Tag: Pollock Theatre

Raise Your Glass – ‘Cheers’ writer Cheri Steinkelner helps celebrate the sitcom’s 30th anniversary

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Cheri Steinkelner wrote for the television show "Cheers" for several seasons. Courtesy photo
Cheri Steinkelner wrote for the television show “Cheers” for several seasons.
Courtesy photo

Sometimes you wanna go to a 30th anniversary show where everybody knows your name. And on Saturday, Cheri Steinkelner will do that when she chats with brothers Glen and Les Charles and James Burrows, the creators of “Cheers,” the classic TV sitcom set in a Boston bar. Ms. Steinkelner, along with her husband Bill, wrote for the show from season four until its penultimate tenth season. She even became one of the executive producers.

The actual “Cheers” anniversary took place in September of last year, celebrating the broadcast of its first episode, but the celebrations continue in this Pollock Theater exclusive chat, which also includes a visit from actor George Wendt, who played bar regular Norm.

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A Thing or Two (or Ten) about Scriptwriting – ‘Legally Blonde’ dynamic duo return to the Pollock for classic teen comedy

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Karen McCullah, Matt Ryan and Kirsten Smith COURTESY PHOTO
Karen McCullah, Matt Ryan and Kirsten Smith
COURTESY PHOTO

Ah, now here’s the life. When Karen McCullah sits down with her long-time writing partner Kirsten Smith to work on a script, they usually do it poolside at Karen’s Hollywood house, sipping on mimosas. (Unless they’re working on the plot of a movie, then the mimosas usually wait. Champagne is good for writing dialog.) That working environment was well-earned: Ms. McCullah and Ms. Smith wrote some of the best loved comedies of the last decade, from their breakthrough hit “10 Things I Hate About You,” the hilarious “Legally Blonde” (now a Broadway musical!), and “The House Bunny,” which showed off Anna Faris’ comedic chops.

The two will return to UCSB this Thursday for their second sit-down chat at the Pollock Theater for the Carsey-Wolf sponsored “Script to Screen” event, hosted by Matt Ryan. Their last trip to UCSB featured a screening of “Legally Blonde.” This time they return with “10 Things I Hate About You,” their high school rewrite of Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew,” starring a young and still unknown Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. They will screen the film, then talk about the making of the script, their first successful collaboration and the start of a beautiful friendship.

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