Writer, Quest
I write
I wrote the scripts for the three Quest seasons, Apex Academy and Starforce.
- Series
- Starforce, Collapse, Glitch, Element, Apex Academy
- Audience
- Grades K–2 and 3 to 5
- Also
- Storyboards for every episode of Collapse, Glitch, Element and Apex Academy
Every season is seven episodes. The scripts carry the story and the characters, and link an animated episode to a box of physical challenges.
I also storyboarded every episode of Collapse, Glitch, Element and Apex Academy, so the page and the picture came from the same hand.
I live for storytelling
My favorite thing is crafting a heartfelt, relatable, human story full of surprises and humor, then watching people react to it. It's one of the most joyful things I know. During a season my mind is always busy: plot points, twists, new jokes and lines of dialogue keep coming, even when I should be asleep.
In Season 3: Element, Ego, the series' longtime villain, becomes the hero by the end. Defined by his merciless, unfeeling nature, he finds a natural path toward compassion for an orphaned alien girl. It isn't an overnight switch; it's an arc that builds carefully across all seven episodes.
Scripts
One for each series I wrote. Click a script to read a sample.
From script to screen
Finished scenes from my scripts, picked for their dialogue. Scroll the script beside each one.
The script: Planet Chitty-Chew (Starforce)
A rough treehouse town, like Lost Boys. Rope bridges and swings everywhere.
Alien kids run wild in war paint and armor made of leaves, bark, coconuts, and rocks. They laugh, yell, and smash things with clubs—fun but chaotic, almost barbaric.
The Star-captains walk through, surrounded by noise, banging, and animals wandering everywhere.
MIGUEL
(Over Noise)
These kids sure seem happy!
DRAGO
This is a kid’s paradise! Look at this place–
As DRAGO describes the village shops, we cut to each one.
The Smashroom – kids gleefully smash old electronics, dryers, dishes, and glass bottles.
DRAGO
Bouncy mushrooms! A Smash-room! A restaurant that serves everything except vegetables!
DRAGO uses his Crazy Color Creator to paint a funny alien on an already over-decorated wall.
DRAGO
And look! You can draw on any wall you want!
COCO
(Over Noise)
Yeah but it’s kind of loud! Where are the grown-ups?
Suddenly all the banging and yelling stops, and all the kids look over at the Star-captains angrily. DRAGO, still holding his CCC, leans over to COCO.
DRAGO
(Whispering to COCO)
Uh oh… You said the G word!
Their leader steps out into view. DOG TEETH has a monkey like animal on his shoulder.
DOG TEETH
No grownups allowed on planet Chitty-Chew! Who are you?
DRAGO
No sweat! We’re kids. Don’t believe me? Check my nose, See! No hairs!
DRAGO lifts up his nose to expose his large nostrils.
COCO
We’re Starforce, someone called for us?
DOG TEETH
I called you, I am DOG TEETH.
COCO
Dog Teeth? What kind of name is that?
DOG TEETH
We pick our own names here. No boring grown up names, like Steve or Egbert.
We meet a few other kids with silly names.
DOG TEETH
This is Mud Cake, and this is Long Purple Belly Punch. He doesn’t talk.
LONG PURPLE BELLY PUNCH
Sup.
DOG TEETH
(Casual)
Oh, I guess he does talk.
COCO
Uh… nice to meet you all. So how can Starforce help?
MUD CAKE opens her mouth to say something but DOG TEETH interrupts.
DOG TEETH
(pointing at COCO)
Hang on Mud Cake, I’m not sure we can trust them. This one looks like a grown up.
COCO
(Surprised)
What!?
BUBBLES
Coco’s not a grown up!
DOG TEETH
She’s got all the signs. Wrinkles on the brow.
COCO
Hey!
DOG TEETH (CONT’D)
Clean clothes, no dirt under her fingernails— I bet you never dig for worms! I bet you don’t even play.
Gasps from the crowd.
COCO
I play!
MUD CAKE
Prove it! Play a game with us right now!
COCO looks at her watch.
COCO
Uh, well… see… the thing is, we don’t really have time for—
DOG TEETH
Yup, just like I thought. No time for play. Just work, work, work. Grown ups.
COCO
Uh, fiiine. If playing a game will prove you can trust us, we’ll do it.
The Crowd cheers.
LONG PURPLE BELLY PUNCH
Play! Play! Play!
The script: The Restaurant (Glitch)
CUT TO:
INT. RESTAURANT
There are tables and chairs and a lot of noise from the other patrons. We’re greeted by an especially weird looking creature that lets out a muffled growl. (We see the back of it enter the scene) ANTON panics.
ANTON
Ah! Please don’t eat us!
The restaurant goes quiet.
ANTON
(clears throat)
Um, I mean. We’d like a table please.
The creature leaves and is replaced by another. SCAB is a large frog-looking creature that comes off as warm and friendly.
SCAB
Well hey there, it’s users! Scab’s the name. My brother Sweat and I, we run this here restaurant. Ask anyone around, there’s no better place to dry off and get some grub. Why don’t you have a seat and I’ll go see what’s in the kitchen. You kids like swarms of things right?
CLEO
Well actually—
SCAB leaves.
CLEO
You see that meteor anywhere, Anton?
ANTON
What!? Huh? Oh sorry, I was just trying to figure out if I’d rather have someone named Sweat or Scab cooking my food…uh, I don’t feel so good.
MAYA
Hey look! There it is. Meteor three, behind the bar!
We show an image of the meteor glowing in an ornate jar behind the bar.
SCAB’S brother, SWEAT, enters the scene. SWEAT gives off a more shady, devious vibe than his brother.
SWEAT
Ah, admiring our relic, are we?
ANTON
You must be Sweat. I guess that means Scab will be our chef this evening…
Anton gags at the thought.
MAYA
Relic? Do you know what that is?
SWEAT
Sure we do! That’s our good luck charm. It keeps the beast away.
CLEO
Beast? What beast?
SWEAT
Ha! Only the meanest, fiercest,
CLEO
You’ve seen this beast?
SWEAT
Well, no. Thanks to that there glowing rock, it never comes around here. But I’ve heard it all right! Roarin’ out there. We’re all doomed one way or another. If the beast don’t get ya, the Glitch will eventually.
MAYA
What do you mean the Glitch will?
SWEAT
The Glitch infects you. Makes folks act funny in the head. Then it takes you over little by little, until, POOF! You get digitized, leaving behind nothing but a cloud of ones and zeroes.
SCAB comes back.
SCAB
Why are you tellin them all that? You trying to scare away our customers? Don’t mind him, he believes in all sorts of nonsense.
SWEAT
Me!? What about you and all that mess about a wizard in a dark tower, casting all kinds of strange spells!
SCAB
That ain’t no nonsense! You can see the tower out there plain as day!
SWEAT
That don’t mean there’s a wizard in there castin’ spells!
SCAB
Well it don’t mean there isn’t one!
SCAB turns his attention back to the users. He speaks carefully as though he doesn’t want to be heard.
SCAB
We’ve had folks stop in here from that way. They say that tower is at the center of a giant maze. They say folks go in there and never come out…
CLEO
Look guys, that rock up there is a meteor. It came from that big hole in the sky, you might have seen it. We need that meteor so we can fix Sarabella Falls.
SWEAT
Nah, see, they’re the crazy ones, Scab. They think they’re gonna save the world. Well I’ll tell ya, you can’t have that rock. That’s the only thing that’s keeping that beast away. Unless…
CLEO
What?
SWEAT
I’ll tell you what, you seem like nice kids. We’ll give you that meteor if you can beat me at a game of Glumen.
SCAB
Oh boy, here we go. Anything to get out of doin’ them dishes aye Sweat?
MAYA
What’s Glumen?
SWEAT
Oh it’s just the funnest little game, easy to learn, difficult to master. If you win, you get the meteor, and if I win, you do all the dishes in this place for a month.
ANTON
Hang on there guys, let’s think about this. I mean I don’t know what passes for food around here, but I don’t wanna eat it or scrub it, okay?
MAYA
You’ve got a deal. So, how do we play?
The script: The Sorcerer (Element)
306_Enc-2 [The Sorcerer] Basic
In the throne room. We meet Queen Elfree’s sorcerer, MENJI THE GREAT.
QUEEN ELFREE
I’m glad you're here, stone bearers. I’ve heard about you. You have a reputation for fixing problems. This is my sorcerer, Menji.
YASH
Um. Nice to meet you, Menji.
MENJI THE GREAT
That’s Menji The Great!
YASH
Ah, the great. So you do magic?
MENJI THE GREAT
Magic? I conjure the most mystifying spells, spectacles and incantations your little minds can imagine.
YASH
Well then, how about a demonstration.
MENJI THE GREAT
You doubt my sorcery!?
YASH
I do.
MENJI THE GREAT
Then watch, in amazement, as I transform this tiny creature into a gigantic monster!
MENJI holds a small beetle type creature and places it on a table. Then he drops a single drop of liquid from a small vial on the bug. It highlights for a second in a blue aura, some tiny sparks light around it for a moment, the wind blows, then it continues on, almost nothing changed.
MENJI THE GREAT
Do you believe now!?
YASH
Believe what? Nothing happened?
MENJI THE GREAT
What!? Before your very eyes I just doubled the size of that creature?
YASH
You did not, it looks exactly the same!
MENJI THE GREAT
Absurd!
They lower down to the table, their big eyes watching the tiny bug.
MENJI THE GREAT
Look at it! It’s at least 30 percent bigger!
NAOMI
Eh, I don’t know dude, looks the same to me.
CLEO
Me too.
QUEEN ELFREE
Give it a rest, will you Menji!? Look, I like Menji, he does amusing tricks at parties for me and my friends...
MENJI THE GREAT
Thank you, your Majesty!
QUEEN ELFREE
...but he’s a terrible sorcerer!
MENJI THE GREAT
Oh.
QUEEN ELFREE
That’s where you come in. Follow me!
The script: Heist (Element)
304_Chal-7 [Heist] Basic
The team captains are sneaking down a corridor.
CLEO
(whispering)
Where are we going?
JASON
(whispering)
We’ve got to get those stones back, right?
CLEO
(whispering)
We got us back, isn’t that enough? Why don’t we quit while we’re ahead!?
JASON
(not whispering, but talking a little quiet)
It’s okay, J-pop’s got a plan. I need some rocks and –Naomi, can I use some of your nail polish?
NAOMI
(not whispering, but talking a little quiet)
Well, okay, but just sayin’, I don’t think purple passion is your color.
They peek around the corner and see the king room with the statue. On an ornate table sits all the elemental stones. The Regent and some soldiers are standing around the statue in some kind of ceremony, backs to the stones. Their voices are heard in the distance as the teams make their plans.
REGENT VIKUS
Mighty Kai! We have found the Carbon Stone and we prepare our forces for your glorious return! Our might is yours to command.
REGENT VIKUS (CONT’D)
Lead the Redhorn in glorious battle, as you once did!
JASON
I’m gonna go grab ‘em.
CLEO
(whispering)
Are you crazy!? There’s a whole army down there, someone’s gonna see you!
JASON
No they won’t, sharks can change color to match their environment.
CLEO
(whispering)
Where did you learn so many untrue things about sharks!? Look, let's think of a plan we’re all happy with...
JASON starts to sneak away.
CLEO
(whispering)
And there he goes…
JASON sneaks towards the table with the stones. The Redhorn seem unaware and preoccupied. He sneaks the rocks off the table and returns to the other captains in the corridor.
CLEO
(whispering)
Okay, I’ll admit I didn’t think you could do it, now let’s book it! As soon as they see we took these they’ll be all over us!
JASON
Relax. They’ll never know I took them -- I left decoy stones, almost identical to--
Cut to the Regent in front of the table holding one of the ‘decoy’ rocks, which looks nothing like the elemental stones. A big rough-cut clunky rock with a crudely drawn symbol meant to imitate the symbols on the actual elemental stones.
REGENT VIKUS
Okay, these are very clearly decoy stones!
JASON
I’ve never been a good artist, let’s boogie!
REGENT VIKUS
They’ve taken the elemental stones! After them!
I don't write in a silo. My best writing has come from brainstorming and getting feedback from other great writers. Thanks to Rhona Cleary for her excellent editing work.