Hello, my fellow artists! Welcome to another exciting edition of my weekly blog. As you all know, I have two goals that I am focusing on this year. And each week, I am alternating between the two goals to provide updates that are hopefully inspiring and engaging. This week, we are back to my acting goal for 2024: Book supporting roles in feature filmsproduced and distributedby independent or mid-sized studios.
A few weeks ago, I mentioned that I finished entering the contact information for the directors behind the indie feature films that caught my attention from the 2023 and 2024 film festivals I researched. I have since decided on the first round of movies to watch and the directors to contact afterwards. I feel so excited and empowered. Letters will go out this week and I’ll let you all know how it goes. **One thing about me is that I love writing letters. Once I connect with a particular material, I love letting that person know how their work impacted me.
Hello, my fellow artists! Welcome to another exciting edition of my weekly blog. As you all know, I have two goals that I am focusing on this year. And each week, I am alternating between the two goals to provide updates that are hopefully inspiring and engaging. This week, we are back to my writing goal for 2024: Finish the 1st draft of the “Third Act” feature film script with Kelly Tighe. Once that’s done, do a table read, get feedback, and complete additional drafts.
Since our table read on July 14th, we’ve received wonderful feedback from fellow artists and industry professionals. The feedback has been universal and consistent, so it lets us know we are on the right track with what we have. We even had a writer-director-producer come into class this past Wednesday to clarify and expand upon his awesome notes. From all the feedback we’ve received, I believe the one that was the most thrilling and heartwarming was from Jeffrey Alan Schechter. Not only is he a two-time Emmy-nominated writer, but he is also the writer of the story structure book that we use extensively at the Richard Lawson Studios, “My Story Can Beat Up Your Story”. His book helped us shape and write “The Third Act”. His book helped me write two feature film screenplays, and I’ve used his book as a supplement during my Sundance writing course. Keep reading below 🙂
Jeffrey read our outline in 2022 and then came into class to provide us with constructive feedback. So, it was important to continue to involve him in the journey. Jeffrey read our script and had many beautiful things to say about it! In addition, he believes that our script is viable, a good and worthy story with characters so compelling as to attract talented actors. To receive this feedback from the same person whose template we follow is the icing on the cake. Special. Magical. Keep reading below 🙂
Our next step as a collective is to read all the feedback again and decide what to keep and discard. From there, Kelly and I will tackle the second draft of the script. Keep reading below 🙂
Hello, my fellow artists! Welcome to another exciting edition of my weekly blog. As you all know, I have two goals that I am focusing on this year. And each week, I am alternating between the two goals to provide updates that are hopefully inspiring and engaging. This week, we are back to my acting goal for 2024: Book supporting roles in feature filmsproduced and distributedby independent or mid-sized studios.
It’s been a MINUTE since my last acting update! So here we go. I finished entering the contact information for the directors behind the indie feature films that caught my attention from the 2023 and 2024 film festivals I researched. I feel so accomplished and empowered. I will now decide on the first round of movies to watch and contact the directors afterwards. **One thing about me is that I love writing letters. Once I connect with a particular material, I love letting that person know how their work impacted me. Keep reading below 🙂
In other fun acting updates, I checked in with my agent to give him some updates and to see how submissions were going. He not only congratulated me on my wins, but also sent me his submissions report. Three days later, he secured me an audition for a co-star role on an Apple TV Plus series. No kidding. Nine days after that, he secured me another audition for a recurring guest star role on an ABC series. (Reach out to your agents and check in with them!) Keep reading below 🙂
Hello, my fellow artists! Welcome to another exciting edition of my weekly blog. As you all know, I have two goals that I am focusing on this year. And each week, I am alternating between the two goals to provide updates that are hopefully inspiring and engaging. This week, we are back to my writing goal for 2024: Finish the 1st draft of the “Third Act” feature film script with Kelly Tighe. Once that’s done, do a table read, get feedback, and complete additional drafts.
On July 14th, 2024, the Professional Development Program 3.0 collective had a table read for the first draft of our feature film script! This journey started almost five years ago and it was based on a true story that Richard Lawson shared with us. From that true story, the collective worked together to research, brainstorm, and map out a story. In mid-2022, the collective appointed Kelly and I to make sense of all the research that was done up till that point and to write the script. On May 9th, 2024, Kelly and I finished the first draft of the script. Keep reading below 🙂
The entire experience was electric from beginning to end. Thank you, Craig Taggart, for lending us your beautiful office space for our art to occur and flourish. We set up the large conference room with tables and chairs. Craig printed out and placed name cards in front of each chair. Thank you Nic Monteilh and Mark Larwood for setting up the cameras and mics. As the actors arrived, there was a sense of excitement and community in the air. Thank you actors for the wonderful performances you gave. It was thrilling to hear these words come out of your mouths. It was also great to hear which moments/scenes worked and which moments/scenes didn’t quite land. Invited guests ranged from Richard Lawson Studios students to outside industry guests, and they either sat in the conference room with us or in another room where they could observe us through a one-way mirror. Thank you all for coming! Keep reading below 🙂
After the table reading ended, we handed out questionnaires for everyone to fill out. Once those were collected, we celebrated afterwards in the lobby area with food and wine. There was a buzz in the air. Actors and guests flowed positive comments and constructive feedback during the reception. After everyone left, Richard and the collective stood behind to debrief and to cement this huge win. This was a huge and successful win for all of us. It felt like we all gave birth, and the feeling was satisfying. This past Wednesday, we read through the questionnaires and discovered common themes, feedback, and suggestions that will be helpful when Kelly and I tackle a second draft. Also, Richard sent a copy of the script to Jeffrey Alan Schechter for feedback. Jeffrey wrote “My Story Can Beat Up Your Story”, and it is his book that we used to structure our outline and script. Fun fact: Jeffrey read our outline in 2022 and then came into class to provide us with wonderful feedback. Keep reading below 🙂
And finally, thank you to such an incredible collective: Richard Lawson, Beth Berlin, Lindsay Hopper, Sayaka Miyatani, Jorge Ortiz (yes, I’m including myself even though I’m writing this blog LOL), and Kelly Tighe. We are all excited for the next chapter of movement and development.
Hello, my fellow artists! Welcome to another exciting edition of my weekly blog. As you all know, I have two goals that I am focusing on this year. And each week, I am alternating between the two goals to provide updates that are hopefully inspiring and engaging. This week, we are back to my writing goal for 2024: Finish the 1st draft of the “Third Act” feature film script with Kelly Tighe. Once that’s done, do a table read, get feedback, and complete additional drafts.
The day has finally arrived! The PDP 3.0 collective will witness an exciting cast of actors perform our feature film script today. We have our location. We have our signed NDAs. The actors received their scripts via email this past Wednesday. We have invited guests to observe. We created questions to ask the actors and guests afterwards. Hardcopy scripts will be available at the table read. We will have food and drink. Richard came up with the exciting idea of filming the table read with three cameras so we could later edit it and send it out as a marketing tool to interested parties. Keep reading below 🙂
I can’t wait to let you all know how it went! See you all next week!
Hello, my fellow artists! Welcome to another exciting edition of my weekly blog. As you all know, I have two goals that I am focusing on this year. And each week, I am alternating between the two goals to provide updates that are hopefully inspiring and engaging. This week, we are back to my writing goal for 2024: Finish the 1st draft of the “Third Act” feature film script with Kelly Tighe. Once that’s done, do a table read, get feedback, and complete additional drafts.
Emails have been sent out this past Wednesday for our table read on July 14th, and actors have begun accepting our offer to participate! The PDP 3.0 collective is excited to hear these talented actors bring our script to life. The collective will meet this Wednesday to formulate the questions we want to ask the actors after the table read. In the meantime, Kelly and I have been meeting to make cuts to the script. We have cut out 34 pages already! Keep reading below 🙂
See you all next week! (P.S. Remember the Sundance course I took during the summer of 2023, where I created a 11-page feature film treatment as a result? I picked it up again on May 31st to continue carving it out. It has since expanded, and I will do a few more read-throughs before I start WRITING the SCRIPT for it!)
Hello, my fellow artists! Welcome to another exciting edition of my weekly blog. As you all know, I have two goals that I am focusing on this year. And each week, I am alternating between the two goals to provide updates that are hopefully inspiring and engaging. This week, we are back to my acting goal for 2024: Book supporting roles in feature filmsproduced and distributedby independent or mid-sized studios.
Two weeks ago, I shared that I had the opportunity to audition for a feature film! A friend and colleague of mine reached out and said that she was pitching me for a role in a feature film that she was producing and acting in. She sent me the sides and I put myself on tape. I was very happy with the product I created. Well, I booked it! They offered me the role and it was a two-day shoot for my character. I was thrilled and excited to play this role. I asked them if this film was under a SAG-AFTRA contract. Unfortunately, it was not, and I had to decline the offer. I still took my booking as a win and as a step forward toward booking supporting roles in mid-sized and independent movie studios! I’m not disappointed at all. I wished them the best in finalizing their cast with this role and moved on. Keep reading below 🙂
Also, in the last two weeks, I created a spreadsheet listing the directors behind the indie feature films that caught my attention from the 2023 and 2024 film festivals I researched. I will start looking up and entering their contact info into the spreadsheet (and I’ll play my Madonna playlist on Spotify to be my motivating soundtrack while I do this!) FYI, I still don’t have the 2024 feature film lineup from Telluride and Toronto, and here’s why: Telluride keeps its lineup secret until the day of the festival, and Toronto will reveal its lineup on August 13th. Keep reading below:)
Hello, my fellow artists! Welcome to another exciting edition of my weekly blog. As you all know, I have two goals that I am focusing on this year. And each week, I am alternating between the two goals to provide updates that are hopefully inspiring and engaging. This week, we are back to my writing goal for 2024: Finish the 1st draft of the “Third Act” feature film script with Kelly Tighe. Once that’s done, do a table read, get feedback, and complete additional drafts.
Things are moving and cooking with this goal! This past Wednesday, June 12th, 2024, the Professional Development Program 3.0 collective met again via Zoom to start casting actors for our first, official table read of “The Third Act”! We have our date (July 14th!), time, and location. It was so exciting to go through each character and envision a few actor choices for each one. We entered our choices into a spreadsheet and certain members from the group will reach out to those actors to get their interest and availability. The intention for the table read is to hear the script in the hands (and mouths) of these actors, ask them questions, and receive feedback. This process will allow us to determine the next set of rewrites for the second draft of the script. In the meantime, Kelly and I will cut down the script before it is emailed out to the actors. Keep reading below 🙂
Hello, my fellow artists! Welcome to another exciting edition of my weekly blog. As you all know, I have two goals that I am focusing on this year. And each week, I am alternating between the two goals to provide updates that are hopefully inspiring and engaging. This week, we are back to my acting goal for 2024: Book supporting roles in feature filmsproduced and distributedby independent or mid-sized studios.
In my last acting update, I looked at opening up the aperture to bigger studios. I realized it could be that role in a Universal Studios, Warner Bros., or Netflix feature film that creates the pathway to booking roles with A24, Focus Features, Searchlight, etc. And since my last acting update, I had the opportunity to audition for a feature film! A friend and colleague of mine reached out and said that she was pitching me for a role in a feature film that she was producing and acting in. She sent me the sides and I put myself on tape. I was very happy with the product I created. Keep reading below 🙂
I looked through my DOIN (Declaration of Independence) and I’m ready to tackle the next round of administration for my acting goal. If you all remember, I researched indie directors and producers whose feature films screened at the 2023 and 2024 Sundance, SXSW, Cannes, Tribeca, Telluride, and Toronto film festivals (I still need to research this year’s Telluride and Toronto film festivals.) I made a list of the films that caught my attention and I will now reach out to the directors behind these films. Wish me luck! Keep reading below 🙂
Hello, my fellow artists! Welcome to another exciting edition of my weekly blog. As you all know, I have two goals that I am focusing on this year. And each week, I am alternating between the two goals to provide updates that are hopefully inspiring and engaging. This week, we are back to my writing goal for 2024: Finish the 1st draft of the “Third Act” feature film script with Kelly Tighe. Once that’s done, do a table read, get feedback, and complete additional drafts.
This goal is moving along! As you all know, Kelly Tighe and I finished the first draft of the script on May 9th, 2024. This past Wednesday, May 29th, we had our first reading of the script with our Professional Development Program 3.0 group! It was a beautiful, exciting, full-circle moment because the story originated and developed in this class. Then, the journey progressed when the group assigned Kelly and me to write the first draft of the script. She and I could feel and see the excitement in the room. Keep reading below 🙂
It was wonderful to be back on Zoom with the group. The last time we saw each other was mid-2022! Everyone was excited to hear the script and celebrate this monumental moment together. I decided the best way to present the first draft was to have each person read a scene(s) out loud. I kicked it off, then Kelly read the next scene, then Lindsay, then Beth, and then Sayaka. Richard didn’t read but was actively listening and engaged. It was thrilling to hear other people read these words out loud. As we read through the script, Kelly and I made real-time edits to the Final Draft document. She and I also wrote notes to discuss and tackle in the next rewrite. She and I were also making edits in our minds during the reading. We saw which scenes we could trim down and how. Keep reading below 🙂
Another aspect of the reading was seeing how the story and characters landed on the group. Until then, Kelly and I were the only ones reading these scenes out loud for the longest time. People laughed and gasped. People had visceral reactions at certain moments in the script. A couple of people got emotional reading certain scenes. Everyone cheered when the script ended. Richard was so proud of Kelly and I. He praised the script, the story, the characters, the structure, and the tension that we maintained throughout the story. Richard congratulated Kelly and me as a writing duo, stating that this script is a calling card for us as writers. He believes that this is a viable script that can be produced. Everyone is excited to move forward with this script. Keep reading below 🙂
Kelly and I felt such an incredible sense of accomplishment and pride afterwards, a joy and understanding that keeps settling in that we wrote a feature film together. We enjoyed every moment of writing together. A new writing duo is born? Keep reading below 🙂
Chasing The George 