All You Need Is Love: Top Five Influences

All You Need Is Love, our latest student mainstage opens Saturday at 6pm. Get your tickets here!

The meet cute. The missed connection. The supportive best friend. The last-ditch run to the airport. All You Need Is Love is an improvised romantic comedy filled with all the things we know and love about the rom-com genre.

All You Need Is Love director and creator Jessica von Schramm is an expert in the rom-com field. Below she shares with us her top influences for directing a improvised romantic comedy.

5. Sleepless In Seattle

Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks equal magic. Add in the legendary Nora Ephron, who wrote and directed this classic film, and you’ve got a funny yet touching romantic comedy. Nora created entertaining characters but didn’t shy away from having tender and dramatic moments. This is the tone our show is shooting for.

4. The Beatles

I will always be delighted that my favorite band wrote a song titled “All You Need Is Love”. This anthem is so simple, so beautiful, so true. The characters we’re playing on stage are emotionally closed off or afraid to take risks, but once they open themselves up to love, they’re transformed. Love can transform people…and the world.

3. The Awful Truth

This 1930s screwball comedy is one of my favorite rom-coms. The two main characters (who are soon to be ex-spouses) go to great lengths to stop each other from dating other people. It’s so fun and wacky and exactly the kind of heightened action we’re aiming for.

2. Serendipity

Everything in this charming film happens because destiny and fate are determined to bring two soulmates together. This is the recipe of our show. I love the idea of meeting your soulmate, being torn apart from them, and then, against all odds, magically being reunited…like a love story written in the stars.

1. Nora Freaking Ephron

I was lucky enough to hear Nora speak at the Paramount Theater several years ago. She said one thing that has always stuck with me: “Everything’s copy.” All of our heartaches, our ups, our downs, and everything in-between can be used to create art. I try to remember that everytime I sit down to write or before I step on stage. Nora lost her battle with leukemia in 2012, but she continues to be an inspiration to me. She definitely inspired All You Need Is Love. This one’s for you, Nora.