About
The Act of Creating...
Dawn has achieved success both in-front of and behind the camera, as well as on the page. She's won multiple awards in all three disciplines and considers filmmaking a continuously evolving form. It's the act and art of creating that excites and challenges her.
Her first biographical screenplay "Mary & The Moon" won The Alfred P. Sloan Science Screenwriting award. This led to a writer-for-hire bio-pic (though she's not allowed to comment on the personality).
Dawn has created a re-usable structure tool for writers (any structure/any format) and expects to complete an instructional guide to writing complex biographical stories - both tools will be available in 2023 . Dawn moderated the American Screenwriters Conference for the Sacramento International Film Festival for five years, and is currently working with the Bradenton Film Festival and No Boundaries Film Arts Institute.
Dawn holds an MFA in Screenwriting from UCLA, and an MA in English/Creative Writing. She's taught at UCLA and University of the Pacific, as well as workshop events. She worked with Hollywood legend Edward James Olmos' nonprofit Youth Cinema Project teaching year-long filmmaking programs to students from Title 1 schools.
She's thrilled to watch her adult and youth students win screenwriting and filmmaking accolades, but more than that - she loves to inspire them and watch that transfer to the page and screen.
She’s had the honor of working with, and learning from amazing filmmakers -- Dustin Lance Black (MILK), Bobby Moresco (CRASH), Paula Wagner (MISSION IMPOSSIBLE), and Wolfgang Petersen (THE PERFECT STORM).
It Takes a Tribe
There are so many layers in a story, and so many jobs on a film set. Understanding what each position entails, and how they work together is key to a smooth production. Dawn (pictured left) participates in a G/E training program at Manhattan Beach Studios (where The Mandalorian is shot).
A Gang of Mimes
One is funny, but not as funny as five very different mimes, one of whom has a series attitude problem (front right). The writer of this short hadn't originally included a mime, but when I suggested five, she looked surprised. She thought one was enough. Not in a comedy, I said. And these mimes need to play a role in the scene. They need to help create the scene and give it impact. It's all about the layering. Our smallest (and youngest) mime really helped round out the motley crew.
