Former actress and theater director Christina Hamlett is an award winning author, instructor and script consultant, as well as a professional ghostwriter with The Penn Group in Manhattan. Her credits to date include 25 books, 125 plays and musicals, 5 optioned features, and hundreds of articles on the performing arts, humor, health, travel, and how to's that appear in trade magazines, newspapers, and Internet websites throughout the world.  Hamlett is a graduate of California State University, Sacramento, where her degree in Communications led to stints in all aspects of media, including cable television, radio mystery theater, and fundraising campaigns.  She was the manager and director of The Hamlett Players, a theater repertory company that provided performance opportunities for new actors and toured original stage plays to communities not served by traditional theater arts organizations. She credits her mentor, the late Sylvia Burack, for her ongoing love of - and commitment to - the live theater experience.  In addition to continuing to pen one-acts for Plays, the Magazine for Young People., she has won numerous awards for her full-length scripts and participated in living history programs through the California Governor's Mansion, Sutter's Fort, and Southern California's Heritage Square.

ON THE BOOKSHELF

 MOVIE GIRL

Can Life really imitate Art? When sophomore Laurie Preston is chosen to be lead screenwriter for a movie her high school is producing, she sees a chance to scribble a romantic script that will make the boy of her dreams say the words she’s been longing to hear. Unfortunately, he has yet to discover she even exists. Movie Girl is the launch title of a new teen/tween fiction series and is available at Amazon.com & Outskirts Press. It is also being adapted to a feature film by screenwriter Maggie King.

SCREENWRITING FOR TEENS

Published by Michael Wiese Productions in 2006 (www.mwp.com) Screenwriting for Teens is Hamlett’s second text written specifically for high school students who want to break into screenwriting. Foreword by John Collee.

Written in a vein similar to her 2002 release, ScreenTeenWriters (Meriwether Publishing), the latest book contains over 300 idea-starter exercises that can be used in classrooms, film camps and independent study and is supplemented by plenty of been there/done that advice from industry pros.

COULD IT BE A MOVIE

Could It be a Movie (Michael Wiese Productions) departs from regular film-oriented how-to’s by inviting readers to assess whether their plots have adaptation potential for novels, short stories or stage plays.

AWESOME PLAYS FOR TEENS AND TWEENS

The latest collection of Hamlett one-acts published by Sterling Partners, owners of Plays, the Magazine for Young People.

COMMERCIAL COMEDY SKETCHES
 
Twenty original comedy skits for use as curtain-raisers, intermission acts or video production. Released by Meriwether Publishing, this collection joins Hamlett’s 1980’s batch of commercial whimsy which is also available from the same publisher.
 

UPCOMING PROJECTS

CHANGING WORLDS, a comedy feature she has been contracted by Winery Productions to write for the Japanese film/television market.

MURIEL'S MEMOIRS, a feature film adapted from one of her successful stage plays and focusing on the subject of Alzheimer’s.  This drama will be shot in Pasadena by filmmaker James Tucker.

WHERE THE BODIES ARE, a collaboration with actor/filmmaker David Grad, is set in rural Mississippi in the 1960's and centers on a forger who escaped from a maximum security prison with the aid of a greedy guard.

THE LAST PRINCESS, a musical being developed with composer Chris Wozniak and relating the last 2 years of Hawaii's Princess Kaiulani's life.

Christina and her husband, insurance industry executive Mark Webb, reside in Pasadena, California and are currently collaborating on several book and film projects, including CONSUMED WITH PASSION, the launch book of a new series that mixes romantic short stories with accompanying gourmet recipes.

CONSULTING SERVICES

Hamlett's comprehensive critique services and one-on-one mentoring address the areas of dialogue, character development, structure, pacing, originality, marketability, and recommendations for direct submission, film festivals, and scriptwriting competitions.  Student and subscriber discounts are available upon request.  She can be contacted directly at authorhamlett@cs.com. (Queries only please. Unsolicited scripts or attachments will be deleted.)

TESTIMONIALS

"Christina Hamlett is one of our most valuable writers. She takes care to attune herself to each client's individual vision, and dedicates herself to realizing the potential of every project. She also has a keen eye for the needs of the market, and never hesitates to provide the client with honest and invaluable advice." - Sara King, Project Manager, Penn Group, LLC

"As an artist, I work with creative high school students as a mentor. Encouraging these fine young people to "keep at it" is a real challenge. Keeping their passion alive is the goal of the mentoring teams that I field. Christina Hamlett has accomplished something quite rare as an author/teacher in her "Screenwriting for Teens". First, she breaks her message down into (well organized) bite sized pieces for easy mental digestion. Secondly, with the assistance of young Nick Morgan, she speaks directly to her audience in a most compelling way. Thirdly, she demystifies this important lesson about story telling. And, lastly, this book resonates with any person interested in learning how to be a more effective story teller . . . the author's genuine warmth and intelligence imbue each and every page." - Dan Koffman, Artist-educator

"Working with Christina Hamlett has been a wonderful experience. Her professionalism, attention to detail, and positive attitude has made it so easy to work with her. I appreciate her willingness to share her knowledge and I admire her passion and infectious enthusiasm."  - Maggie Worrix King

"Christina's the best. Shortly after the first workshop production of my musical, 'MadAvenue', I asked her to help fix some things I thought needed changing. Her advice and suggestions were amazing. What a difference she made! Thanks, thanks, thanks to a real pro." - Walt Bagot

"In our age of internet commerce few engage in business without the counsel of our newest, bestest friend.  Buddy GOOGLE.  When you type in Christina Hamlett your first feeling is fear, then terror.  You hear yourself scream  "Great Caesar's Ghost I'm going to ask her to look at my work."  You feel she's far too accomplished to be bothered with monkey scribblings. Then logic takes over, you suddenly realize, this is the real deal.  Oh, but the best part of all,  is after she's looked at your work she gives you the sense she's never studied or gone over anything so carefully in her life. Christina doesn't read your work like a neighbor, the guy at work, or someone else who'll give you false or empty feedback.  She tells you where your stuff is strong, where it's weak, and whether it's headed south.  In short, Christina is like the teacher in high school that all the kids loved and everyone looked forward to her classes.  Anyone who loves to write can not allow themselves to miss the wisdom of this great talent." - Rick Lawrence

"Christina is not only formidably talented and experienced, her passion for the written word is non pareil which makes working with her an experience that a writer lucky enough to do so will keep with them for a very long time to come. Christina is the Rolls Royce of script consultants." - Julie Gray, Founder, The Script Department and author of The Rouge Wave

 

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