Meet Nancy Bev;erly | Writer / Producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nancy Bev;erly and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nancy, the decisions we make often shape our story in profound ways. What was one of the most difficult decisions you’ve had to make?
Back in late 2007, the Writers Guild went on strike, and yes, I’m a member of the WGA. I was working on the TV show Ghost Whisperer at the time as the digital media coordinator. I know a thing or two about ghosts, so I was creating stories to pitch to the show as well. When the strike hit, we were all laid off. I cobbled together some short-term gigs, including one at UCLA. My boss there was great and asked me, “What would it get to take you to stay?” I laughed and said, “Oh, I’ll be going back to Ghost Whisperer when the strike is over.” Well, the strike ended in mid-February of 2008 and I immediately called my boss on the show. She told me they’d eliminated my job. Gulp. So the next day at UCLA I asked my boss, “Were you serious about a job?” He was. They had an opening. It took several weeks of contemplation and nail-biting on my part to consider the job because I still wanted to pitch on Ghost Whisperer. I followed up several times with the show but ultimately, they didn’t want to take any pitches or hire any extra writers. Then one fateful weekend morning, as I was driving across the 101 / 134 freeway, I saw a huge plume of smoke from a fire on the Universal lot. I turned on the radio, and sure enough, the outdoor town square / set where we shot Ghost Whisperer was on fire. I thought, yeah, they’re not gonna take a pitch from me, they have bigger problems to solve. So I decided to take the job at UCLA and begin producing my own work rather than go from TV show to TV show. Turned out to be a great decision.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’ve loved “woo woo” stuff since I was a kid — I was reading books on ESP, the paranormal, etc. back then and even gave a morning talk on all that in the sixth grade. So, some (not all) of my scripts incorporate “out there” / metaphysical / spiritual aspects.
The project I”m most proud of is my one-person show Sister from Another Planet that I wrote, produced and acted in during the Hollywood Fringe Festival of 2023 (directed by Carol Becker). It truly was the most rewarding artistic project I’ve ever done. I took the audience on a journey of me figuring out who I am — with the help of Shirley MacLaine and spirit guides!
Getting to that moment had its challenges — for one thing, back when I started in Hollywood, it was not cool to be queer. I sat in writers’ rooms on TV shows where the straight men cracked jokes about lesbians. I did not have the courage to speak up in those days. Then there was the expectation in sitcoms (where I started) that you needed to be loud and over-the-top in writers’ rooms. I have a good sense of humor but being forceful wasn’t my style. I switched to hour-long dramas and that was a better fit,
Aaaaand…. there was the drama behind the scenes on the shows where I worked: big personalities clashed and we ended up working super long hours. That wasn’t fun and it wasn’t in my control.
All of that led me to wanting to produce my own work.
I’m proud to say that the projects I’ve created — The Calamities of Jane (an 11-part 90-minute web series with co-producer / writer / actress Rebecca Klingler) and Shelby’s Vacation (40-minute lesbian film, directed by Vickie Sampson) we had absolutely no in-fighting. Our casts and crew were terrific. There were some problems to solve along the way, but nothing like the stuff I’d seen during my network TV years.
My most recent project is the novel version of Shelby’s Vacation (since I couldn’t tell the whole story in a 40-minute film), and my editor Robin Quinn and publisher Bruce Scivally of Henry Gray Publishing have been great to work with.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’ve been a hike leader with the Gay & Lesbian Section of the Sierra Club since 2001, so I would take guests to the mountains! First, Griffith Park. The hikes there range from easy to challenging, but when you get up to the top of Mt. Hollywood (that’s one of the challenging jaunts), you can see the Hollywood Sign just below Mt. Lee, the Griffith Park Observatory (I recommend that as a separate trip), all the way down to Rancho Palos Verdes and of course the San Gabriel Mountains / Angeles National Forest to the north and east. I’ve bagged nearly 70 peaks over 5000′, so if my visitors had the stamina, I would take them up some of my fav trails in the Angeles National Forest. I never get tired of hiking up Mt. Waterman — it’s over 8000′ but do-able if you’re in decent shape. For those that love the ocean, I’d say let’s go boogie boarding at Santa Monica Beach — my pals and I like to meet near lifeguard tower 28. Want to take a boat trip? Head for the Channel Islands — I recommend the excursion out of Ventura Harbor over to Santa Cruz Island for some excellent hiking and kayaking. Want to mix it up and get some culture in? Visit the (relatively new) Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’ve been a member of the playwrights / actors group Fierce Backbone for 16 years, where I have developed several plays. The feedback from my fellow artists has been terrific.

Website: https://www.nancybeverlywriter.com/

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