Darrin Friedman: Screenwriter and playwright in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Hi, all. I just wanted to take a moment and introduce myself. I'm new to the platform and have no connections (friends?) yet. Now that I have admitted that I know absolutely no one, I'll give you the skinny. I'm finishing up my MFA studies in writing for stage and screen at Point Park University in Pittsburgh.

I consider myself a writer above all else. However, I did write and direct a short film premiering in January and will hopefully do well on the film festival circuit.

If you want to know my full story, here is my personal statement (it's the one I will be using for professional purposes):

In those early days of the pandemic lockdown, I was like everyone else. Nowhere to go. Trapped inside my home with my family for months – unless I was making one of my valiant trips to the grocery store in mask and gloves as if I were a hunter/gatherer alpha male ancestor seeking food for my kin.

A hunter-gatherer, I am not. I am a writer. And I was in desperate need to create.

I opened the Final Draft software on my Mac and eyed the welcome screen, staring at the templates, when something remarkable happened.

I started to write a play.

I had written a few novels, but I was not a playwright, thank you very much. What was I doing? Was I delusional? I don’t know, but I was writing. I was creating a world that felt real. Maybe I was just manic? The pages were filling up, which tended to happen when things got wonky in my brain chemistry, but this was different. This was dialogue! Troves of it. I was swimming in it. I was getting off on it. Then, after my first draft, I held a virtual table read with a bunch of actor friends. It was at that moment that my life changed. I heard my work being read back to me. My words! It was just a draft, but the reading changed my perspective on how I viewed myself.

A couple of months later, after continued readings and the lifting of Covid restrictions, my wife turned to me and said, “Whatever you want to do to be a writer, you have my support. Be a writer. Do it. LEARN!”

The next day I submitted my application to grad school, and soon after that, I became an MFA candidate in writing for Stage and Screen at Point Park University in Pittsburgh. Class of 23’. Holy shit.

I am the oldest in my class, but I’m doing it. And I’m learning, and writing, and creating characters and stories I care about. I write from my heart because I believe that authenticity means something.

By now, my work has started to get recognized, which means something. Not because awards validate my work but because I’m comfortable enough to tell a truth about the ravages of mental illness in a public way. You see, I am bipolar, and I know first-hand how those who suffer from silent diseases can be marginalized by the ignorant – including my own family. Maybe that is why my work centers around those who experience trauma. Perhaps that is why I write characters who strive to break through the stigma of those unwilling to understand.

Thank God for my wife. She’s the reason I’m doing what I am doing. Because she believes it’s never too late to start.

She’s right, you know. It never is.

Hi Darrin. I'm RB, Founder and CEO of Stage 32. As a screenwriter, producer, actor and filmmaker, I know first-hand the challenges all creatives face finding work, landing representation, launching projects, securing funding and simply making the connections that will make a difference in their careers. That's why I created Stage 32. Since our launch in September of 2011, the community has grown to 1,000,000+ members representing every country on the planet making Stage 32 the social network uniquely populated with the most creative people on Earth.

This is a network for you, built by you. Like most things in life, the more you participate, the greater the rewards. We ask all new members to pay it forward by inviting 5 fellow creatives to the network and by spreading the word of Stage 32 through other social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. The more creatives, the stronger the network. The stronger the network, the more opportunities.

Thanks for joining the movement and for being a part of this most talented and inspiring community. I very much look forward to your contributions.

Thanks, and have a creative day!

RB

Helpful information:

• To send invites to your fellow creatives, please click here.
• For any questions on how to utilize the site, please check our HELP and GETTING STARTED sections.
• Also, I host a FREE webinar every month where I go over site features and answer user questions. You can view them here.

Please take a moment to follow and like our other social media accounts.

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Hello Darrin -

Welcome to the community! I'm Amanda Toney, the Managing Director at Stage 32. Since 2013 I've been proud to oversee Stage 32's Next Level Education, which provides you the most up-to-date tools necessary to become a better creative.

Over the years Stage 32 has worked with over 500 industry executives and professionals to teach online webinars, classes and intensive labs exclusively for you - our Stage 32 community. We bring you instructors who have worked directly on some of your favorite films, TV shows or theater productions to teach you in-the-trenches information that you won't find anywhere else on producing, directing, financing, writing, packaging, acting and more.

Our Next Level Education has a 97% satisfaction rate and averages 4.5 out of 5 stars. Plus, we've had the honor to be called "LinkedIn meets Lynda.com for film, television and theater creatives" by Forbes Magazine.

I encourage you to take the next step to continue learning and expanding your career by clicking here, or clicking "education" on your top menu bar.

I'm grateful you've joined the Stage 32 community. Please let me know if you have any questions!

Amanda