Drama in Costa Rica

Our inaugural Episodic Drama Colony brought four talented writers to Nosara from February 25 through March 15 and provided them with the signature SWC experience: an alchemy of workshopping, mentorship, writing time, and peer bonding. Our selected writers were Tian Jun Gu, Beanie Barnes, Matt Fennell, and Wei Ling Chang. Each of them brought the intense and generous energy we look for in writers and we are excited to watch them all continue to flourish. Our illustrious mentors included producer Melissa Bernstein (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul), showrunner Veena Sud (The Killing, Seven Seconds), writer/producer Jessica Mecklenburg (Stranger Things), writer/producer Beau Willimon (House of Cards, President of WGA East), and producer Stefanie Berk (FilmNation, American Gods). We were even lucky enough to hang out with iconic filmmaker Lynne Ramsay (You Were Never Really Here) on Nosara’s beaches. This being our first year, participants provided us with valuable feedback to make the program even better next year, but we want to share two of our favorite roses:

“I learned more in my Nosara Writers’ Room than in my entire season as a staff writer.”

"This program has done more for my process than any other experience I've had."