Acting

As much as I have loved screenwriting, I’ve always had a bug in the small of my stomach for acting. Even when I was in orchestra and band in high school, I remember walking into the theater class and perusing the movie posters hanging on the walls of the theater. My mouth would drop, and I’d take it all in. “How cool would this be?” I’d ask myself. But, alas, I was committed to band, and a huge commitment it was. I had relationships with people I loved and was not about to let go. So with that,...

Happy Sunday, Creative Army! Have you had a creative weekend so far? Whether you’ve been writing, filming, editing, or simply dreaming up your next big idea, I’ve got some inspiring content to fuel your passion and keep you moving forward. So grab your coffee, and let’s dive in. This week, we’re taking a deep dive into how Nolan kickstarted his career with Following, a micro-budget noir thriller feature film shot on weekends with friends, using natural light and borrowed locations. This Stud...

Being pushed and shoved. Getting punched and kicked. Just another day in the office. Being hit by a car. Getting blown up. Just another day in the office. Yes, I am talking about the, for many years, overlooked unsung heroes of the entertainment industry: Stunt actors. I have been privileged to have been part of that unique group of people. Some call us daredevils. Others call us adrenalin junkies. Still, others refer to us as fools. We are none of these. We are actors, and the risks we ta...

We all have that inner spark; the yearning to be the best at what we do, whether it’s in the creative world, business, or any other field. It’s a driving force that pushes us to exceed our limits and transform dreams into reality. But while the desire for greatness is often seen as a source of inspiration, it can also feel like a heavy burden. So, how do we embrace this desire without allowing it to overwhelm us? The Power of Aspiration At the heart of every great accomplishment lies a simple...

Happy Sunday, Creative Army! Have you had a creative weekend so far? I have some content here for you that is sure to get the creative juices flowing, so grab your coffee, and let's dive in. For years, Matthew McConaughey was the ultimate rom-com star. If you needed a leading man with charm, a mischievous grin, and an easygoing Southern drawl, he was your guy. But then, something changed. In this video essay from FilmStack, they’re exploring McConaughey’s professional reinvention, also known...

Four Practical Habits to Help Creatives Stay Grounded and Achieve Consistent Results. "It is better to take many small steps in the right direction than to make a great leap forward only to stumble backward." - Chinese proverb As actors, we all have huge dreams and aspirations: one day winning an Oscar, being on a Broadway stage, getting into Marvel-ready shape, or getting that top-tier agent. For better or worse, we think big and relentlessly pursue our goals. We sprint towards them, stum...

Happy Thursday, Creative Army! “This is a community for you, built by you.” When I was conceiving Stage 32 way back in 2009, those were some of the first words I wrote down on a legal pad I titled THE MISSION. The mission hasn’t changed. The song remains the same. Many of you know the story. During our soft launch in 2011, I reached out to 100 of my industry friends and showed them the first version of Stage 32. I asked them to join and tell me what they liked and didn’t like about the pla...

There is no shortage of acting techniques for the actor in training. From Stanislavsky and Chekov to Demidov and Meisner and Adler to Strasberg and everything in between. There is a shortage however on methods for safely accessing and regulating emotion in the process of using these acting techniques when developing a Character. The Traditional Traditional acting techniques have their own philosophies on how to access emotion. From Demidov’s “passively surrendering” and being guided by their...

I'm an experimenter who prefers to learn by doing. In the beginning, that meant significant errors in my recording process. Getting smart, I signed up for some audio engineering courses and learned a lot. I clicked and watched as what I recorded compressed, but not precisely in the way I imagined. And I forgot to save the original recording! My tendency to click and see what happens came back to bite me. Without fail, save your original recording in raw form. It's my number one audio engineeri...

Happy Thursday, Stage 32 Community! February is here, and with it comes a fresh lineup of educational opportunities to help you elevate your creative skills and take your career to the next level! From screenwriting and acting to cinematography and production, these webinars, classes, and labs are led by top industry professionals who are here to guide you every step of the way. Below, you’ll find a breakdown of the incredible webinars, classes, and labs we have lined up this month. Each of...