About
Tess has written one book, twenty-two short stories, twelve screenplays, six sitcoms, a documentary film, a play, about fifty infomercials, hundreds of commercials, and emails numbering certainly in the tens of thousands. She spent three years cutting her sitcom teeth at Paramount Studios on Family Ties and Cheers. Her award-winning screenplays have been recognized by the Academy Award Foundation’s Nichol Fellowship, Sundance Institute, the Telluride Independent Film Festival, the Squaw Valley Community of Writers, and purchased by both independent producers as well as major studios.
As a producer, she was at the helm of a sports series on ESPN, and her short film The Middle Passage won the New Orleans, Aspen, Palm Springs, Denver, and Heartlands Film Festival, before earning a spot on the short-list for the 1994 Academy Awards.
Tess has been writing, producing and managing national television advertising campaigns for nearly twenty years. In addition to running her own production company, she has guided the setup and implementation of the first internet-based television advertising agency, Spot Runner, and served as its first Creative Director. In her two years with the company, she oversaw the production of three thousand (yes, three thousand!) thirty-second commercials. Along with the dust on her shelves are sixteen statues from the Telly Awards, ERA, Jordan Whitney, the International Film and Video Festival, the Astrid Awards, the Houston Film Festival, and the International Cindy Competition.
Her most recent screenplay, Remember Minnesota, based on a true story of the 1987 University of Minnesota rowing team, is scheduled to begin filming in Spring 2009. Visit the Remember Minnesota website for news and updates.
Tess has also lectured and taught writing, story development and film grammar at California Institute of the Arts. In 2005, she shaved her head and walked 525 miles across Spain.
