VertiGals

The VertiGals chat with the delightful Jessica Burkhart about transitioning from writing books to mobile games to verticals. Jessica Burkhart is a vertical drama screenwriter, author of over 30 books, and mobile game writer. She has written ten produced verticals for platforms including Shorts, ReelShort, and DramaShorts, and also works in localization and script doctoring. Find her at jessicaburk...

The VertiGals met up with writers, actresses, and producers Carin Smolinski & Julie Bruns at the May 2026 Vertical Drama Market. Carin Smolinski indpendently produced "Tides of Desire" now streaming on MuVpix and Inverted. Julie Bruns starred in (along with Carin) and independently produced "Beneath Crimson Sails" on MuVpix and CandyJar. Both ladies enlightened us with exactly how much work go...

The VertiGals meet up with Scott Brown and Stacy Howard at the May 2026 LA Vertical Drama Market to discuss the current state of vertical story telling, the data, and pushing the medium forward. Founder of Second Rodeo Productions, Scott Brown is an Emmy-nominated Director, Creative Producer, and Writer who has helped lead the digital entertainment revolution – guiding brands, studios and traditio...

The VertiGals sit down with Eli Shell - a Los Angeles-based writer, director, and producer and founder of Sidewise Studios, an independent micro-studio creating original series for vertical platforms. With a background in tech communications, messaging, and strategy, Shell has over 15 years of experience producing and leading high-output creative content teams. He now applies a startup mindset: ra...

The VertiGals sit down with Jason Mayfield, Producer and Head of Casting & Development at SnowStory Productions to discuss his journey from Modern Dance, to Magic, to Stand Up Comedy, to MicroDramas. We also discuss the rise of MicroDramas, what makes them work and why, and how they are rapidly changing the entertainment landscape as we know it.

The VertiGals sit down with Senior Screen Writer for DramaWave, Astrid Carlen-Helmer. Astrid is a French-American screenwriter and a graduate of the London Film School. She began her career in development at Blackpills, a short-form series studio, where she contributed to the creation of young adult fiction intended for international distribution. She later became Head of Development at the Franco...

The VertiGals sit down with Vertical Super Fan, Influencer, and industry thought leader Meagan Johnson of @realreeldrama to talk about what the fans love about Verticals, what makes this industry so fascinating, and everything that Meagan is building in the entertainment space.

The VertiGals sit down with multi-hyphenate Dana Protsyshak to discuss her journey from romance novelist to her career in Vertical Drama filmmaking. Dana Protsyshak is the founder of Dana Productions, Vert-I-Go Media and the LA Vertical Drama Market, the first industry event dedicated exclusively to vertical drama storytelling, and the creator of OtheR, a dystopian series in development across lon...

The VertiGals have the pleasure of interviewing the brilliant Rachel Zilberg, Lead Writer at "Shorts," the platform known for rom coms and feel good productions. Rachel got her start in romance based mobile gaming and took the natural next step into vertical drama writing. She has written several exceptional vertical dramas, not limited to "Love Switch: Billionaire CEO vs. Mafia King" which was th...

Hollywood is evolving, and former screenwriter, legacy Film & TV producer, CEO of 3Pas Studio, and creator of the "Open Gardens" and "Vertical Bloom" sub stacks, Ben Odell, is at the forefront of that evolution. Ben joins the VertiGals to talk about how storytelling is evolving from Hollywood's perspective, the creator economy, the arrival of AI , and how digital media and legacy media have al...

The VertiGals have the pleasure of sitting down with inspiring MicroDrama writer and winner of ReelShort's Top Romance Prize, Dena Dizdar Plumer. After raising a family, Dena decided to move to Los Angeles from Texas to pursue her life long dream of being a screenwriter. As a former copywriter and Ad Exectuive, Dena talks about how her career in advertising influences her work in MicroDramas, how...

The VertiGals have so much fun learning about Kristen Brancaccio's journey to conquering the vertical world. Having directed 17 verticals to date, Kristen has a lot of insight in the structure that works best in verticals and how the marketing and financing models around verticals will have to change for vertical story telling to be able to effectively evolve.

The VertiGals talk about Alison's hit release on MyDrama "LoveScore" and review a few other Vertical Dramas they enjoyed. They also talk about the experience of writing verticals from idea to production and what that's been like from a writers perspective. Thom Woodley joins them to talk about his experience working in digital content and vertical content since 2023 - past failures, current happen...

In today’s episode we chat about verticals we love, why we love writing and watching verticals, cover some industry headlines, and dive into the Omegaverse. We also have a really insightful chat with the brilliant and talented writer Adrion Trujillo.

Alison and Natalie discuss Verticals they've watched over the past week and sit down with writer and digital visionary Isabel Dréan - a pioneer in the Vertical Drama world. Isabel discusses the current state and the future of the Vertical Drama business and dives into her soon to be released book "How to Write a Vertical Series in 10 Days." Isabel offers incredible insights into the craft and tech...

VertiGals is a podcast about the titillating craft of writing Vertical Micro Dramas, hosted by two hilarious pros who are eager to bring some comic relief to the wild world of smacks, whacks, and malicious mother-in-law attacks. Each episode offers candid conversations with industry voices, explores the creative process and tackles tough questions like how to keep the viewers attention over 50+ ep...