Latest Blogs

I’m curious: if we were to poll 1,000 regular users of Stage32, how many of them jumped in and learned all of the resources right away? My guess is that 8 out of 10 new members were more like me: tiptoeing into the waters.   Maybe you’re wondering, “There are so many incredible options, and how do I pick?" I felt like a kid in a candy store, and I wasn’t focusing. Plus, I really wanted to learn it all at once! The good news is: if we can get over THE NEW‑KID‑FIRST‑DAY‑OF‑SCHOOL vibes...

Happy Sunday, Creative Army! I hope your weekend has been a creative one so far. Whether you have been writing, filming, editing, or sketching out the next spark of an idea, I have got something today that will give you a boost. So grab your coffee, and let’s dive in. This week’s featured video comes from Variety- How 'Wicked: For Good' Composer Wrote 'The Girl in the Bubble' & 'No Place Like Home' And if you listen closely, there’s a powerful lesson here that goes far beyond composing....

There’s no doubt about it—self-tape auditions are all the rage and certainly here to stay. And, with pilot season fast upon us, the timing is perfect for talking about what makes a self-audition submission likely to succeed. A quick Internet search will yield an abundance of self-tape how-to articles and videos, which is great, and I encourage you to watch and read them. But they mostly focus on the technical aspects of the process (cameras, lighting, sound, setup) and far less on the actor’s...

Dubai is often described in images before it is described in ideas. The skyline. The scale. The architecture. The speed. The polish. For many people outside the region, the city registers first as a visual spectacle, a place that looks expensive, futuristic, and immediately cinematic. What it is rarely known for, at least not yet, is narrative filmmaking. That gap between perception and reality is exactly what makes Dubai so interesting. Because beyond its image, beyond the obvious p...

The traditional boundaries of the screen have begun to dissolve as the industry enters a period of narrative liquidity. For decades, the creative process followed a predictable, linear path where a writer drafted a script, a producer secured funding, and a director hoped for a box office miracle. In 2026, that straight line has curled into a sophisticated, self-sustaining circle. We are no longer in the business of merely selling movies or television series. We are in the business of architectin...

I recently spoke with two successful indie producers, both with strong track records on the festival circuit, and they had identical mandates: rom-coms and horror under $15M. Anything above that threshold goes to the studios. That's a radical shift from what indie producers were reading even five years ago. The Oscars told the same story. This year's ceremony was notably light on traditional prestige drama. Instead, the films being rewarded were commercially driven, globally appealing, and in...

CASE STUDIES IN DISGUISE Quietly in the background, decades of independent production has given me something of incredible value; project case studies and laser-focused insight. This cumulative past experience now reveals just how much consideration my films have had locked into them from the get-go. (Left to right) Sean O'Grady, Kim Michelle, and Kathleen Murtagh in a production still from Al Carretta's 2024 feature 'It Starts In This Room'. In Autumn 2024, I released my 23rd (Thirst) a...

Happy Monday, Creative Army! If you’ve ever dreamed of taking your film to the Croisette, shaking hands with global buyers, or simply navigating the incredible whirlwind that is the Cannes Film Festival and its Marché du Film, this is for you. I’m thrilled to announce that this upcoming Wednesday, April 1st, we’re hosting a completely FREE webinar with the Executive Director of the Marché du Film, Guillaume Esmiol, to help you prepare for Cannes—whether this is your first time attending or y...

Happy Sunday, Creative Army! I hope your weekend has been a creative one so far. Whether you have been writing, filming, editing, or sketching out the next spark of an idea, I have something today that will give you a boost. So grab your coffee, and let’s dive in. This week’s featured video comes from Thomas Flight- Why Some Movies Feel More Alive What I like about this piece is that it takes something most viewers barely notice and shows how important it really is to the experience of a f...

In a past life, as they say, I worked in the Olympic Movement. I will wait while you drift off and think of only the glamorous side of that, because yes, I was a Chief Press Officer at two Summer Games. But let me take you behind the scenes. There’s a popular expression, “It takes a village.” And people are also quick to whip out phrases like, “It takes teamwork to make the dream work.” But the fact of the matter is, there honestly was really only one person who was responsible for women’s fas...