Magazine, November 2024 24 Mae West from “When Women Wrote Hollywood” with Dr. Rosanne Welch [Video] (1 minute 5 seconds) 04 More On Unreliable Narrators from What Is a Western? Interview Series: When Women Wrote Westerns from the Autry Museum of the American West [Video]