BIOGRAPHY

Claire V. Riley has written three screenplays, two comedies and a drama, and is working on her fourth, another comedy. Her script THE BRAVEST took first place in the 2004 Red Inkworks Screenwriting contests and her script THE PERFECT FAMILY took third place in the 2004 ONE-IN-TEN screenwriting contest. Her third script MRS. FELDSCHREIBER, SECRET AGENT, is being read by Hollywood celebrities and production companies, and won the "Best Female Character Not Used As A Murder Prop Or Decoration On The Leading Man's Arm" award in the 2006 A Feeding Frenzy screenwriting contest.

In a previous life, Claire was as an academic. She received her Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from the CUNY Graduate Center in 1992. She has taught at Brooklyn College, City College and NYU. While writing her dissertation, she unearthed a fantastic discovery: telling comedy stories is much more fun than analyzing social theory. After her revelation, she turned her pen to screenwriting.

When Claire Riley began writing her first screenplay, she thought she was writing a comedy. She ended up with a comedy/drama, THE PERFECT FAMILY. She wasn't quite sure how that happened, but when she started her second comedy, she knew she didn't want it to happen again. At a Hollywood producer's suggestion, she began studying the comedy genre and learned that comedy has significant exceptions to basic screenwriting rules, as well as its own rules and structures.

She applied the new information to MRS. FELDSCHREIBER, SECRET AGENT, which received rave reviews from some industry insiders. However, she found that many screenwriters, industry readers and even reputable script consultants gave her feedback that showed how little they knew about writing comedies. If she had taken their advice, her script would have turned into another comedy/drama.

She started Life of Riley Screenwriting to provide a place for comedy screenwriters to blossom, by teaching them how to write comedy screenplays as well as give and receive constructive feedback.

The Hollywood slogan "Funny Is Money" proves itself true time and time again, as good comedies do well at the box office. If you want to write a good comedy, one that will turn your funny into money, you need to know the secrets of the comedy genre. And that is just what you'll learn in a fun, supportive, creative environment. We'll learn the tricks of the trade and read our work out loud each week while laughing our socks off.

And remember to bring extra socks in case yours run away.