Looking back on 2021, it's easy to see loss, confusion, and pain. If you look for it, however, I think you'll find the beauty and abundance you crave. For me, I see healing, growth, and productive friction. I can only see the many contributions of our nearly one million global members, the insightful posts of our Community Leaders, and the productive conversations with everyone in between. The Stage 32 community was built on the values that Hollywood all too often takes for granted - positivity, accountability, and generosity. Our community is at the ground floor of major changes in the entertainment industry! Let’s take a moment to review the changes we’ve already started.

As the Community Manager here at Stage 32, I hang out in the lounges almost every day. While this is certainly not an exclusive list of stellar posts, today’s blog includes a wide variety of posts that typify what makes our community the best of any found in the modern social media spaces. Yes, brace yourselves for a list of epic proportions!

Our members, including major working professionals, freely share resources, share insights, and share reflections. At our core, we help each other, challenge each other, and encourage each other to be better. As RB Botto and Jason Mirch were just saying on our Writer's Room Cocktail Party earlier this week, "step outside your comfort zone if you want to be successful!" To our lurkers, we invite you to step into the light and comment. To our commenters, we invite you to jump in with more posts. To our posters, thank you for getting the ball rolling. And to all our members - thank you for keeping this space welcoming for all!

A special SHOUT OUT to the Writer’s Room Lounge, which is exclusive to our Writer’s Room Members only (it’s the only subscription we have on Stage 32) - this is where SO many events have been started and developed into full-fledged offerings as part of the membership! The Pitch Practice Sessions with Brooklynn Fields, the Coverage Report with Lit Kilpatrick, and several Writer’s Cafes to keep us accountable - all made possible by the conversations through the Writer's Room Lounge!

Not to worry if you aren't subscribed to the Stage 32 Writer's Room. If you'd like to give it a go, you can email Jason Mirch for your first month free at J.Mirch@stage32.com You can also jump in on any of the topical lounges for free! Let's see what gems our members have surfaced throughout 2021!

Resource Sharing (videos, podcasts, grants, and blogs)

• Shout out to Florin, a valued Stage 32 member who finds fantastic resource posts for the entire community! Be sure to follow him for the best resource links on the internet.
• Not Yours: YouTube Channel Dedicated to the Business Side of Animation, also - FREE Gear
• Yours: Distribution 101, A Complete Guide to Film Composing
• Starting a Resource List with a Post: FREE Sound Libraries from the Composing Lounge
• Offering a Resource List to Collect More: Transmedia Books, a Resource Post, What Do Blair Witch and WW84 Have in Common?
• Actors Sign Up for Table Reads for Screenwriters to Reference: Game for a Table Read?
• Resource + Reflection = EPIC SHARE! Sound Effects Solutions from Fight Club

Reflection Sharing (recent lessons)

• Introduce Your FAIL Weekend - We all have missteps, and what better way to bond than through our shared experience of making mistakes: Contracts
• After you test it, share it! Camera Tests
• Introduce Your FRIEND Weekend: Meet someone awesome? Why not introduce THEM when you introduce YOURSELF? Introducing Kimberly Anglemyer, Luis Ramón Quintero, Leah Poulliot (who is now a staff writer - CONGRATS, LEAH!), Kelly Shanley
• Getting Deep: On Writing Death Spirit
• Reflecting on the Process After Wrapping: That’s a Wrap
• Reflecting on Genre Conventions in Composing: Harmony and Genre

Insight Sharing (cumulative knowledge)

• What is Transmedia?
• Film Festival Experience
• Think of Your Headshot Like a Movie Poster
• Actual or Implied Rhythm
• Setting Yourself up for Success from a Netflix Film Producer: How to Get Struck By Lightning
• HONORABLE MENTION: The BTS Post to End All BTS Posts

Cross-topic Sharing (animation/filmmaking, acting/writing, authoring/transmedia)

• Strategies for Animation Shared with Filmmakers
• Expanded into the Post-Production Lounge
• Producer/Actor = Actorpreneur
• Celebrate a Victory AND Introduce Yourself! Search for New Blood Screenplay Contest WINNER!
• Using Transmedia for Cryptocurrency: What is Cryptocurrency?

Unpacking Issues & Discussing Solutions (gender, race, sexual orientation, etc.)

• Gender Identity for Creatures

• Riz Ahmed Shattering Stereotypes to Become Hollywood Leading Man

• LatinX Representation in TV and Film

• Non-Violent Problem-Solving Films

• Female DPs Should Be Front and Center This Awards Season

• #MeToo Missed Us: Female Composers Speak Out

The Core of the Community

If you're not sure how to interact with the community, these six categories sum up how most members utilize the lounges:

Asking for Help

• Distribution Solution
• To Post or Not to Post (Your Entire Screenplay)
• Question About Important People Dying

Check it Before You Wreck it

• Before You Crowdfund: Switching from Clients to Crowdfunding
• Before You Hire: What Qualifications for a Gaffer?

Celebrating the Victories

Special SHOUT OUT to Maurice, who is so quick to welcome members and help them celebrate their victories that it is quite possible he comments more than I DO! Thanks for being such a positive force in our community, Maurice!

• Celebrating a victory through Stage 32? Celebrate your victory in the Stage 32 Success Stories Lounge!
• Worked on something cool? Share your victory! Hellraiser
• Found a new way to make films? Share your victory! Revolutionizing the Film Industry Through Cyptocurrency NFTs
• Receiving recognition? Share your victory! "Blue Paradises" Racking Up Awards
• Releasing a new film? Share your victory - and your story! 18th Film Since 2010
• Reached a major milestone? Share your victory! CONGRATS to CJ Walley on his new book - Turn & Burn

***Remember - if you’re straight-up promoting, share your links in the Your Stage Lounge. If you’re willing to write a little reflection or ask a question to begin a conversation around the craft or business, then keep it topical (i.e. Screenwriting, Filmmaking, Producing, etc.)

Mourning the Setbacks

• COVID-19 Impacts on Your Projects
• Female Composers Throughout History
• Moviegoers’ Confidence To Return To Cinemas During Covid Hits Record Level

Getting Involved

• Encouraging & Challenging: Learning to Be Uncomfortable, TV Writers Wrestle with How (and When) to Work COVID-19 into Series
• Get the Conversation Started DURING a Webinar or Film Summit: Film Finance Summit (Sept 2021), Stage 32 + Netflix Pitching Webinar (Feb 2021), Stage 32 + Netflix TV Pilot Structure Webinar (Dec 2021 - with responses from Anna Henry herself!)

***Be sure to click all the pluses on any of your classmates - chatting during webinars is a great way to meet new collaborators!

Keeping it Fun & Positive!

• If You Had a Ticket to Anywhere in the World…
• Introducing yourself is a GREAT way to share some positivity! LQ is Dropping Gems and Shining Light, Just a Good Ol’ Fashioned Howdy

What were some of your best posts throughout 2021? Share your links below! Be sure to give a shoutout to any and all who made those conversations possible!

A hearty and sincere cheers to my friends and colleagues here at Stage 32! May each of you continue to add to your creative tribe and steadily climb to new heights in 2022!