Interview: Dana Coen

I have the pleasure of working with Dana Coen as a colleague through the Writing for Screen and Stage program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a dramatic writing minor for which Dana is the director.

Dana has an extensive background in television, penning episodes for “The Wonder Years” and “NCIS,” as well as eight seasons on the CBS series “JAG” [co-executive producer] and the Fox series “Bones” [co-executive producer].

Dana is also a produced playwright and freelance screenwriter, currently about to go out with an original thriller screenplay.

Here are links to the six installments of the entire interview:

Part 1: “After Disney I was hired onto the staff of Linda Lavin’s comedy “Room for Two.” That experience taught me two things: TV comedy writers are expected to entertain each other, and I am not particularly funny at two in the morning.”

Part 2: “Before I knew it I was in an empty office scribbling episode ideas on a piece of paper. They gave me twenty minutes. I pitched two to Don [Bellisario], who, after hearing the second, said, “Great. Go write it.” That evening my agent told me they wanted me on staff.

Part 3: “After September 11th we were faced with a significantly different world than the one we had been observing. Six scripts were dumped and it took some time for us to move from shock to grief to meaningful storytelling.”

Part 4: “A good friend, who knew the late studio head/producer Richard Zanuck, quoted him as saying, ‘I’m not interested in the script. I’m interested in the story.’”

Part 5: “I always begin with character. My stories develop from a notion about the protagonist’s journey and expand from there.”

Part 6: “Good writers are good observers. Pay less attention to your phone and more to the world around you. Encourage others to talk about themselves.”

Please stop by comments to thank Dana and ask any questions you may have.

Dana is repped by Rosa Entertainment.

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