Hi. I’m Lori. I was born in Northern California in a suburb just outside of Berkeley. It was a great place to grow up because we were exposed to so many different kinds of people and ideas.
My mother was offered a part on Broadway when she was 16, and my dad was a doctor who used to take me on rounds to see his patients. Both of them taught me in different ways. From Mom, I got voice lessons, dance classes, acting, and theater training; from Dad, I learned about science and the fine art of really listening.
I majored in Linguistics at UCLA and studied Modern British Drama. (My mom said “don’t go to college to be an artist, learn how to read a newspaper first. Have something to say.”) She was right. I did learn about all kinds of people. My dad died during my Freshman year in college, so I’ve been supporting myself since I was 18. And because the best job I could get to stay in school was doing research interviews and EKGs in the projects of East LA, it led me down a path of meeting all kinds of people and finding beauty, grace and courage in every walk of life.
As far as my work, I like to think of it this way. The Greeks didn’t say “you are genius” they said, “you have genius,” meaning you are connected to the Great Creator, or whatever you may choose to call it. Honestly, that’s how I experience my work. It’s a gift and a responsibility I’ve been given, and my hope is to honor that gift that I’ve been given and bring it into the world. Otherwise, the scripts keep me awake at night. And I do enjoy sleep.
School of Life
Every writer, actor, and director knows you have to do your research first. Lucky for me, that’s been my day job since I was 18. I’ve interviewed over 25,000 people in every walk of life. From the projects of East LA to the boardrooms of Fortune 500 companies. In almost every state and 23 countries.
Traditional Education
You can never know if you are doing things well, but you know if you’re doing them thoroughly. I’m kinda obsessed with doing things thoroughly. Thus, I’ve studied acting, writing, dance, music, and comedy at places such as UCLA, UCB (NYC), The PIT (NYC), William Esper Studios, Michael Howard Studios, The Juilliard School, The New England Conservatory of Music and the Aspen Music Festival. I’ve been lucky enough to learn from the likes of Patsy Rodenburg, Maggie Low, Amy Poehler, Jan Douglas, Alan Kingsberg, and Art Pepper to name a few. For the past two years, I’ve been working privately on scripts with Ben Frahm of Syracuse University’s critically acclaimed film-writing program.
In 2021, I completed NYU’s Film Certification program in 2021 and took 10 online master class weekend workshops with the ASC (American Society of Cinematographers).
Prizes and Stuff
I’ve won 69 awards for creative and marketing excellence. I’ve written 4 one-woman shows, including one that toured the country as part of the National New Play Festival. I won the writing award at the 48-hour film festival at The Barrow Group and was named “Comedy Goddess” by Eddie’s Attic comedy club in Atlanta. I’ve also toured the Southwest as a singer with the UCLA Jazz club. I’ve sung with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Atlanta Opera and the Brooklyn Philharmonic. And I did a bunch of comedy gigs late at night at big comedy clubs in New York where most people were drunk and not listening. Oh, and I’m a member of the Friar’s Club.
I also did pretty well in my day job understanding people and marketing, but you can learn more about that on my other website ProsperityProductionsInc.com
Current Projects
I’ve written and produced over 150 short films, some of which are on this site already and some will come in the next several months. I’ve also been a producer on an indie film, The Backseat and written 20+ ads for a fictitious company, Landalor Industries, a children’s book and a bunch of kid’s jokes. Because it’s just fun to do.
Right now, I have three film scripts, a TV pilot and a one-woman show in various stages of development.
Want to learn more? Let’s talk. I’d love to hear what you have to say. And again, thank you for listening. ☺
