Winning ways with her words

Amy Lanasa admits that she hears voices. But the voices she hears eventually become characters in her writing.

“I know it sounds weird but the characters come to life in my head,” she explains. “I take the time to listen to what they have to say and that’s how each character develops for me. It’s a process that works for me.”

Lanasa is an assistant professor at New Mexico State University and teaches in the Creative Media Institute. The institute is a cross-disciplinary program that prepares students for the 21st century in digital filmmaking, animation and visual effects. The curriculum focuses on the art, craft and business of storytelling.

Lanasa recently snagged two awards — one for a screenplay and one for a play — in competitions. The screenplay, “When You Marry the Man …,” won first place in screenwriting at the 30th Annual Writing Contest sponsored by the SouthWest Writers Association. Her play, “The Iris Incident,” took the top spot at the Centre Stage 10th Annual New Play Festival in Greenville, S.C.

“It’s been an incredible couple of months for me,” she says. “I never thought that I would get this far with my work. All of it has been a great surprise and I’m still just reveling in it right now.”

The screenplay is a feature-length comedy about a young woman who’s on the verge of getting married until she finds out her future father-in-law can’t stand her. She kidnaps him in a backward attempt to get to know him and prove that she’s good enough for his son. The endeavor takes them on a wild trip around Texas.

Lanasa says the first version of the screenplay was written while she was in film school at Florida State University and it was actually her senior thesis paper. After graduation the screenplay was put aside and she picked it up earlier this year to start revisions.

“After I finished school, I thought I was done with it,” she says. “But when I saw it and all of the things that I could work on, I knew I could get it done.”

Lanasa says the idea for the script came as a reaction to the many “crazy” brides that she’s supported.

“I was in a lot of weddings and most of the brides were worried about the smaller things like flowers and caterers,” she says. “I thought to myself, ‘What about the long-term commitment? How are they going to fit in with the families?’ It seemed like a good place to start.”

Lanasa says the win opened up her imagination into making the script into a movie.

“I really didn’t think about before this, but if someone was interested, I’d entertain the idea,” she says. “I do work with a lot of great students and wouldn’t it be great if one of them wanted to make this into a film.”

Meanwhile, “The Iris Incident” is about a woman who is forced to reconnect with her estranged mother while dealing with the death of her father. She also contends with some not-so-normal friends and neighbors. The play won the top prize out of 400 scripts.

“The play was actually one of three chosen to be read in the public reading part of the contest,” she says. “The audience got to vote for the favorite and mine won. It’s a completely humbling experience.”

Lanasa wrote the script to “The Iris Incident” in 2011 and NMSU professor Mark Medoff directed it on stage.

“It was amazing to see it all come to life on stage and having the actors breathe life into the characters,” she explains.

Lanasa says her next big project is her play “Twitch,” which will premiere at the Black Box Theatre in Las Cruces this spring. She also is working on adapting her script “The Ledge” to become a feature-length film.

“I really want to film it in southern New Mexico,” she says. “Originally it was set in Austin when I wrote it 10 years ago. But when I moved here, I’ve fallen in love with the entire area and am currently adapting it to be set in southern New Mexico.”

SEND ME YOUR TIPS: If you know of a movie filming in the state, or are curious about one, email film@abqjournal.com. Follow me on Twitter @agomezART.