Spring Break
Writers' Strike: The Inside Story
Natalie Abreu
Issue date: 4/3/08 Section: Focus
In the midst of wondering when their favorite television shows were coming back on the air after the Writers Guild of America strike ended only a mere six weeks ago, some forgot the most important thing about the strike. Why did it begin in the first place? And how did the writers finally win? These were important considerations with another possible strike from the Screen Actors Guild.
On Wednesday night, the performing arts group Dramatic PAWS held a special event in which members and some interested students had the chance to hear a lecture from 17 year member of the Writers' Guild of America East board member, writer and strike captain Susan Kim who not only talked about organizing for the strike, but also the life of a writer in the Guild.
Kim reflected on her time at Wesleyan University during which she was active in theater, play-writing and improv. She was adamant on performing her work and having it be seen by the greater college community with "a group of people you trust."
Her experience related to members of Dramatic PAWS who commented on fighting to have their work seen in their own theater spaces.
She described having a vague idea about life after college, but she started out in production departments of budding television companies like HBO and MTV and then started small as a writer.
Although she admitted that at first she didn't really know what she was doing, Kim's experience now as a writer proves otherwise. As a freelance writer, she writes graphic novels, non-fiction books, and plays and now is in talks to have a television show on the Disney Channel.
In her long and successful career, Kim has been a prolific writer of children's television in with shows as "Dragontales," "Gullah Gullah Island" and "Reading Rainbow" and tween shows like "The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo" and "Are You Afraid of the Dark?"
"I never expected to write for children," Kim said. "It turned out to be something I had a knack for."
On Wednesday night, the performing arts group Dramatic PAWS held a special event in which members and some interested students had the chance to hear a lecture from 17 year member of the Writers' Guild of America East board member, writer and strike captain Susan Kim who not only talked about organizing for the strike, but also the life of a writer in the Guild.
Kim reflected on her time at Wesleyan University during which she was active in theater, play-writing and improv. She was adamant on performing her work and having it be seen by the greater college community with "a group of people you trust."
Her experience related to members of Dramatic PAWS who commented on fighting to have their work seen in their own theater spaces.
She described having a vague idea about life after college, but she started out in production departments of budding television companies like HBO and MTV and then started small as a writer.
Although she admitted that at first she didn't really know what she was doing, Kim's experience now as a writer proves otherwise. As a freelance writer, she writes graphic novels, non-fiction books, and plays and now is in talks to have a television show on the Disney Channel.
In her long and successful career, Kim has been a prolific writer of children's television in with shows as "Dragontales," "Gullah Gullah Island" and "Reading Rainbow" and tween shows like "The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo" and "Are You Afraid of the Dark?"
"I never expected to write for children," Kim said. "It turned out to be something I had a knack for."
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