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Ali MacLean

RespectAbility Entertainment Professionals Lab, Summer 2020

Ali McLean smiling with her hand on her chin

Ali McLean

Ali MacLean is an award-winning writer, actor, and mental health advocate in Los Angeles. She is a graduate of the Miami University Actor’s Program and the LaJolla Playhouse Acting Conservatory, and has worked on comedies such as THE JIMMY KIMMEL SHOW, CAN’T HARDLY WAIT, HBO’s MR. SHOW, and Showtime’s THE GREEN ROOM.

Her short films have won and screened at Atlanta, Palm Springs, Method Fest, Slamdance, Gen Art, Toronto Int’l Film Festival, and more. Her screenplays have been a Stowe Story Labs fellowship recipient, a Writer For Writer Fellowship recipient, Top Ten Comedy at Table Read My Screenplay, an Honorable Mention and Fellowship recipient from Sidewalk Films, a finalist at WeScreenplay Diverse Voices the Orchard Project, IFP Filmmakers Program, and a semi-finalist at Chesterfield, Screencraft, Scriptapalooza, and the LA Int’t Film Festival. She is an alumni of the Women In Film Mentor Program, the RespectAbility Lab, and is a Coverfly Endorsed Writer, whose scripts have placed in the Top 3% overall on their Red List.

MacLean has written for various networks, including MTV, VH-1, FOX and POP TV. After almost 20 years of writing comedy, MacLean decided to return to her first love, the theater. She is a multi-award winning playwright whose work has been seen in LA, New York, Boston, and London, and is published by Applause Books and Smith & Kraus. Most of her work examines adversity, depression, violence, and trauma using humor as a Trojan horse. As a mental health and anti-violence advocate, she is committed to representing those voices. Recently she created The Cathartic Company. TCC’s creative model is to partner with nonprofits, pair performances and screenings with talk backs, and provide resources for the community.

She is currently a member of the Sundance Collective, Imagine Impact, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Antaeus Theatre Playwrights Lab, The Cloud Factory, The Resident Artist at the Citadel of Playwrights, The Greenlight Women International Writer’s Group, and the Dramatists Guild.

LEARN MORE

After an extensive search and interview process, 30 individuals were invited to participate in RespectAbility’s Summer 2020 Lab for Entertainment Professionals. This 5-week, 15-session virtual summer Lab series for people interested in – and with experience in – development, production and post-production, including careers as writers, directors, producers, cinematographers, animators and other production roles, will take place June 16 – July 16, 2020. Participants include diverse people with physical, cognitive, sensory, mental health and other disabilities. Learn more: www.respectability.org/respectability-la-lab.

This program, which continues building the talent pipeline of young professionals with disabilities looking to work behind the scenes, is made possible with support by:

  • Platinum Sponsors: Murray/Reese Foundation and The Walt Disney Company
  • Gold Sponsors: Cast & Crew, Comcast NBCUniversal and Final Draft
  • Silver Sponsors: Fox Corporation and Sony Pictures Entertainment

Meet the Author

Eric Ascher

Eric Ascher is the Communications Associate for RespectAbility. He is responsible for supporting RespectAbility’s Vice President, Communications in developing and implementing advocacy efforts and communications of various types. Ascher manages RespectAbility’s social media channels, website and emails; organizes and develops webinars; and supervises Communications Fellows.

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