D Scott Mangione

I have come to realize that there is a little bit of me in every screenplay I write.  My first life-changing experience was the opportunity to learn the Navajo language and spend two years living among the Native Americans in the Navajo Nation.  I spent the next fifteen years of my life playing keyboards with pop and country cover bands which gave me the opportunity to experience most of this great country of ours.  I wrote many songs during this time and was the lead songwriter for three studio-recorded albums.  I was able to earn a bachelors degree in education and biology from UTSA and a masters degree in curricular and instructional development from UNLV.   I got married and was blessed with a beautiful daughter so it was time to get serious. For the next fifteen years, I taught 6th, 7th, 8th, or 9th-grade science in public schools.  When I reached the age of fifty, I felt it was time to pursue my life's dream. Write screenplays for movies.  I was fortunate to spend six months in a one-on-one mentorship with the successful screenwriter, Scott Myers.  Since then, I have written seven features. I guess I most want to become someone who knows how to tell a great story.  Storytelling has been enriching the lives of humans from the time we were living in caves. I hope in some small way I can add a few stories that provide entertainment and introspection that can make life a little easier to tolerate.