Humanitas will hold a staged reading of an excerpt from Albert’s feature-length sci-fi drama screenplay Incarnations as part of New Voices Live on Saturday, March 18, 2023 at 1:00pm PT, with Albert in attendance. Hosted by writer Carter Covington (10 Things I Hate About You, Faking It), the event celebrates the 2022-2023 Humanitas New Voices Fellows, emerging writers whose work explores the human condition in a nuanced way.
New Voices Live will take place at Dynasty Typewriter in Los Angeles. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased here. 100% of proceeds from this event will benefit the Humanitas New Voices Fellowship Program.
Humanitas has partnered with the USC School of Dramatic Arts‘s Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) to present the work of the Fellows in a concert staged reading, directed by Anita Dashiell-Sparks, USC School of Dramatic Arts‘s Associate Dean of EDI & Vice Chair of Performance. The stories will be embodied and imagined by graduate and undergraduate student-performers across the USC School of Dramatic Arts‘s BA, BFA, and MFA programs. Featured performers are: Grayson Abdalla, Jordan Anderson, Parker Bond, Alcides Costa, Coby Hawkins, Beryl Liu, Aneesa Monet, Rihanna Rios, Kalalapa Winter, Sammie Zenoz, Kaixiang Zhang.
Humanitas New Voices Fellowship is a four-month mentorship program for emerging television and screenwriters. Through mentorship, workshops, conversations on professional development, and networking opportunities, New Voices equips writers with the tools needed to advance their careers. As Fellows, they are paired with award-winning writers or showrunners for one-on-one mentorship focused on their project and professional development. Fellows receive a $7,500 stipend, a suite of software including Final Draft 12, and access to classes through UCLA Extension Writers’ Program, Roadmap Writers, and MasterClass.
Since 2010, 50 fellows have completed the New Voices program and advanced to become showrunners, producers, directors, and staff writers. Former New Voices fellows include Will Pascoe (Absentia), J. Holtham (Supergirl, Jessica Jones), Jeanine Daniels (Snowfall), Rashaad Ernesto Greene (The Chi, Searching for Alaska), Carlito Rodriguez (Empire), Emily Silver (Finding Carter), Martin Zimmerman (Ozark), and more.
Former mentors include: Alan Ball (American Beauty, Six Feet Under, True Blood, Banshee), Jenny Bicks (Sex and the City, The Big C, The Greatest Showman, Rio 2, Carter Covington (Greek, Charmed, 10 Things I Hate About You), Marc Guggenheim (Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, Green Lantern, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Arrow), Winnie Holzman (My So-Called Life, Wicked), David Hudgins (FBI: Most Wanted, Parenthood, Friday Night Lights), Jason Katims (Roswell, Parenthood), Jay Kogen (Frasier, The Simpsons, The Tracy Ullman Show), Bill Lawrence (Scrubs, Cougar Town, Spin City, Ted Lasso), Ali LeRoi (Everybody Hates Chris), David Shore (House, The Good Doctor), Robin Swicord (Little Women, Matilda, Memoirs of a Geisha, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Pam Veasey (CSI: NY, CSI: Cyber), and David Zuckerman (Family Guy, King of the Hill, American Dad!).
Incarnations, written by Albert, is a “Black List Endorsed/Recommended” script about a grieving biologist who discovers startling scientific evidence revealing the fate of his deceased four-year-old son, launching him on a spiritual quest where life meets death. The project won First Place in the Best Screenplay competition at the Oscar-accredited 2021 Rhode Island International Film Festival, and was a finalist for the Tracking Board Launch Pad Feature Competition, Creative Screenwriting Unique Voices Screenplay Competition, and Screencraft Film Fund.
“THOUGHT-PROVOKING, MINDBLOWING, AND HEARTFELT, INCARNATIONS BLENDS SCIENCE-FICTION, SPIRITUALITY, AND PATHOS TO CREATE SOMETHING WHOLLY NEW AND MEMORABLE… INCARNATIONS HOOKS OUR ATTENTION IMMEDIATELY WITH ITS MINDBLOWING HIGH CONCEPT. THE EXECUTION THAT FOLLOWS IS THOUGHTFUL AND HUMAN… INCREDIBLY POWERFUL AND STIRRING, A UNIQUE CATHARSIS ONLY THIS SCRIPT AND THIS CONCEPT CAN DELIVER.”
“CLEVER, ORIGINAL, INTELLECTUALLY STIMULATING, AND GRIPPING, A HIGH CONCEPT IDEA THAT TRANSLATES INTO A SMART CHARACTER- AND IDEA-DRIVEN STORY… THE PLOT TWISTS ARE CONSISTENTLY SURPRISING… THE KIND OF LOW-BUDGET, INTELLECTUAL THRILLER THAT PLAYS AT SUNDANCE… THE IDEAS ARE KING HERE.”
“SOARS EMOTIONALLY WITHOUT EVER FEELING SENTIMENTAL, CLOYING, OR FALSE… THE SCRIPT IS TRULY UNIQUE. IT’S UNLIKE ANYTHING THE READER HAS SEEN BEFORE: A FASCINATING PREMISE WITH AN ENTHRALLING WORLD.”
“INCARNATIONS DELIVERS ON ALL THE BEST PARTS OF A GOOD CEREBRAL SPECULATIVE FICTION PIECE. IT DOESN’T SHY AWAY FROM THE HUMAN QUESTIONS RAISED BY THE PREMISE, INSTEAD USING THE CONCEPT TO GROUND A COMPELLING CHARACTER-DRIVEN NARRATIVE FRONT TO END… A WELL-CRAFTED AND DEEPLY INTELLIGENT PIECE OF FICTION, THOUGHT-PROVOKING IN ALL THE RIGHT WAYS.”
“THE CHARACTERS AND RELATIONSHIPS ARE THE STRONGEST PART OF THIS STORY AND IT SETS A STRONG FOUNDATION FOR PLOT… SO MUCH OF THE DIALOGUE IS POWERFUL… REFRESHINGLY HONEST… THE ENDING WAS INCREDIBLY EMOTIVE… THERE ARE MEANINGFUL MESSAGES THAT WE’RE LEFT WITH, THAT WE’VE LEARNT ALONG THE JOURNEY WITH THE CHARACTERS.”