Dante Russo has been announced as a recipient of the 3rd Annual ScreenCraft Screenwriting Fellowship for his script Haters, a biting dramedy that centers on Kimberly Noh, a self-destructive millennial who discovers that not much has changed when she returns home to Long Island for the funeral of her high school best friend and former ringleader of her disparate clique of “haters.” Disillusioned by the reality of adulthood, she discovers that confronting the past she’s been trying to escape is the only way to take charge of her future.

He has worked behind the camera on a number of television shows and feature films including Glee, The Odd Couple, Growing Up Fisher, The New Normal, and The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water. His short screenplay Grief was selected as the Grand Prize Winner of the 2015 ScreenCraft Short Screenplay Contest. A native New Yorker now living in Los Angeles, Dante is a graduate of Emerson College and a veteran of The Upright Citizens Brigade. He is a proud member of Actors' Equity Association and Writers Guild of America. @dante_russo

ScreenCraft: Where and when did your storytelling roots begin?

Dante Russo: I unfortunately experienced loss at a very young age, so I began to use storytelling as a way to distract myself from reality. I’m also from a very large, very Catholic-Italian family on Long Island, so growing up gay in the early ‘80s it helped me distract my family and friends — and myself — from my secret too. These past few years, I finally stopped using storytelling as a distraction and instead, more as a tool to help me make sense of my identity.

ScreenCraft: What, if any, real life inspiration went into your Fellowship-winning script Haters?

Dante Russo: I wanted to explore my high school experience and what it was like to grow up on Long Island. Having unfortunately been a bit of a bully in high school, I’m curious where it came from. Was it because I was bullied myself in middle school, and that’s how I learned to deflect the torture? What happens to the bullies when they’re all grown up? In addition, I lost a dear friend a month after moving to Los Angeles and, just like losing my sister, never got a chance to say goodbye. So I also wanted to explore this facet of death and what it does to the ones left behind.

ScreenCraft: What do you think is the key to writing a character-driven dramedy that stands out among the rest?

Dante Russo: Dialogue. I think it’s very difficult to pull off. It takes practice and precision. People do not talk the way they read words on a page. Dialogue should have a rhythm. Characters shouldn’t sound the same. And more often then not, people never really say what they mean.

ScreenCraft: What are some of the hardest lessons you’ve learned in your pursuit of a screenwriting career?

Dante Russo: The hardest lesson for me, and probably for most writers, is letting go of control. I moved out to Los Angeles to write movies. Never did I imagine I’d be working on a multi-cam sitcom. But I’m learning an incredible amount of information from ridiculously talented writers. Letting go is truly the hardest thing, especially for a Type-A personality such as myself, but I would never have been able to write my life better than how it’s unfolding.

ScreenCraft: You attained a writer’s assistant position for the CBS show The Odd Couple. How did that come about?

Dante Russo: I kept in touch with a few of The Odd Couple writers after being one of the writer and office PAs during its first season. I met a few of them over coffee recently for some advice and updated them on my writing. I honestly think it was being one of the recipients of this fellowship that helped secure the job.

ScreenCraft: What is it like to work in a writer’s room for a major network show?

Dante Russo: As we all know, writing can be lonely, so it’s incredible to be in a room surrounded by like-minded people. It’s also eye opening to not only see how an episode is built, but how an entire season is too: mapping out arcs, breaking down story, dissecting character. It’s fun to see all these great minds come together on a daily basis; every day is like a master class in writing.

ScreenCraft: How do you plan to utilize the ScreenCraft Fellowship and what goals are you setting for such an experience?

Dante Russo: I’m really looking forward to meeting the mentors, especially Geoffrey Fletcher, Diana Ossana, and Robert Moresco. They’ve been able to find success but still hold onto what makes them unique, so I can’t wait to pick their brains about their writing process, habits, and any/all tips.

ScreenCraft: What is your best Hollywood anecdote or story and what can people learn from it?

Dante Russo: That it’s okay to say “no” every once in a while. It’s difficult because no one likes to turn down work, but the last two times I said “no” have opened doors to opportunities I never knew were available to me. It’s hard to remember what you're worth when you’re writing at a crowded coffee shop in a sea of Final Draft docs on open laptops, but sometimes you need to say “no” so you’re not only available for the next opportunity, but to remind them — and you — of your self-worth.