Advice

As an artist, I can always find people that will compliment my work, even when I know it is not worthy. It's always nice to hear great things about our work, but we really need to know what people are really thinking about our films, good and bad. We all have these 'yes' people around us. They tell us what they think we want to hear. They offer praise but no criticism. But we must have the criticism from trusted people to improve our craft. The best way to receive this criticism is to have a few...

Hello friends and fellow creatives! Erik here from the Stage 32 Happy Writers. One of the best parts of my job is that I get so much face time with executives across the industry. I get to watch as writers around the world pitch to them every week, I get to hear their thoughts, their first reactions and read the feedback they send in for each and every pitch. I'm in an extremely lucky position to be able to ask these executives questions about pitching and what they're seeing in the industry,...

Burst your bubble. Enjoy the process, the experience and the balance. First, for the sake of contributing something educational, here are some simple tips for standup comedy beginners. Get on stage when they call your name. If you take the mic off the stand, move the stand out of the way. It’s a barrier. If you start to say, “What should I talk about next?” You shouldn’t. Get off the stage. When you see the light, finish your bit and say goodnight. Never go over your time. You don’t ha...

Having been a full-time writer-director/producer for the past 15 years and having taught my twice-monthly 'So You Want To Be An Actor' Workshops for the past seven, I'm often asked by young - and in some cases, older - actors how they can best achieve their dreams, but, sometimes, I think what they need to be asking is 'what pitfalls should I avoid'. It's frustrating for me because I frequently see many actors making the very same mistakes in their career - often things that require little els...

Initially, the e-mail we received about writing a blog for the site was met with a slight sense of trepidation. We’re not usually the type of people to over-share or over-expose ourselves. Being on a website like Stage 32 for us is a victory in itself. We’re not the best at self-promotion, which is exactly the opposite of what you need to be if you want to work in this industry, we realize. So it’s in part about opening yourself up to the unknown, the dark abyss of having other people critique...

Back in college, my fellow actors and I were eligible for a competition at the Kennedy Center’s American College Theater Festival. A judge watched our production of “Beyond Therapy”, and then got to decide which two actors that would be entered in the competition, but not before sitting down the cast to give reviews of our individual performances. When I got my review she said something that struck me: she noticed that I was a “giving” actor.     As the lead role of Bruce in college pro...

  In the late 1990’s, I was asked to be involved with a film that was to be funded via a Private Placement Memorandum/an LLC. My company was to be the worldwide sales agent for the film, which was budgeted at about $1.2m. I read the script and also reviewed the film package (writer/director/actors/producers etc) and the production budget. I did my due diligence on the film project. I liked the project, the genre and pace of the script etc., so I was happy to provide revenue estimates for...

Many writers dream that someday their story or script will garner interest from someone who wants to develop it into a film or TV project. Usually, the first step is when that someone, maybe a producer or a production company or even a studio, offers the writer a contract known as an option agreement. As with all such matters where art meets commerce, I always advise that if you are asked to sign anything – other than an autograph – you should have your lawyer review it first. Every writer shoul...

Given my particular challenges and handicaps, the only way I am going to make a contribution to our community and our culture that truly fulfills me is if I focus my labor with absolute precision and efficiency. (If you missed it, check out Part 1 here) My career has constantly nudged me to reduce the workings of our industry down to their most essential strengths and to make those strengths my own. Now that my tolerance for unnecessary risk is completely eradicated and I've broken my work down...

My name is Tennyson E. Stead and I'm an award-winning writer and director with over 20 years of experience in stage and screen production and an additional ten years spent working as an indie film development executive. While these credentials do hint at my value to the film community, they are not the main reason I've been asked by the excellent people at Stage 32 to write to you today. What makes my words click-worthy, at least right now, is the fact that they're being written by a survivor of...