Posted on May 16, 2026
Posted by John Scalzi
It’s fair to say that Pamela Ribon and I have come up together in the world. Back in the before times, she and I both started blogging when blogs were still called “online journals,” and our first novels came out close to each other. Since then she’s become a force in animation, working on story and screenplays for Moana, Ralph Breaks the Internet and the animated short My Year of Dicks, for which she received an Oscar nomination, which is pretty damn cool, if you ask me. For a quarter of a century now we’ve stayed friends, supported each other, and celebrated our successes.
Pamela went to high school in Texas, which is where she participated in the UIL One Act Play, the largest theatrical competition in the world. Students and their teachers (22,000 of them!) enter a timed theatrical performance judged on acting and tech, watched by an audience of students and parents, three judges, and a 103-page rule book. Pamela turned her filmmaker eye to one year of the competition, following several schools across the state as they fought their way through the ranks— with all the tears and triumphs and, yes, drama, that entails. That’s now become a film, called, sensibly enough, One Act.
The filming of One Act is done, and now comes the post-production phase, where the film is edited, scored and otherwise made ready for festivals and public presentation, in time for the UIL One Act Play’s 100th anniversary. That takes money, and Pamela and her team could use some help with that. This is where we come in: The Scalzi Family Foundation has pledged $5,000 in matching funds to encourage folks to make a (tax deductible!) donation to help One Act get over its own finish line in post-production. Any amount you donate will be matched by the SFF, up to that $5k (although hopefully they will bring in more than that).
We’re supporting One Act not just because Pamela is a filmmaker worth supporting, but because we think this could be an important film. It brings a spotlight to a part of Texas life that isn’t well-known outside of its borders, and shows a part of the life of the state that can be surprising, and challenging, to outsiders. The UIL One Act competition inspires young creative folks, and changes lives, and that’s a story that’s worth telling, and making a really cool film about.
If this sounds like a film that you would like to help support getting into theaters, here’s the link to One Act’s site, which includes information on how to donate. Again, in the US, these are tax-deductible donations, so that’s pretty nifty. Every donation for the first $5k is matched by the Scalzi Family Foundation, so please feel free to spend our money with yours. We want you to, in fact.
(Also, if you feel like being a big-time donor, like in the five-figure range and above, which comes with its own tier of recognition, there’s contact information on the linked page where you can inquire about that. Go on, do it! You know you want to!)
I’m super proud of Pamela for making this film, and for everything she’s done, and happy the Scalzi Family Foundation can help to get this film that much closer to release. I hope you’ll be inspired to come along for this journey as well.
And if you are: Thank you.
— JS