The Arts
department heads, and seasoned writers. "You're writing lines for people who
have been playing a character for nine
years," says Napolitano. "I was a huge fan
of the show in college, and now I've been
given the opportunity to write for those
characters."
The reading was a success and the
script became Episode 12 of Season Nine,
which aired last January.
Not only did her script result in a televised episode, it also led to a phone call
from the producer. Rhimes, who recently
appeared on Time's 2013 list of the 100
most influential people in the world,
called Napolitano to offer her a promotion to staff writer. "Shonda is definitely
a hero of mine," says Napolitano. "I was
even excited when I was an assistant and
she learned my name. So when she first
called me and said she wanted to bring
me on staff full-time, [it] was a life milestone. It was one of the best phone calls
of my life."
Napolitano's road to Hollywood and
promotion to ABC staff writer began
with a writing foundation she built while
a student at Brooks School in North
Andover. Napolitano developed her love
of writing by taking numerous English
courses in which she studied everything
from Shakespeare to journalism. She also
gained experience in the world of theatre, which directly impacts her ability to
work in television. For her senior project, she spent a semester studying the
work of playwright, actor, and director
Sam Shepard. She then had the opportunity to choose a short play to produce
at Brooks' Vanoff Black Box Theater.
Later, Napolitano moved to Washington,
D.C., where she worked as a press office
intern for Senator John Kerry. Eventually, she moved back to Massachusetts
and became an assistant stage manager
Top, Writers go over the script
with actor Ellen Pompeo of
Grey's Anatomy. Below, Actors
Camilla Luddington and Justin
Chambers rehearse a scene
with show director Rob Corn.
2013 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
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