And so it begins

Once upon a time,Winn LaRue had a dream. Except it didn’t feel like a dream. It felt like she was really scrolling through Netflix where she saw a new movie, Joke’s On You, featured on the front page.

“This looks amazing – it’s all about my beloved Dallas comedy scene,” Dream Winn thought and settled in to watch. She saw Maya go from nervous office worker to successful stand-up. She saw Maya fall in love with Samir. She saw Maya’s rivalry with fellow comic, Gerry.

Winn woke up, disappointed the movie wasn’t real, pulled out her comedy notebook, and began writing.

A few years and a pandemic later, Winn was talking with her close friend and former improv troupe mate, Michelle. Michelle sat on the balcony of her Hawaiian hotel, watching the waves crash against the shore, as she listened to Winn tell the story of the dream she’d had years ago.

Michelle had recently finished writing her first book and was looking for another meaty writing project to sink her teeth into. The more Winn told her about the dream, the more excited she became. “If you decide to want a writing partner for that, let me know. I’d love to work with you.”

Winn promised to keep that in mind. Michelle decided not to hold her breath.

A month later, in July 2022, Winn called Michelle again. “Are you still interested in writing that screenplay with me?”

Yes. Yes she was. Soon they were fleshing out characters and creating story arcs and a beat board.

Winn had moved to New York City and they were having their working sessions over FaceTime. But they wanted to write their first scenes in person, so that they could utilize improv techniques to explore how the characters interacted.

The logical step…a writers retreat. So they packed a laptop, a dog, and plenty of junk food and alcohol and headed to the woods of Wimberly, Texas to write the first scenes for the Jokes on You screenplay in August 2022.