RespectAbility Entertainment Professionals Lab 2024
Howard Emanuel
Howard Emanuel is a disabled writer who graduated from USC’s grad screenwriting program in 2023, where he was an Annenberg Fellow. He most recently won The WeScreenplay Diverse Voices Lab and Write LA. His TV and film writings have made The Bitch List and won a number of other industry honors, ranging from film festival awards (SLO International Film Festival, Newport Film Festival, etc) to being optioned by a TV production company that swiftly closed shop after the option. (He swears his script had nothing to do with the company’s demise).
Tony Award-winning producer Tom Smedes is the Executive Producer of his play Sundogs. The play won the Great Plains Theater Conference’s top honor, The Holland New Voices Playwright Award. In 2020, Armie Hammer starred in an online production of Sundogs and was poised to bring the project to Broadway. Emanuel thinks Armie’s involvement has aged super well.
Emanuel’s plays and musicals have been developed and presented by The Roundabout Theater Company, New York Theater Workshop, Naked Angels, Penguin Rep, The Lark and The Flea. They have starred such talents as Academy Award-nominee Chloë Sevigny, Emmy-winner Penny Fuller, and the late, great icon Chita Rivera.
Emanuel co-EPed and co-wrote a screenplay with Keith Powell, who played Toofer on 30 Rock. The result was the independent feature Train Baby. It starred Keith Powell, Adapero Oduye (Pariah, 12 Years a Slave), Judy Reyes (Scrubs) and Rich Sommer (Mad Men) and is available on Amazon.
Emanuel wrote and directed Tony Award-nominee Tony Yazbeck’s critically acclaimed club act The Floor Above Me. An album of the effort is available through P.S. Classics. He lives in Los Angeles with his partner, wedding planner, Joey Perniciaro, their two cats, and two parrots, an African Grey and Blue and Gold Macaw.
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After an extensive search and interview process, 25 individuals were invited to participate in the Virtual Cohort of RespectAbility’s 2024 Entertainment Lab taking place May 7 – September 24, 2024. This 5-month Lab aims to develop and elevate the talent pipeline of disabled entertainment professionals working behind-the-scenes in television, film, and streaming, while connecting them with industry professionals and creatives. Participants include people with physical, cognitive, sensory, mental health, and other disabilities ranging in age from people in their 20’s through their 60’s. The Lab is a recipient of The Roddenberry Foundation Impact Award.
