Alumnus earns writing spot on ‘Skins’

Matt Pelfrey lives his life for oddities. Any uncanny social encounter, intriguing newspaper article or bizarre character that he might come across in his day can end up being the inspiration for his next play or screenplay.

“I like kind of dark, twisted stories,” Pelfrey said. “I’m usually motivated by something that has either disturbed me in my life or that I’ve heard about or experienced in some way.”

Last year, Pelfrey and two writers were chosen out of 400 aspiring applicants for a screenwriting position on MTV’s remake of the British drama, “Skins.”

“I had written a screenplay that my agency William Morris sent to the creator of “˜Skins,'” Pelfrey said. “He liked it and wanted to read more of my stuff, so I sent him a play of mine, and once he had read it he wanted to hire me. It happened pretty fast.”

Last year, Pelfrey relocated from Pasadena to New York City, where he collaborated with the other “Skins” writers for 20 weeks.

“I wrote the Abbud episode,” Pelfrey said. “He’s a Muslim character, and I like him because the story is basically about how innocent he is and idealistic and how that’s all shattered.”

Pelfrey received his master’s in fine arts from UCLA’s three-year playwriting program. In 2005, he was the first of three students in his entire class to graduate from the program’s redesigned format.

According to Edit Villarreal, chair of the graduate playwriting program, the selection committee travels around the country searching for candidates and ultimately admits around 5 percent of students who apply.

After Pelfrey impressed the playwriting faculty with his effective language and character development, as well as his tenacity to strive for success within his courses, the professors recommended him for a teaching position. Pelfrey acted as a visiting assistant professor in the graduate playwriting program for two years.

“He really pushed the students to write plays that were honest and rough and to wake people up,” Villarreal said.

Of the 20 plays and six screenplays that he has written, many are based on real-life occurrences that Pelfrey himself or someone he knows has faced. This even includes his play “Cockroach Nation” about a rich man who tries to move his family to an alleyway in downtown Los Angeles to train for the apocalypse. The story was partially inspired by his interest in the plight of homeless people in Los Angeles.

“My uncle used to be homeless by choice, so I’ve always found him fascinating,” Pelfrey said. “I used to listen to what he’d say. … I wouldn’t necessarily follow him around, but he had stories.”

Pelfrey said he enjoys writing about characters who have been driven to the edge by the demanding pressures of society. In his play, “An Impending Rupture of the Belly,” the protagonist is driven mad by a dog walker who frequently permits his dog to defecate on the protagonist’s front lawn.

Over time, the protagonist becomes so enraged that he eventually takes the dog walker’s life. The play earned Pelfrey several awards, including a Backstage West Garland Award and four LA Weekly playwriting award nominations.

Although none of the characters that Pelfrey writes for “Skins” have gone to such extremes as the protagonist of “Rupture of the Belly,” Pelfrey said he still enjoys writing their stories. He said he identifies especially with one male protagonist, Tony.

“Tony always wants to be in control, and he wants to control everyone around him. He’s impossible, but I get that desire,” Pelfrey said.

Pelfrey said he wants to continue writing and producing plays but would also like to be a showrunner for his own TV series and work in film.

“I’m certain the notoriety that “˜Skins’ is bringing him will keep him on the A-list of writers, so I’m not sure what he’ll do,” said Gary Gardner, professor of theater arts. “I hope he does not give up the theater.”