#5 Writer Lorien McKenna on Why Story is Queen

Lorien McKenna is a screenwriter and story consultant. She specializes in Story and Script Development for both studios and writers, helping them find the best version of their story. Her studio experience includes 10 years at Pixar Animation Studios in Story Development (RATATOUILLE, UP, BRAVE, INSIDE OUT, THE GOOD DINOSAUR), Paramount as a Development Producer, REELFX Animation Studios as a Story Consultant, as well as international studios for both live-action and animation. Her private writing clients include live-action and animation feature and TV writers, directors, and novelists. In 2015, along with Meg LeFauve and Chris Whitaker, she sold and wrote a TV Comedy based on the foibles of parenthood for WBTV/NBC. She is a mentor and judge for the Cinestory Foundation in both the TV/Digital and Feature Retreats. Lorien McKenna and Story HikesLorien has a BA in English Literature & Performing Arts and an MFA in Playwriting from St. Mary’s College of California. She founded GUILTY THEATER in San Francisco where she produced and wrote plays and acted as the company dramaturge. Lorien also taught Playwriting, Shakespeare and Theater at St. Mary’s College and ran creative workshops for both children and adults in schools around the San Francisco Bay Area. Lorien is a strong believer in development of both the story and the storyteller. Her passion is working with writers to dig down into the core underlying themes and structures of story, finding what excites and moves the writer and bringing that to the audience. Lorien’s professional and personal experience in the world of story is a guiding force for writers, both emerging and established. Find Lorien: @AngryWriterLM