The Tenderloin Diaries by Carolyn Terry & Todd Pickering
A staged reading of a television pilot based on the writings of Carolyn Terry.
January 11, 2024 | 7:00-8:30pm
At the Tenderloin Museum | 398 Eddy St. SF, CA 94102
Free or Suggested Donation ($10) | Register via Eventbrite
Writers Carolyn Terry & Todd Pickering share a fully cast, staged reading of a television pilot based on longtime resident Terry’s diaristic observations of life in San Francisco’s Tenderloin.
Set in the 1990s, The Tenderloin Diaries explores the people and relationships of the TL that straddle both respectable society and its underworld, the everyday and the extraordinary. Conceived to be a serialized television show, The Tenderloin Diaries features an ensemble cast whose archetypal characters–the hustler, the pusher, the cabbie, the clerk etc.--outline the distinctive social fabric indicative of the Tenderloin’s dense, cacophonous, urban environment of SRO hotels, dive bars, and back alleys.
The source material for this TV series is drawn from writer Carolyn Terry’s 30+ years of living in the Tenderloin and keeping journals of all the fantastically kooky denizens of this vibrant, albeit sometimes tragic neighborhood. Terry’s “Tenderloin Diaries” were originally shared as longform Facebook dispatches and prove her keen sense of observation and character-driven storytelling. Terry has long been a mainstay of the literary scene at legendary Tenderloin watering hole Edinburgh Castle; there she became friends with bartender and writer Alan M. Black, with whom she co-wrote a book of stories about the neighborhood, Tenderloin, published in 2023 with original illustrations by James Wright.
Todd Pickering, Terry’s longtime friend and collaborator on the screenplay adaptation, is a professional SAG/Equity actor and writer who has spent his fair share of time in the Tenderloin. Pickering has a long list of credits as a writer, including that he co-wrote and produced such shows as "The Tenderloin Christmas Hustler” and "Halloween! The Ballad of Michele Myers;” he co-wrote and acted in "Come Fly with me Nude;" and he wrote a One Person show, "Even if it's Wrong," which won awards at the Fringe Festivals in Hollywood and San Francisco.
About the neighborhood both authors reflect that “The Tenderloin has some of the most unique residents. They love their city, and are fiercely loyal to ‘The Loin.’ They can say whatever they please about it, but everyone else can kindly fuck off.”
Enjoy a staged reading of a television pilot of The Tenderloin Diaries and discuss this new and original work with its authors! The cast includes Brian Conway, Trixxie Carr, Jake Eastman, Barbara Godinez, Smelley Kelley, Raya Light, Sue Lyon, Mary Samson and Audra Wolfmann! All are welcome and admission is free or by suggested donation ($10) with registration via Eventbrite.