Gilles, D.B. 1947–

(Donald Bruce Gilles)

PERSONAL: Born August 30, 1947, in Cleveland, OH.

ADDRESSES: Office—Tisch School of the Arts, New York University, 721 Broadway, Rm. 1122, New York, NY 10003. E-mail—[email protected]; [email protected].

CAREER: Columbia University, New York, NY, instructor in film; New York University, New York, instructor in dramatic writing, film and television; instructor for Tisch School of the Arts.

WRITINGS:

PLAYS

The Girl Who Loved the Beatles: A Play in One Act (produced in New York, NY, 1974), Dramatists Play Service (New York, NY), 1974.

The Legendary Stardust Boys: A Play in Two Acts (produced in New York, NY, 1978), Dramatists Play Service (New York, NY), 1981.

Men's Singles: A Comedy in Two Acts (produced in Costa Mesa, CA, 1983), Dramatists Play Service(New York, NY), 1986.

Cash Flow (produced in Los Angeles, CA, 1986), Dramatists Play Service (New York, NY), 1989.

OTHER

The Screenwriter Within: How to Turn the Movie in Your Head into a Salable Screenplay, Three Rivers Press (New York, NY), 2000.

(With Sheldon Woodbury) W: The First 100 Days: A White House Journal, Andrews McMeel Publishing (Kansas City, MO), 2001.

The Portable Film School: Everything You 'd Learn in Film School (Without Ever Going to Class), St. Martin's Griffin (New York, NY), 2005.

Films adaptations of plays include Men's Singles, Burn Rate, Thinly Disguised, and Spinning into Butter; writer of pilots and episodes for television, including for series Herman's Head and Barclay's Beat; writer of column for HollywoodLitSales.com.

SIDELIGHTS: D.B. Gilles is an experienced playwright and screenwriter who has taught his craft in writing and film programs as well as through his books. His plays include The Girl Who Loved the Beatles: A Play in One Act, a comedy about a young woman who leaves Ohio for New York and finds love there with a man who is going out of business. The Legendary Stardust Boys: A Play in Two Acts finds a polka band about to cut a demo when their accordion player and primary composer announces that he is dropping out and getting married.

Men's Singles: A Comedy in Two Acts is the story of three tennis partners—a married man who is having an affair, a single man who resolves to remain so, and a gay man who is trying to find stability with a woman. As individuals, they work out their lives and make their choices, and as a group they come to realize the importance of friendship. The fragility of solvency is the subject of Cash Flow. Set in 1988 it concerns the male owner of a textbook publishing house, and his treasurer and sales manager, who must figure out how to avoid bankruptcy. One of their options is to hire an arsonist in order to collect the insurance. When their female editorial chief designs a new educational program, the president invests his own money in order to support her and save the company. James Reel reviewed the play in 2003 for the Tucson Weekly Online, noting that fifteen years after its writing, "the play is timely because corporate malfeasance is still rampant, starting with the corporation that is the U.S. government. It's quaint, because Ken Lay and friends didn't seem to agonize over their illegal activities the way the executives in Cash Flow do. Lie, cheat, steal—today, it's surely just part of the MBA curriculum."

Gilles's books include The Screenwriter Within: How to Turn the Movie in Your Head into a Salable Screenplay, which was described as "clever, entertaining, and absolutely fun" by Jason Antebi in Script Sales.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Library Journal, October 15, 2005, Michael Tierno, review of The Portable Film School: Everything You'd Learn in Film School (Without Ever Going to Class), p. 59.

ONLINE

Screenwriter Within Web site, http://www.screenwriterwithin.com (February 23, 2006).

Script Sales, http://www.scriptsales.com/ (February 23, 2006), Jason Antebi, review of The Screenwriter Within: How to Turn the Movie in Your Head into a Salable Screenplay.

Tisch School of the Arts Web site, http://fllmtv.Usch.nyu.edu/ (February 23, 2006), biographical information on D.B. Gilles.

Tucson Weekly Online, http://www.tucsonweekly.com/ (September 4, 2003), James Reel, review of Cash Flow.