At a social occasion, it's fine to walk up to someone and just say that you'd like to meet them. If you know and like their work, that's great; if you don't know it, it's okay to meet them because you want to hear about it.

If other wanna-bes crowd around while you're doing the same, be gracious and invite them into the conversation -- introduce them to Mr. Fancy Pants if you already know their names.

One of the best pieces of advice I've ever received was "people hate to read but they love to give advice." Ask for advice or war stories if you have the chance; don't ask for help. Don't think of this as the one shot to get your script into important hands -- think of it as laying groundwork, so next time you run into Pants you'll have a place to start the conversation, and maybe then ask for something if it feels right.

I met B.J. Novak at a party once. He put his arm around my waist and I blurted, "Oh, I have a boyfriend!" and ran away.

@Caitlin
haha, well at least you have a good story.

Just don't drink too much and you'll be fine.

I got the same question in my email, and Scott took all my answers. Absolutely agree about keeping your expectations low. I gather from the email that I got that this writer-producer is a fellow alumni of the same school - so I suggest using that as an icebreaker. Get them talking about their good times in college and try to find some common ground. "Did you have Professor Forester?" "That old dog? Is he still there? I could tell you stories...." You'll earn more goodwill with common ground than with veiled begging for a job.

Scott's suggestion of how to follow up is pretty clever too. And Josh, that's great advice too. Anything else I have to add would be cribbing further from those.

Thanks Zuul!