Diana Cherkas & Ilene A. Fischer write comedy
One of us is a midwest, queer wiseass who married an Alabama lesbian ten years her junior. The other is a New York, hetero word-nerd who married a Masshole ten years her senior. Our mutual love of smart language and puns, visual humor and sarcasm, leads us to create strong, intelligent women who challenge stereotypes.
Projects in Development
Kitty Stardust & the Corner Store
Retired Stripper Kitty Stardust returns to her Puritanical New England hometown of Chippwitch, MA to take over her late parents’ Main Street store, where she faces countless 17th Century ordinances and bylaws, not to mention her rumored demise.
Kitty Stardust & the Corner Store is a half-hour, single camera comedy. Pitch bible bible and pilot script available.
Proof of Concept
One Roof
Abandoned by his husband, Sean convinces his best friends — straight newlyweds Nate & Gwen and lesbian moms Lanie & Jess — to buy and move into his five bedroom colonial in Teaneck, NJ. Conflicting expectations around life in the suburbs, avowed allegiances, and brand loyalty lead our ensemble to redefine the American Dream.
One Roof is a half-hour, single camera comedy. Pitch bible available.
LOLA
When a WFH freelance writer discovers her social isolation could literally kill her, she has to rely on the not-so-sound advice of the few people she does come into contact with to overcome her crippling anxiety and make new friends as an adult.
LOLA is a single camera comedy that exists as both a half-hour and a shortform web series. Pitch bible and scripts available.
Pilot Webisode
The Overnight
When a longtime small market evening newsman gets reassigned to the early morning show, he’s forced to navigate the Overnight shift alongside a crew of misfits, insomniacs and Xennials. Determined to regain his status in prime time, he makes matters worse when he comes face to face with his young, ambitious co-anchor.
The Overnight is a half-hour, single camera comedy. Pitch bible and pilot script available.
About Waxing Gibbon
DIANA CHERKAS and ILENE A. FISCHER met in a writers’ group and quickly realized their similar take on life. A few beers later, they conceived their first brainchild. After the hangover lifted, they chose to carry the idea to term, forming a lasting creative partnership in the process. Their real spouses are delighted Ilene and Diana have found work wives, but the sleeping arrangements have gotten a little weird.
Diana Cherkas
DIANA CHERKAS is an actor and writer, born and raised in Queens, NY. A graduate of LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts (aka. the “Fame” school) as a drama major, she studied at Moscow Art Theatre School in Moscow, Russia, before earning her B.S. from Georgetown University in Management of Information Systems. To support her acting habit, she embraced her nerdy side as a copy editor, then copywriter, and finally creative director at advertising agencies. Much of her writing work is in pharma, for healthcare professionals, and would likely gross you out or depress you. After studying improv and sketch comedy at UCB, she began writing and performing sketches with NEW MEDIA COMEDY and STuFF, which was last seen live at the PIT’s Sketchfest. Branching into longer form, she studied TV and web series writing at Gotham and Primary Stages ESPA. Her first web series, LOLA, has been named an Official Selection of NYC Web Fest, the Chain NYC Film Fest, a semi-finalist of the Broad Humor Film Fest, and took part in Network Notes at iTVFest. Check out dianacherkas.com for more info.
Ilene A. Fischer
ILENE A. FISCHER grew up in TV control rooms. Since graduating from Boston University’s College of Communication, she has been cracking wise over headsets in a variety of positions including Director, Producer, and Graphics Operator. She has worked in every imaginable format from news and public affairs to sports, dancing, cooking, comedy and kids’ shows. At the same time, Ilene pursued a life in comedy. She is a graduate of Second City’s Players Workshop, and spent over a decade performing as an improviser and stand up comedian. Eventually finding her voice on the page, her lesbian romantic comedy, GIRL HOPPING was produced at The ART’s second stage, Club Oberon, in Cambridge, MA, and her short screenplay, JILTED: A LOVE STORY, was featured in a staged reading at Pride Films & Plays in Chicago. She is a proud member of both the Dramatists Guild and The Directors Guild of America. Check out vassarstreet.com for more info.
Ilene was raised in Chicago, and lives in New York City. She has very strong opinions about pizza.