Matinee Scholars

One of my teaching colleagues at UNC is Steve Neigher. Steve has worked in the film and TV business for 26 years, writing for such TV series as “Barney Miller,” “Facts of Life,” “The Jefferson,” “Dear John,” “Sister/Sister,” and “Judging Amy.”

Steve has come up with a wonderful afterschool writing program for middle school educators called Matinee Scholars. Here’s some background:

What was the genesis of Matinee Scholars?

I was deeply concerned about the safety of inner city middle schoolers during after school hours. I thought that the process of writing, acting, and perhaps filming an ongoing comedy series could be educative and fun.

You wrote and produced a 1/2-hour pilot called “The Middle Ages”. Could you describe that process?

I wrote the pilot script which was then infused with the jargon of the middle school participants. The students then became actors and performed the script. We borrowed cameras from the local community TV channel and filmed the episode. Way cool, that the episode then actually aired on the TV station for a month.

How did the kids respond to the process?

The kids were very enthusiastic and joyfully recounted personal experiences which could serve as story points for the characters in the series.

What’s your long-term hope for Matinee Scholars?

I have created a web site, www.matineescholars.com, which explains in detail how an afterschool provider, anywhere in the country, can actualize the project. The website contains downloadable versions of the pilot script, a sample episode, a character bible, and a HOWTO guide explaining how to go from concept to script.

You can go to the website and see the actual pilot Steve and his kids produced.

I suspect we have more than a few writing teachers who follow GITS and this strikes me as a terrific idea. For more information, you can email MatineeScholars@gmail.com.

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