ABC/Disney Taps Troesh Actor-Writer Chosen for Grant Program

ABC/Disney chose actor-writer Jim Troesh (r.), pictured above with ABC prexy Stephen McPherson (l.) at the recent Televisionary Salon & Awards ceremony, for the studio's 2005-06 Scholarship Grant Program.

Los Angeles, CA – Television Academy member Jim Troesh has been named one of six individuals chosen to participate in the 2005-2006 ABC/Disney Scholarship Grant Program, the aim of which is to nurture and support aspiring writers, directors and filmmakers from diverse backgrounds.

Prospective participants include high school, college and graduate students, as well as artists who are current members of participating not-for-profit creative arts institutions. The program includes a $20,000 cash grant, as well as a ten-month mentorship during which participants complete whatever project they submitted for consideration.

Troesh, who is also an actor, submitted ten pages of a proposed television pilot titled The Outsiders. “It’s a fish-out-of-water story about an alien who crashed to Earth fifteen years ago and became world-famous,” says Troesh.

“At the time, he met international dignitaries, the Pope and every other public figure of note. But now that fifteen years have past, no one cares about him except people who attend sci-fi conventions. His situation is compounded by the fact that he’s green and scaly, so he encounters discrimination and all of the other wonderful things that human being subject one another to. It’s a dramedy about being on the outside looking in, which everyone is at some point in their lives.”

Troesh, who became a quadriplegic when he fell off a roof at age 14, can relate to his lead character’s circumstances. “In the 1980s, I was a recurring character on the series Highway to Heaven,” he says. “At the time, I received a lot of attention, and was sort of ‘that guy.’ Today, nobody cares. I get recognized once in a while, which is nice, but I’ve still got to eat and pay the rent. It’s something that happens to a lot of actors, not just quadriplegics. In fact, it’s a familiar ex-actor syndrome.”

To assist him through the process of developing his project. Troesh has been paired with mentor Adam Myman, who is head of current programming for ABC Television. The two will work together between September 30 and next June to develop Troesh’s script, and also to produce a short trailer for the project. When Troesh and the other program participants complete their projects, they will have the opportunity to pitch them to executives with greenlight power throughout ABC and Disney.

“I’m very proud and very excited to have been selected,” says Troesh. “This is a great opportunity, and I’m looking forward to making the most of it.”

For more information about Jim Troesh, visit his website, jimtroesh.net. - J. Morales