Samuel Garza Bernstein

UPCOMING @ Actors Theatre of Indiana: Mr. Confidential OPENS APRIL 28th

More about Mr. Confidential THE SIZZLE STARTS HERE! When Bob Harrison creates Confidential Magazine in 1952, he gives the public something new: A fly-on-the-wall peek into the bedrooms and boardrooms of the rich, famous, and powerful; all with plenty of cheeky humor and innuendo. But he also offers something totally unexpected: The TRUTH. Notorized statements from multiple sources back him up every step of the way. Confidential quickly becomes the #1-selling magazine on American newstands. Soon Bob isn’t just TELLING the story, he IS the story, with headlines, scandals, and a wild ride of his own. TRUE STORIES are Bob’s currency. The modern 24-hour news cycle of scandal and half-truths is his legacy. Would he be happy if he were alive to see how things turned out all these years later? Maybe, maybe not. But he wouldn’t be at all surprised.

My life and writing reflect the wild intersections of modern life. I was born to an undocumented Mexican mother who passed as white with a fake name and a Jewish father who allegedly sold arms to the Palestinians in Egypt, where we lived for a year when I was a kid. That was what my grandmother, his mother, always said he was up to. I should note that she was not always a reliable witness. All I remember is lots of mysterious men with dark, flashing eyes, coming and going at night. Those are my clearest early memories, being a gay Jewish 6-year-old surrounded by hot Muslims, without a clear way of expressing myself. I lived in my head a lot, spinning stories, as I grew up all over the world: Cairo, Honolulu, Austin, Phoenix, Albuquerque, New York, Los Angeles, and Ft. Collins, Colorado.

Husband Ronald Shore and I have been together since 1994 and we co-founded BABYHEAD PRODUCTIONS in 1997. We've married each other three times now. The first was a non-legally binding ceremony performed by our rabbi in 1996 in LA. We married again in Canada in 2003 when it became legal there. Then for good measure we got legally married again in the United States in 2013 when Prop. 8 was struck down. We are exploring the possibility of marrying again in Portugal now that we have begun the process of obtaining dual citizenship there. Soon will then be able to live and work anywhere in the E.U. Of late we like this idea very much. In 2016 I became a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) to a fantastic foster kid. You can meet him in a CASA video HERE. I have been a facilitator for LGBTQIA+ youth rap groups at the LA LGBT Center and headed a mentoring program for LAUSD high school writers. Ronald and I are currently being held hostage by three incorrigible DACHSHUNDS. Send help.

AWARDS: THE SECRET WORLD OF DANNY LOPEZ WGA Writers Access Program Honoree for Television Comedy; New York Film Awards Best Screenplay; Los Angeles Film Awards Best Comedy Screenplay; C21 International Drama Summit Nominee Best Drama Pilot Script ELEPHANT & CASTLE London Independent Film Award Best Screenplay, Special Commendation British Independent Film Festival Best Unproduced Screenplay BOBBIE'S GIRL GLAAD Nominee Best TV Film; Emmy Nomination Bernadette Peters; Advocate Top Ten Television Events of the Year LULU eLit Silver Medal; Finalist: Int’l Book Award; Finalist:Next Generation Indie Award SILENT LIES Houston Int’l Film Festival Gold; Charleston International Film Festival Silver MR. CONFIDENTIAL (non-fiction book) Hermes Best Non-Fiction; Foreword Book of the Year Finalist MR. CONFIDENTIAL (stage musical) Anna Sosenko Trust Grant; NYMF Individual Performance UNCOMMON HEROES American Library Association Stonewall Book Award.