AFF has been instrumental in launching the careers of writers for over three decades. We recently spoke with Laura Hunter Drago, 2023 Fiction Podcast Award Winner, about her journey from breaking into the world of scriptwriting to winning an award for her fiction podcast screenplay, The Crime at Camp Ashwood. Scroll to read more about Laura’s experience and the role that AFF has played in her career.
Laura’s route to scriptwriting was a bit unconventional as she did not begin her career as a writer. “I actually started out as an actress and did many years of pounding the pavement in the audition circuit in both New York and Los Angeles. I had grown up doing theatre and really loved performing, but I did have a bit of a moment of reckoning with myself where I realized that as an actor I’d devoted my life to saying other people’s words. Often I was going out for roles that didn’t really excite me artistically, too. I needed a change. What had made me want to get into the entertainment industry in the first place was that I enjoy creating, and I needed to find a way back to that.
When I started writing, that creative side of me opened back up in a huge way that I never would have expected. I really fell in love with it, and I write every day now.”
Even before Laura discovered her passion for writing, she immersed herself in the world of screenwriting. “Even before I started writing, I’d heard great things about AFF. I had attended the festival for the first time with another script that was a Second Rounder in 2022. It was such a great experience and I made amazing friends that I’m still connected with, so I knew for sure that I would be back. And, this will sound very LA of me, but I put winning an award at AFF on my vision board goals for the future. I was shocked, and obviously thrilled, to come back and win the next year.”
Her vision board came to life when Laura won a Screenplay Competition award for her fiction podcast, The Crime at Camp Ashwood in 2023 at AFF.
“The idea for the series came from my own experiences at a summer camp in Asheville, North Carolina. I was someone who started going to long-term sleep away camp at a pretty young age, and it was very influential on my life so I’d always wanted to write something in that setting.
The series is also a cold case murder mystery that’s centered around the very deep bonds we form with our friends at a young age, and how those ties impact who we become as adults. I’ve always been someone who has kept friends from childhood very close, and I wanted to explore the nature of those really tight friendships.
I submitted the first three episodes of the series as well as an outline for the first season, so there were definitely quite a few drafts but hard to pinpoint an exact number. I think I went through the pilot episode more than any others, I’d say it was probably draft 4-5 that I ended up submitting!
Figuring out the outline for the whole season was a daunting task as well. I spent a lot of time working out the major moments, especially in terms of tracking how and when I would reveal the answers to the show’s central mystery. I think doing that exercise was essential to the show coming together as well as it did, so I’m really glad I had that initial outline to work from.”
When reflecting on her AFF Script Competition experience, Laura also highlights what she gained from submitting her work.
“I think there’s a lot of great reasons to utilize competitions to move your screenwriting forward. You can make connections, especially at a place like AFF where people are so welcoming and open, and it can also be good motivation to write to a deadline! I absolutely use those application dates when I’m setting writing goals and my own timelines for the year.
Inspired by the fellow screenwriting enthusiasts she met and writing skills she gained, her journey has since continued with a new short film script.
“I’m hoping to direct [the short film] over the summer, which would be a first for me. It’s a thriller set at a bachelorette party, so I think the shoot for that one will be a blast.
After that, I wrote a holiday mystery feature that I’ve been hoping to produce in my home state of Virginia. It just won Best Screenplay and Best Thriller at the Northern Virginia International Film Festival, which is an exciting stamp of approval from a festival in the state where the film takes place. I’m itching to get that one off the ground, hopefully in 2025!
I plan to go back to AFF every year I am able to, whether I’m submitting a script or not. The friends I’ve made there are some of my most favorite people and I love visiting Austin.”
Check out the full 12-episode podcast The Crime at Camp Ashwood below.