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November Write Club Week 4: The Art of the Pitch- What Managers & Execs Actually Want to Hear
How to Get Help from Stage 32: Meet the Teams Behind the Scenes
Want Success in the Entertainment Industry? Start Writing Your Own Narrative
Find Your Footing on Stage 32: Join Our December Community Open House
Insider Intel: 2025- Your Year of Breakthroughs (+ What's Coming in 2026)
Stage 32 Now Certifying Centro de Portugal Film Commission!
Green Lights and Grey Areas: Expanding Creative Collaboration in Publishing
My Stage 32 Story: Persistence, Healing, & Creative Breakthroughs in Year 3
Insider Intel: 2026 Predictions
Coffee & Content: Why Your Pitch Needs to Be Human
Coffee & Content: TV Drama Actors Roundtable
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. First up, The Hollywood Reporter has brought together some of the top dramatic television actors today, including Jeff Bridges (THE OLD MAN), Kieran Culkin (SUCCESSION), Damson Idris (SNOWFALL and SWARM), Michael Imperioli (THE WHITE LOTUS), Pedro Pascal (THE LAST OF US and THE MANDALORIAN) an…
5 Ways Military Service Can Prepare You For Hollywood
You volunteered for service in the military and then decided it was time to pursue your dreams in La La Land. And guess what? Hollywood is recruiting you! They know you have a story to tell, and they can’t wait to hear it. I always knew I wanted a career in entertainment, and as an Officer in the Army, I was selected to be a principal actor in a theatrical commercial for the National Guard, directed by Antione Fuqua (Training Day). After this experience, I packed my bags and moved…
Avoiding the Rabbit Hole: Story Research Tips
I’ve talked about research before, offering some general tips on how to approach the process effectively. But when I asked in the Stage 32 lounges recently what writing problem you’d solve if you could wave a magic wand, one of the responses was “going down the rabbit hole” on research. I’d break this concern down into two parts: Letting research swallow up too much time in the creative process. Getting sidetracked into very interesting but potentially…
Advice For Seeking Multi-National Productions In Los Angeles
Hey, Stage 32ers! I'm coming to you live from the Cannes Film Festival and hopefully, if you're here I'll be seeing you soon on La Croisette. Being here has me thinking a lot about productions and storytelling that transcends borders. Whether it's a U.S. domestic story that can translate or a local language adaptation, everyone is interested in getting a piece of the international landscape. In today's vlog (recorded prior to the Writers' Strike announcement in May 2023), we're diving i…
How to Shoot Music Festivals & Concerts
Howdy, my film familia! In today's blog, I offer you a DP survival guide where I will be sharing my experience and things to remember when shooting music festivals or concerts. Once upon a time, as a young strapping lad, I was taking various shooting assignments to further my operating skills. Shooting music events or music videos has its own rewards. It is fun and will challenge you in every way. I learned a helluva lot for sure. Shooting music events and music videos are totally diff…
5 Ways Yoga and Movement Helps My Acting Career
Yoga and acting; go together like avocado and toast. Separately, they’re tasty; but, together, it’s explosive. Hang with me here. To get really proficient at doing a handstand, what does it take? Determination. Practice. Flexibility. Focus. Skillset. Maybe some natural talent. Guidance. A touch of letting of the outcome and being present at the moment. Starting to sound a bit more like the characteristics and mindset of the profound and impactful actors we see on set and s…
How to Have a Healthy Relationship with Criticism of Your Art/Work
As an artist, you’re called to show up in the world. Whether it’s on stage, making a pitch, submitting your screenplay, putting on an art show, you make yourself vulnerable to others over and over again. Making art is a unique process. The initial stages of creating are deeply personal, but, eventually, you need the attention of your audience to bring your creative work to life. Though it began as something private, your art only achieves its purpose and full potential when …
3 Stoic Principles For Building A Creative Career
I’m always eager to find helpful insights for navigating life. Stoicism has been experiencing a resurgence of late, thanks in part to books like A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy and to Ryan Holiday, whose books and Daily Stoic emails have made the ancient precepts relevant for contemporary thinkers. Stoicism is a philosophy about finding happiness in the “now” moment. It’s about controlling your emotions and the thoughts you think to maximi…
6 Steps To A Successful Writing Partnership
I have been writing and publishing stories for more than 10 years, first as a novelist. I always wrote in a silo, never sharing my work until I had reworked it countless times. Heaven forbid someone sees my terrible first draft! After publishing two novels this way, I opened myself up to a trusted friend as my next story was more complexly layered. It all made sense in my head, but would my reader get the connections? By bouncing around ideas and sharing my drafts with this friend, I fix…
3 Strategies For A Better First Draft
As a literature professor and a writing coach, I see a lot of first drafts. In fact, you might even say that first drafts are my specialty. My job in both cases is to guide the writers to a better understanding of their craft and to help them get clarity on the steps that will elevate their projects. Some drafts are in better shape than others when they hit my desk, and so I thought that I’d offer some strategies here to help you improve your first draft process. But first, a defi…
Drawing The Boundaries Between Actor & Character
Drawing the Boundary Between Actor and Character: Prioritizing the Actor’s Mental Health in the Portrayal of Human Suffering & Emotional Distress Stanislavski talks about the many inspirations an actor draws from to create a character from himself. From the power of observation and different art forms to the actors’ own experiences of life to imagination itself. The only stipulation Stanislavski states is that the actor must not lose their own identity in the process of …
Cinematic Catnip, Crafting Novels with Visual Appeal
Imagine you have pitched a twenty-five-word book logline to a publisher that not only lands you a four-book contract but also attracts interest from nine movie production companies in one week. Let that sink in. How would you feel? On top of the world? Like all your dreams have come true? As if you’ve been sprinkled with pixie dust and all your worries are over? Well, it happened to me, and while I did feel those things, my central emotion was panic. Why? Because the cinematic c…
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