Another Screenwriter Options a Project through Stage 32!

My name is Danika Maia (Perman, but who uses last names these days?) and I'm originally from the Bay Area in Northern California. I have always been interested in writing and storytelling, since I was a small child. I studied digital media and marketing in college, but wanted to pursue a career in media and journalism afterwards, which I started to do with VICE in 2013 while I was still studying.

As the digital media industry began to feel more and more like a job in advertising, I lost my passion for what I was doing and really wanted to develop my own talent as a writer, creator and actress - but didn't know where I would find the time. I moved to another media company after VICE and was living in Los Angeles in 2018 when I decided to finally make the jump and quit my good salaried job to focus on myself.

I took screenwriting classes, sketch writing, acting, dance classes and more. The first time I actually wrote a script was just two years ago and things have moved very quickly since then! I learned about Stage 32 as I was pitching a TV Pilot, Easy Money, earlier this year, and Kristen Lucas, a producer with Goldilocks Productions, was the first person I pitched a script to - like ever in my life. We had such a great rapport and she really seemed to get me, and I was excited actually a woman who I didn't know was interested in my story.

Everyone who had offered to help me before was a man and people never really respect when I get help from men because they think it's about my looks and not the story. So Kristen's respect and interest really has meant so much to me as a new woman in the entertainment industry. After she read the TV Pilot we decided that the story would be better told as a feature length film, so after speaking together about once every two weeks for 4 months and getting some development calls with Kristen and other writers she works with, I had a new outline for a feature length film and that's when we made the agreement official.

I'm so happy that I found Stage 32 and my advice for other writers would just be that what really matters I think is your story, not necessarily how well you can format or how long you've studied or anything like that.

People believe in other people - not grammar. So believe in yourself no matter how much or how little experience you have, if you know you have a good story there is always someone who will be interested.

About Danika Maia

Let's hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Got an idea for a post? Or have you collaborated with Stage 32 members to create a project? We'd love to hear about it. Email Taylor at taylor@stage32.com and let's get your post published!

Please help support your fellow Stage 32ers by sharing this on social. Check out the social media buttons at the top to share on Instagram @stage32 , Twitter @stage32 , Facebook @stage32 , and LinkedIn @stage-32 .