For Immediate Release
Contact: James Heaney
Star Trek: Excelsior Issues Public Call for Script Proposals
Listeners of the fan-produced audio drama Star Trek: Excelsior have a chance to write their own script for a special episode. Excelsior has put out an open call for script proposals from all comers. The production will choose one script to produce as a full-cast Excelsior episode, which will air this December. Executive Producer James Heaney says the open script call returns Star Trek to a policy that produced some of the finest episodes of the 1990's hit spinoff Star Trek: The Next Generation. "I've always been of the opinion that one of the reasons for Star Trek's success in the nineties was that it was the only show out there that would take submissions from anybody with a good idea. The open submission policy allowed the show to discover people like Trent Ganino, who co-wrote "Yesterday's Enterprise" [a fan favorite episode], and Ronald D. Moore, who today has practically been elected God in the science-fiction world, but he broke into the business when he sent in an amateur script that became "The Bonding." We want to bring that spirit of openness back in the strange new world of fan productions."
Aspiring Excelsior writers will have until April 15th to submit up to four "pitches," or short story outlines, for their proposed episodes. A panel consisting of Heaney and producers Alex Keyes and Mike Hennessy will review the pitches and, in May, five finalists will be invited to submit full hour-long scripts based on their pitches. The contest winner will be announced on July 1st, with production scheduled to start in mid-autumn to make the December 26th release date.
Since September 2007, when the Excelsior's pilot episode was released, Heaney has been personally responsible for every script. As a result of the one-man control of the story, a complicated Excelsior universe has taken shape in the intervening eighteen months. The open episode project represents an opportunity to break out of the usual plot constraints for a single adventure. "We want this episode to stand completely on its own," says Heaney. In order to free up writers to tell stories outside the tight restrictions of the present Excelsior storyline, the production team has decided that the open episode will be "non-canon" within the Excelsior mythos. That's an obscure term which, practically speaking, just means that the episode can be set at any point in the Excelsior storyline, and it need not follow the normal rules of episodic storytelling. "To the rest of the Excelsior universe, this episode does not exist," Heaney explained, "which means that the writers can do whatever they want. Blow up the ship? Kill off the whole cast? Turn [Acting Captain] Dovan into an immortal god of puns? It's all on the table. We just want to tell a fresh, standalone Star Trek story with the Excelsior characters, and we don't care how it gets done."
The storytelling shift will not be the only first for Excelsior this December, though: Heaney has been accepted to a foreign study program in Italy during fall semester 2009, and acknowledges that, even though he will still have Internet access in Rome, "I'm fairly certain I'm just not going to be able to run the day-to-day operations on the show while I'm away." Faced with a choice between finding a new showrunner and shutting down production for five months, Heaney has asked Florida radio professional Mike Hennessy to take his place as Executive Producer while he is away. Hennessy, best known to Excelsior fans in his role as the Narrator, has been a key part of Heaney's team since the show's earliest days. "Mike started off as our narrator, but he's become a critical part of almost every aspect of the show--ubiquitous voice talent, key post-production editor, cast liaison, and generally all-around good guy. He's the perfect candidate to keep things rolling while I'm gone."
Despite the fact that, due to Paramount's copyright on the Star Trek property, no member of the Excelsior cast, crew, or staff can receive any compensation for their work beyond what Heaney describes as "a hearty handshake and a pat on the back for a job well done," Hennessy has overlooked the gruelling obstacles an Executive Producer sometimes faces and accepted the position--much to Heaney's relief. "I'm enormously flattered that James has entrusted me with has baby," said Hennessy. "I'll do everything I can to maintain the high standards he's established over the first two seasons. It's going to be a lot of fun!"
To submit a pitch for the Open Episode Contest, visit the Excelsior contest website at http://www.starshipexcelsior.com/contest/ for important details, then send your submissions to starshipexcelsiorcontests@gmail.com no later than April 15th, 2009.
Contact: James Heaney
Star Trek: Excelsior Issues Public Call for Script Proposals
Listeners of the fan-produced audio drama Star Trek: Excelsior have a chance to write their own script for a special episode. Excelsior has put out an open call for script proposals from all comers. The production will choose one script to produce as a full-cast Excelsior episode, which will air this December. Executive Producer James Heaney says the open script call returns Star Trek to a policy that produced some of the finest episodes of the 1990's hit spinoff Star Trek: The Next Generation. "I've always been of the opinion that one of the reasons for Star Trek's success in the nineties was that it was the only show out there that would take submissions from anybody with a good idea. The open submission policy allowed the show to discover people like Trent Ganino, who co-wrote "Yesterday's Enterprise" [a fan favorite episode], and Ronald D. Moore, who today has practically been elected God in the science-fiction world, but he broke into the business when he sent in an amateur script that became "The Bonding." We want to bring that spirit of openness back in the strange new world of fan productions."
Aspiring Excelsior writers will have until April 15th to submit up to four "pitches," or short story outlines, for their proposed episodes. A panel consisting of Heaney and producers Alex Keyes and Mike Hennessy will review the pitches and, in May, five finalists will be invited to submit full hour-long scripts based on their pitches. The contest winner will be announced on July 1st, with production scheduled to start in mid-autumn to make the December 26th release date.
Since September 2007, when the Excelsior's pilot episode was released, Heaney has been personally responsible for every script. As a result of the one-man control of the story, a complicated Excelsior universe has taken shape in the intervening eighteen months. The open episode project represents an opportunity to break out of the usual plot constraints for a single adventure. "We want this episode to stand completely on its own," says Heaney. In order to free up writers to tell stories outside the tight restrictions of the present Excelsior storyline, the production team has decided that the open episode will be "non-canon" within the Excelsior mythos. That's an obscure term which, practically speaking, just means that the episode can be set at any point in the Excelsior storyline, and it need not follow the normal rules of episodic storytelling. "To the rest of the Excelsior universe, this episode does not exist," Heaney explained, "which means that the writers can do whatever they want. Blow up the ship? Kill off the whole cast? Turn [Acting Captain] Dovan into an immortal god of puns? It's all on the table. We just want to tell a fresh, standalone Star Trek story with the Excelsior characters, and we don't care how it gets done."
The storytelling shift will not be the only first for Excelsior this December, though: Heaney has been accepted to a foreign study program in Italy during fall semester 2009, and acknowledges that, even though he will still have Internet access in Rome, "I'm fairly certain I'm just not going to be able to run the day-to-day operations on the show while I'm away." Faced with a choice between finding a new showrunner and shutting down production for five months, Heaney has asked Florida radio professional Mike Hennessy to take his place as Executive Producer while he is away. Hennessy, best known to Excelsior fans in his role as the Narrator, has been a key part of Heaney's team since the show's earliest days. "Mike started off as our narrator, but he's become a critical part of almost every aspect of the show--ubiquitous voice talent, key post-production editor, cast liaison, and generally all-around good guy. He's the perfect candidate to keep things rolling while I'm gone."
Despite the fact that, due to Paramount's copyright on the Star Trek property, no member of the Excelsior cast, crew, or staff can receive any compensation for their work beyond what Heaney describes as "a hearty handshake and a pat on the back for a job well done," Hennessy has overlooked the gruelling obstacles an Executive Producer sometimes faces and accepted the position--much to Heaney's relief. "I'm enormously flattered that James has entrusted me with has baby," said Hennessy. "I'll do everything I can to maintain the high standards he's established over the first two seasons. It's going to be a lot of fun!"
To submit a pitch for the Open Episode Contest, visit the Excelsior contest website at http://www.starshipexcelsior.com/contest/ for important details, then send your submissions to starshipexcelsiorcontests@gmail.com no later than April 15th, 2009.
