James Weliver

As the 30th anniversary of his college graduation approaches, Mark Wilding, the executive producer and lead writer for ABC’s hit television show, ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ returned to the University of Massachusetts Campus Center auditorium on Tuesday to share his experiences and offer advice to students, faculty and other alumni, as part of the Eleanor Bateman Alumni Scholars program.

‘It’s extraordinarily wild to be back for the first time in 30 years,’ said Wilding. ‘UMass is remarkably the same.’

Wilding was interviewed by UMass journalism professor B.J. Roche, who fueled the discussion with questions that were of interest to audience members in the packed auditorium.

‘ ‘I was an economics major, but a very bad one. I enjoyed writing, of any sort, and pursued my passion through the Collegian. I always knew I was going to write, whether or not it was for money,’ he said about his time at UMass.

In his early 30s, he submitted a play entitled, ‘The Company Man’, a comedy based on the Bhopal gas leak in India, to a playwright’s festival in Santa Rosa, Calif. Shortly thereafter, Wilding was approached by Disney executives who had seen the award-winning play performed in Los Angeles, and were interested in Wilding writing scripts for television.

In his 17th year of writing for the screen, Wilding has worked on well-known shows such as ‘Charmed,’ ‘Ellen,’ ‘Caroline in the City,’ ‘Dave’s World,’ ‘Becker,’ ‘The Naked Truth,’ ‘The Tony Danza Show,’ ‘Working,’ ‘Jesse’ and ‘Jake 2.0’. He has also written two feature films, ‘Party Boys’ and ‘Family Time,’ as well as a sitcom pilot titled ‘The Cell’, which The New York Times has acclaimed, ‘the funniest unproduced script in Hollywood.’

Wilding openly discussed the process, strategy and skill involved in maintaining a life and career as a professional writer. ‘It’s important to keep reinventing yourself along the way,’ said Wilding. ‘Always be on the look out for new stories and inspiration, take a fresh angle on whatever you come across.’

Audience members were enthralled by Wilding’s discussion of the creative process of writing for ‘Grey’s Anatomy.’ Wilding described the show’s secret writer’s room as, ‘the most politically incorrect environment I’ve ever encountered.’ The room, which Wilding depicted as a sacred space surrounded by numerous white boards that map out the plot of the show’s myriad of characters, relationships and dramas, is the breeding ground for the show’s award-winning episodes.

‘We have a great array of writer’s on board. There are 11 of us, each with our own strong opinions,’ said Wilding. ‘We even have one hypochondriac, and so we are hardly ever at a loss for ideas.’

One episode of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ is assigned to one writer in particular. After consulting with the other writers, the actors, network executives and even professional surgeons, an episode takes between nine and ten days to shoot. ‘We end up having to cut about 12 minutes of the show at the end of each episode, based on commercial time,’ said Wilding, ‘I’d much prefer to air the 55 minute version of the shows we write so that the audiences didn’t have to miss out on great acting ‘- and even better writing!’ Wilding’s light-hearted joke earned laughs throughout the audience.

In his four years of working on ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ Wilding has been named the 2007 Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation award winner for the episode, ‘Where the Boys Are.’ Wilding discussed the backlash the show received from viewers after a lesbian character, Erica Hahn, left the show for contractual and scripting reasons. ‘The character, Erica Hahn, was not dismissed from the show because she was a lesbian, but I could see why some viewers may take it that way,’ said Wilding. ‘It’s important to take creative risks for the good of the show; whether the viewers like it or not, it’s important to do different things.”

Before taking numerous questions from audience members, Wilding was presented with a clock ornamented with a plaque by Chancellor Robert C. Holub, in recognition of his achievements.

In addressing the question of one alumnus who asked if he would read her material, Wilding generously promised any individual with hopes of being discovered as a writer in Hollywood, that he would read the first 30 pages of any script, and depending on what he thought, may pass it on to agents or directors.

‘I know what it’s like to have high hopes of landing your work in the right hands,’ said Wilding. ‘I will give anyone a 30-page shot, because that’s what I always hoped for.’

Wilding ended his discussion with a parting piece of advice. ‘If you’re serious about a future in acting or writing, go to Hollywood and do everything you can there to break-in,’ said Wilding. ‘Write something people can’t ignore, and write with a passion.’

Chelsea Dugan can be reached at [email protected].