Fox searches theater for new writers

LOS ANGELES, April 27 (UPI) -- Fox TV has carried the search for new writing talent to the Naked Angels Theater Company, where the spare staging of a cluster of one-acts is providing an opportunity for network executives to evaluate the work -- and gauge the professional prospects -- of playwrights untested in the arena of high-profile TV writing.

"Naked TV," currently in the middle of a four-week run in Santa Monica, Calif., is part of Fox's recent campaign to create a new model for developing prime-time shows. The program features plays about office politics, gender identity and electoral politics, as well as a piece about a group of twentysomethings in a small town. They are connected by segments of an animated short by Chuck Swenson, whose credits include the title sequence for Woody Allen's "What's Up, Tiger Lily?"

Produced with minimal costuming, scenery and props, the plays nevertheless have some polish -- owing not only to the use of skilled actors, but also to the manner in which they have reached the stage. Stefani Relles, who heads Fox's office of Creative Writer Development, told United Press International the writers went through a rigorous process of editing and rewriting, similar to the kind of working over that network-TV writers routinely experience.

"We want to find out who's got the writing chops and who's been able to execute my notes and who's got the maturity to handle the pressures of that project," she said.

Relles has prior experience with Naked Angels. In 1997, the company produced a one-act she wrote starring Lucy Liu, who went on to become a star in "Ally McBeal" and movies such as "Charlie's Angels" and "Kill Bill: Vol. 1."

When she took over the creative writing project, one of Relles's first calls was to Naked Angels artistic director Tim Ransom, who told UPI the "Naked TV" project is structured along the same lines as the theater company's annual series of "issues" projects.

"Year after year we've taken on a hot-button issue of the day -- censorship, guns, the environment, faith," said Ransom. "It makes for a fairly provocative evening of theater. Her thought was, 'Can we use that same platform to bring in new writers, to bring in new ideas -- to make television an issue, as it were?'"

Relles expects the project to be a more reliable indicator of a writer's TV potential than the conventional approach of reading submissions turned in by writers and their agents.

"We spend an unbelievable amount of an executive's time and company money on wasted scripts that people can't actually execute," she said. "This is a development department. It's not just a scouting department where we throw someone $50,000 for what we pretty much know is going to be a dead script."

Following "Naked TV"'s opening weekend, Relles said she was "beyond ecstatic" with the result.

"This evening and these pieces are already successful because we're interested in the writers," she said.

Relles' boss at Fox, Executive Vice President of Programming Craig Erwich, is also pleased.

"Quite frankly, I just like the effort," he said. "It's exactly the type of thing we ought to be doing. It's an aggressive and fresh approach."

Erwich said the writers' program is part of the network's campaign to remake the conventional business model for prime-time programming. The campaign includes Fox's recent decision to premiere four new series in June, rather than the traditional September or October. Erwich told UPI the old model just isn't working anymore.

"These initiatives are not about restlessness, they're about the process," he said. "They're vital."

Another initiative that Fox is taking involves identifying promising filmmakers.

"I have seven independent filmmakers who are currently shooting two scenes of their proposed pilots," said Relles. "We're going to have a screening day for Fox executives."

Naked Angels' regular roster of company members includes such established stars as Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick and Marisa Tomei, as well as a number of actors with lower profiles who nonetheless have extensive professional experience.

Paul Eckstein, who directed one of the one-acts that make up "Naked TV," said the 2000 feature "You Can Count on Me" and the Broadway musical "Rent" both began as Naked Angels projects. He compared Naked Angels to baseball's minor leagues, where players develop their skills to prepare for their shot at the majors.

Minor League ballplayers probably make more money, though. The actors in "Naked TV" are being paid $7 per performance. Eckstein said they're eager to do it, though, for the chance to be seen by audiences that included Fox TV executives.

"There's a lot worse free theater with a lot less exposure that a lot of actors are doing," said Eckstein.

Fox is providing funding for the production. Relles said Fox will "absolutely" do another "Naked TV" project, and Erwich called the expense a necessary part of identifying talent.

"The nature of talent is that it's a precious resource," he said. "Whether it's doctors or baseball players or writers, there's only so many great ones."

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