One of the greatest things about having an honest writing partner, is that she’s willing to sit across the table from you and say, “No, Leyna. It’s just not that funny.” Sounds like some form of sick therapy for a stilted stand-up comedian, but really, it’s just one of many perks in the partnership. Sort of a checks and balances, if you will. Annie approached me to write Road to the Altar with her. It sounded fun, and I was flattered she thought of me. When she directed me in a very serious project, The Passenger, I thought she was smart, gifted, and motivated. But we never got a sense of what each of us found amusing.

As soon as we started writing, it began to happen. What will Rochelle and Simon taste in their session with the caterer? Mozzarella sticks? Nah. Fried zucchini? Ho hum. Wieners? Hell yes. Why? Wieners are funny. We agreed. Rather rapidly we discovered we were on the same page when it came to what makes us laugh. If we both find smatterings of swine products funny, we could potentially grow together. It took me a long time to find a writing partner who was tickled at the insanity of a two-minute dick joke, but when I found her, I was the lucky one.

As we began to work, we found similar notes could make both of us cry, as well. So interestingly enough, as the work for Road to the Altar began to unfold, so did about three or four treatments for more serious projects. After all, marital and family situations get seriously sticky, they cost years of tears, vials of waterproof mascara, and tons of Kleenex. And sometimes a story is worth exploring in this vein and indulging cathartic experience. Other times, it’s worth pushing the tragedy to the point of insanity and comedy, as are often our lives. And for those times, gratefully, we laugh.

How I found Leyna, my writing partner and best friend, was through a sob story. I was directing a very serious piece about racism in America and what the bystander can do… a provocative film exploring how we can all work at this national epidemic. I casted Leyna as my racist b!%ch, and she was great. A few months after filming she invited me to a comedy show of hers. I barely knew her, but she could act, and she was the best of the night. Her sketches had me in stitches and I knew we had to take these onto the road. The road being the proverbial “world wide web.”

We shot a few shorts– FunnyOrDie’s Speeding Ticket and Taboo. Then I asked if she wanted to collaborate on something longer.

I was working on a series for the web and gave her the soft pitch: the trials and tribulations of planning a wedding. Although never a bride, she had attended her share of nuptials and instantly jumped on the idea. We began writing and in no time, we had a script and started shopping it around town. On a side note I love the expression “shopping it around town”, it feels so Hollywood. Essentially, all it means is you call as many friends as you know, and hopefully some happen to be assistants to producers and you get a meeting. Although difficult once the ball is rolling, it catches traction. A friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend recommended MWG and we set up a meeting, the resulting ending up being the ten episode series, Road To The Altar.