Actors Stephanie Beatriz, Michael Peña, Lou Diamond Phillips and Taylor Russell will appear in a table reading of selected scenes from this year’s five winning scripts at the 2020 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting Awards and Table Read on Thursday, Dec. 3, at 10 a.m.

Last month, five screenwriters, including two from Los Angeles, James Acker and Beth Curry, were selected from 7,831 entries as winners of the 2020 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition. Each of the winners will receive a $35,000 prize.  Fellowships are presented with the understanding that the recipients will each complete a feature-length screenplay during their fellowship year.

Acker’s “SadBoi” is about an emotionally stunted high schooler who, when thrown out of the house, must revisit old friends and repair burned bridges all in the name of finding a place to sleep.

Curry’s “Lemon” tells the story of five-year-old Lemon who goes outside for the first time in search of her father after her agoraphobic mother dies suddenly.

Hosted by Aldis Hodge and directed by 2011 Nicholl fellows Burlee and Abel Vang, the upcoming program will be available to stream online at nichollfellowships.org.

The global competition, which aims to identify and encourage talented new screenwriters, has awarded 166 fellowships since it began in 1986.  For more information, visit oscars.org/nicholl.