Screenwriter to give lunchtime talk

Writer Larry Brenner will visit campus Sept. 13 to talk about his work as a screenwriter.

Brenner’s talk, which is part of the university’s Spectrum Arts Series, will take place at noon in the Mukaiyama University Room of the Frame-Westerberg Commons. A light lunch will begin at 11:30 a.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Brenner’s screenplay “Bethlehem” about a group of people who befriend a vampire while trying to survive a zombie apocalypse, was a winner of Final Draft’s Big Break Script Contest. In 2013, Walt Disney Pictures obtained the rights to his screenplay “Labyrinth.” His screenplay “Angelology,” an adaptation of the supernatural novel by the same name by Danielle Trussoni, is in development by SONY/Columbia Pictures.

Dr. Nancy McCabe, professor of writing and director of the writing program, said that she invited Brenner to Pitt-Bradford because of her students’ interest in areas he knows well, including screenwriting, video game design and fantasy and role-playing games.

His play “Saving Throw Versus Love” was produced as part of the 2010 New York International Fringe Festival and was selected for the Fringe Encore Series. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America.

Additionally, Brenner is the co-creator and host of the podcast Once Upon a Disney, which capitalizes on audiences’ familiarity with Disney storytelling to talk about principles of screenwriting and storytelling.

He teaches film, television, media, public speaking and interpersonal communication at Bronx (N.Y.) Community College and screenwriting at the Naslund Mann School of Writing at Spalding University in Louisville, Ky., where he earned his Master of Fine Arts degree. He also holds a doctorate in educational theater from New York University.