Interview: Dana Coen — Part 1

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.

Today in Part 1 of our interview, Dana discusses his background in the entertainment business and how he wound his way from the world of theater in New York to TV in Los Angeles:

Scott: As I understand it, you started out your career in the entertainment industry as an actor. Could you describe how you got into acting?

Dana: By accident. As a show of support I accompanied a friend to a cattle call for the Boston Company of “Hair,” and decided on a whim to audition. I was called back seven times but was cut at the final. It was devastating but encouraging. I moved to New York, soon after and worked regularly for eight years in the city and beyond, including tours of musicals and regional theatre. But I was considered a tweener-type, somewhere between a character actor and leading man. I began to rethink it as a career choice the day an agent told me he didn’t get many calls for the son of an Italian count.

Scott: You also directed some plays, right?

Dana: I started directing out of a desire to exercise more control over my art. I still consider it my most instinctive skill.

Scott: What are some of the more memorable productions in which you were involved?

Dana: I directed a play in New York called “Punch With Judy,” which re-imagined the British puppet tradition as a farcical commentary on heterosexuality. It had everything; masks, padded clubs, puppets, electronic music, a live rhythm band and a proscenium that shrunk after each scene. And for three years I enjoyed conceiving and directing a series of musical spoofs on the cable television and broadcasting industries, which were staged in the main ballrooms of New York’s Plaza and Waldorf Astoria hotels.

Scott: So acting…directing. How did you segue into writing?

Dana: In an attempt to create something I could direct, I adapted Jakov Lind’s Holocaust novelette “Soul of Wood” into a play. It received positive attention at New York’s Public Theatre but they weren’t interested in working with an unknown director so the project fizzled. But it prompted me write an original play. “Sympathy,” which is about how death encourages life, was produced Off-Broadway and received a promising playwright review in the New York Times. I soon found myself writing a play a year.

Scott: At some point, you moved from New York to Los Angeles to pursue your writing career. That sounds like a leap of faith.

Dana: More like a desperate attempt to make a living. Fortunately, I applied to and was accepted into a program at Norman Lear’s Embassy Television, where playwrights were being encouraged to write TV comedy. They talked me through two sitcom specs, which I submitted to agents. Five responded and I flew out to L.A. to meet with them. The day I arrived my rental car was stolen at gunpoint along with my scripts, resumes and all my cash. A day later I contracted a corneal infection and had to wear an eye patch at my meetings. They didn’t go particularly well. As I was waiting for the van to take me back to the airport and away from this miserable experience, I received a call from the partner of a small literary agency. She had read my specs and had checked with a successful sit-com show runner to see if he had heard of me. It turns out he had attended my play in New York and loved it. She agreed to represent me, and six months later I moved to L.A. permanently.

Scott: How was that transition?

Dana: Financially it was challenge, but I was ready for a change. Within two weeks I had a survival job, writing casting breakdowns. It paid poorly but the experience was invaluable. I spent my workdays reading and examining everything that was being produced in television and film at the time. Within a year I was laid off as a result of a crippling Writer’s Guild strike. I did some fast dancing for seven months to stay solvent, started writing more innovative material and managed to survive long enough to experience the post strike party. When it was over, studios and companies all over town flung open their doors to writers. It was an exciting period.

Scott: What was your very first writing gig?

Dana: An episode of “The Wonder Years,” which was the hot, new show at the time. The script got entangled in a studio/producer ego dispute and was never shot. The experience opened my eyes to industry politics.

Scott: What came next?

Dana: A confluence of events, including the end of the strike, an L.A. production of my play “Sympathy,” a dramedy spec and a unique pilot idea led to a comedy development deal at Walt Disney Studios. It was a dream job. I spent two years writing pilots for ABC, NBC and was developing a series with the Muppets’ Jim Henson when he tragically passed away.

Scott: You eventually wound your way into 1- hour dramas. What was the process of that shift in your career?

Dana: The problem with my Disney deal was that I had landed at the top with no significant experience to back me up. None of my scripts made it to the produced pilot stage and the enthusiasm for my work faded. Near the end of the deal they put me on the staff of Carol Burnett’s ensemble NBC comedy “Carol and Company.” I wrote my first, produced episode of television there but developed an aversion to the “room,” which is where episodes are “punched-up,” subjected to the whims and tastes of the staff and producers. It emerged funnier but cruder. 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. I left that experience with my tail between my legs and a plan to change genres.

Scott: You mean drama?

Dana: Right. Hollywood, at least in those days, was bifurcated. The TV comedy people didn’t associate with the drama folk and vice versa. So, I had to start all over again. I wrote an NYPD Blue spec and my agent began acquainting the studios and networks with my dramatic work. It took years. I was fortunate to have met my wife during that period. Her support was critical.

Scott: In the middle of trying to jump-start your writing career, you decided to pursue an MFA from UCLA. What was the thinking behind that choice? In retrospect, how has the MFA helped you?

Dana: I had taught some acting in New York and enjoyed it, so while I was working with a producer on spec feature projects, I investigated teaching as a back-end career choice. Since I already had a television-writing resume I applied to and was accepted to the UCLA graduate playwriting program. It was a significant decision from at least two perspectives. First, it allowed me to pursue a goal that was beyond agendas, taste issues and timing, which turned out to be a boon to my self-esteem. Second, without realizing it at the time, it was the perfect preparation for the job I have now.

Tomorrow in Part 2, we delve into Dana’s experience working on a hit broadcast network TV series.

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

Dana is repped by Rosa Entertainment.

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