More Pitchin’, Less Bitchin’: How I Found Representation & Partnerships Through Stage 32!

Do you partake of the opportunities to pitch Industry folks through Stage 32 Script Services or do you complain about how your manager/agent never sends you on Generals? What? You don’t have a manager? Are you worried you can’t get through to Hollywood types and others can? Would you like a manager?

I recommend that you stop complaining that you never get any breaks and look into pitching with Stage 32. I got my current manager from a pitch and recently signed a shopping agreement from another pitch. (A shopping agreement means a respected professional is taking my script to a bigger decision-maker for a look and they’ve reserved the opportunity to do this with me exclusively for this one script. It’s a very good thing to have some of these. I’m chuffed.)

If you aren’t sure how to get your script out there and don’t have a cousin who works with Spielberg, Stage 32 offers pitching opportunities, consultations, and hand-holding mentorships in their Script Services department. The pitching program is a pay-to-play program offered to help bypass gates and pitch directly to industry executives for eight minutes. This is first and foremost, an educational resource to help you get comfortable pitching and meeting with industry professionals, but it results in success stories within this community more often than you realize. You don’t need a manager or agent to get through to these people.

Simply find Script Services in the top toolbar on the Stage 32 website, choose Pitch Sessions, and find the best person to pitch to according to their bio and availability. Or you can reach out to the Stage 32 team for a curated list of the best executives to meet with for your projects, by emailing- success@stage32.com. You’ll receive a scorecard for the pitch so that you know what to improve and if you're successful, a possible request to read the full script. I’ve probably pitched twenty times over the last few years to various industry folk, whether they’re producers, managers, or development execs scouting for their boss. There were times when I easily spent the money and prepped pitches for the weekend thinking the fee was extremely reasonable for what you get and other times when $30 seemed like a lot for someone who didn’t feel particularly outgoing or wealthy that week. 

I’m John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever

As a writer and self-promoter, some days I feel like John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever when I slick back my hair, put on my leather apparel, and venture forth into the world, heading down the street with my pimp walk, trying to get something going in my career as the Bee Gees score my life. And pitching a screenplay in hopes this will be my big break seems like not only a possibility but a good investment in my future. Worst case scenario, the pitchee is not on their camera, we don’t hit it off and they don’t connect with either the material or me. I find it hard to pitch when I can’t see them and gauge their reaction. It feels like I’m not making a connection, I’m performing. I still learn something and probably get better at pitching, especially the skill of sensing the pitch is not going well. (Most times, their camera is on.)

Pitching yourself and your scripts is an art, a learned skill, and I like to think I get better at this cruel form of sales with every pitch I make. Sometimes I’m not as on-point as other days but that in itself is a great lesson in what I like to call developing my “Showtime!” persona. This is the side of me with an insane ability and love of pitching. This “Kim” does it easily and lets rejection roll off her back because she has lots going on. If you don’t bite at her offering, no big deal. She’s on to the next opportunity. Another part of the art of pitching is simply forgetting you pitched and being completely surprised when Stage 32 later emails to say the pitch went well and you have a script request. You get a scorecard, which I study like the Hermoine Gringold student I am. How can I improve if I don’t study that thing? Where did I lose marks? The comments explain why they’re requesting the material or rejecting the material.

More Haste, Less Waste

I first started doing these pitches years ago and probably get asked for script reads 60% of the time. Sometimes the person just doesn’t connect with the material or it’s not what they’re looking for. Recently, I pitched someone I dearly wanted to impress, and they didn’t request material because it sounded like I didn’t explain the overall series arc well enough in the pitch and she was left with questions. Dang! Eight minutes is a very short sprint. Note to self: Must explain the series arc better.

It’s important to choose wisely when deciding who to pitch. Do your research. Don’t waste your money, your time, or the pitchee’s time if what you have to offer them is not what they’re looking for. If you have a Rom-Com, pitch a production company that has a track record with that genre and the producer is open to finding a new Romantic Comedy. You can also pitch a literary manager if you’re looking for representation. I did just that when my first manager left the world of representation for producing and I was left rep-less. My writer self exists best with people in her corner, a champion at the table when money is being discussed. I don’t just want an attorney either. I want someone who yells “Squeeeeee!!!” when we sign something.

So, I played the dreaded query game in 2021, paid to pitch on Stage 32, and pitched to some managers. Material was sent and one of the managers that I pitched messaged me directly and we later struck up a chat about a writing conference we both were attending. We decided to meet for a drink when she was in Seattle and the rest is history. After getting on like a house on fire, she offered representation and is now my literary manager. Her agency has negotiated several contracts for me, sends out my log lines to contacts, and definitely yells “Squeeee!” when I have good news. Although she isn’t part of this deal, she’ll be happy for me.

Cut To:

INT. KIM’S OFFICE – DAY

Kim sits at her desk, reading a script with a Thriller title. On one side of the split screen, a scorecard is mostly 4’s and 5’s and the comment at the bottom asks to read the script.

Kim clicks on an email, scrolls up to her short reply saying “I’m happy to send the script. Here you go!” and making sure there is an attachment, presses SEND.

The Lowdown

This is how it works. I pitched, the score was good, the script was sent and then I proceeded to forget all about the request. I’ve done enough of these things to know that sending the script doesn’t always produce more. But, from a Stage 32 pitch, I once had an exec take my pilot to CBS, another had their boss read my feature, and another sent it on to another exec. Even if the gates don’t continue to open, at least that industry person will know my name and how I write.

In this case, however, the exec read my Thriller, liked it, and contacted me a few weeks later to say that she’d like to take the script to a network. This is industry gold. You’ve just walked through another door towards the possibility of getting a screenplay greenlit. There are many doors, understand, and you can fall by the wayside more times than stay on track, but the opportunity to get to the next step is there. I promptly replied, “Happy you liked the script enough to take it to _____. What’s our next step?” In these situations, I try to not gush, oversell, or appear like I don’t know how it works in this business, but I’m always thrilled, THRILLED! to get this far.

A shopping agreement was drawn up and during this process, the script was passed on to an actor on a Netflix series who loved it and wanted to attach. So now, the producer that I pitched to will take the project to the network with a great talent attachment, making the project more likely to get the green light. If it’s a go, the production company will have me ink up further and will start production. If they don’t like it, the producer takes it elsewhere. They have 12 months, which is standard with a shopping agreement.

From those eight minutes on a Saturday morning, I now have another opportunity with a network with whom I’d be ecstatic, ECSTATIC!, to write for regularly.

It won’t be a theatrical release or lead to an Academy Award and my name won’t be household if I go down this path, but it may lead to a steady stream of income in a genre I seem to understand. And Stage 32 gave me the opportunity. In times like these, I like to quote Wayne Gretzky: "You miss 100% of shots on goal not taken", so I try to take loads of shots and hope one puck makes it in that hockey net. I like metaphors.

Are YOU John Travolta?

If it’s money that prevents you from buying pitches on Stage 32, I understand, but if it’s fear of pitching, I challenge you to sign up for these things and get over that as quickly as possible. Practice. Gone are the days when your manager/agent will do that pitching for you. The exec wants to meet the writer, connect with them, feel an emotion during the pitch, and proceed with some faith that they know you enough to trust you. Pitching is an essential skill for a screenwriter.

If you're a Writer's Room member here on Stage 32, they host weekly Pitch Practice sessions live on Zoom every Thursday. It's an opportunity to practice pitching for feedback from your peers and community to fine-tune your pitch and be even better prepared when you spend the money for an opportunity like this. 

So, like John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever, I do my pimp walk along the busy streets of New York in my leather jacket, hair slicked back, Bee Gees singing in the background, ready for the opportunity to show my stuff, graduate to the next level, and sign a contract. Waiting at home, frustrated that you don’t have access to producers will get you nowhere. Get out there, be proactive, and do your own promotion. Even with that manager who has lots of clients besides me, I do my own hustling. I package my own work, send it out, make the connections, and am in charge of my own success.

Stay tuned for news of this movie being greenlit and heading into production! The working title is Spying on Neighbors. In the meantime, I’m still hustling scripts over here, ready to ink up on any of them after a successful pitch. You can too.

Go on, be your best self, and don’t let the fear of pitching hold you back. As Nike says, “Just Do It”.

Note: At the time of writing this, Kim also got a meeting request from another pitch on Stage 32 with a producer. The meeting is scheduled for Sept 24th to talk about working together on another project. By the time this is published, she may even have more great news!

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