Getting There...

Hello, No MFA'ers!

The title 'Getting There,' in this case, refers to how I'm slowly moving along now that I'm currently eight and a half months pregnant.

I've been trying to make progress despite how lethargic and oftentimes sick I feel, and think that this is relevant not just to any No MFA'ers who might become pregnant in the future, but also any who suffer any kind of physical or emotional set back that slows them down in their careers.

One of my biggest challenges has been that, since I've had nausea sickness the whole nine months (I'm one of the lucky few women that got to have it the entire time I was pregnant) I wasn't able to do any of the filming I'd hoped to do in the Spring. The super-physical nature of an indie film shoot - especially when you're the one organizing it - ruled out the particular projects I'd had in mind, which would have involved a lot of travel, lugging heavy equipment, etc...

Of course, as I write this, I'm asking myself why I didn't just shoot more stationary, doc-style interviews during this time and realizing that would have been a great idea. So, my advice for any filmmakers who might be in my situation or any situation which keeps them somewhat incapacitated in the future is to do just that - find a way to simplify filming and shoot whatever they can given what they can do! If that means staying in one room, finding a friend to set up a camera, and just straight up interviewing folks, then do that.

Another challenge has been the overall exhaustion that I didn't expect from the pregnancy. I guess I've always been a fairly fit person with lots of energy, and the sheer difficulty of just moving myself around as I've gotten further along took me by surprise. Feeling sore is the norm and I'm usually longing for bed by about 7:30 each night, and having to force myself to crawl out of it in the morning.

Anyway, all this aside, I've been plugging away and 'Getting There' as best I can. I've tried to use this time to focus more on my writing than on filming, since sitting in a chair has become my best friend. I wrote a web series for a client and also got to take part in the filming by doing voiceovers (a first for me, and something that didn't require physical strain.) I connected more with a female producer (also a mother) and, in addition to trying to plan future shoots that will allow us to be closer to home with small children, I've gotten a nice new job writing outlines for her (which will hopefully lead to a feature collaboration.) I've worked on my own writing and also put together a master database of industry contacts, using the fact that I feel lazy and chair-bound to push me to do lots of online research. Luckily I had filmed a short in October, right before getting pregnant, so I was able to get the editing finished and submit it to some festivals. (Still waiting to hear back.) Also, I made two new connections and together, the three of us are making plans to organize a film festival next year. More on that to come!

Finally, of course, I'm still writing for the DFA film school blog. :) Here's a few of my recent posts that I think might be of particular interest to you all:

2014 Emmy Nominations (including a poll to vote for who you think will win!)

Actor Advice, Part 1 and Part 2

4 Things Screenwriters Should Know About Selling Their Screenplays

3 Ways for Indie Filmmakers to Learn from the Numbers at Sundance

(Enjoy those!)

All of the above might sound like a lot, but really, each one was tackled pretty slowly, over the course of many months and with a lot of generous 'rest' time. Hopefully it's inspiring to see what can get done even with just a little energy - whether you have just a little energy or are working on a creative career outside of a regular 9 to 5 that eats up most of your time and focus.

So I guess the message of this post is to try to figure out what you can accomplish in the face of certain obstacles. It might mean throwing some of your previous plans and timeline out the window, but you can still be making progress even when some bigger goals have been temporarily put on hold.

I'd love to hear about any challenges you all have faced and how you worked around them. In the meantime, happy writing/filmmaking/living!

Theater-Going

This blog mostly focuses on screenwriting and filmmaking, but I also love theater.

This past weekend, I got to catch two shows in NYC and was reminded how fantastic it is to get to watch a live performance – and how much richer the experience can feel than watching my TV screen.

Every once in a while, if you can spare the cash, I highly recommend catching a play. The musicals are the real bank-breakers, but the small dramas can be pretty affordable, often around $40 – and pack a punch.

What struck me the most about watching the plays was how my focus was heightened sitting in a live theater. We can get numb to our TVs/computer screens/etc. Not only does the live environment immerse us that much more in the story – but the story itself is much more focused. Movies nowadays are all about quick pacing: short scenes, constant developments, etc., etc. It keeps us interested but can also feel confusing. A staged drama is typically in one setting, about one long conversation, which contains one strong idea to be explored.

Here’s my two cents on the shows I saw:

Mothers & Sons – This falls into the drama category. Tyne Daly, nominated for a Tony for this one, dominated the stage as Katharine Gerard, the mother of a deceased gay son who visits her son’s former lover for the first time in more than a decade. The lover now has a husband and a son of his own. Daly’s performance is phenomenal, the play offers a lot of food for thought, and the way in which the conversation develops – only subtly dropping hints as to who they are and why she’s there until we get to the meat of the story – was interesting and kept me searching for clues.

It had its flaws… there were a few lines that my sister and I agreed should have been cut, since they just seemed a bit unrealistic and pulled us out of the moment. The ending was also a little unsatisfying, despite the fact it had me crying. Overall, we felt like it had maybe needed one more rewrite to really be perfect – but that didn’t change the fact we had an emotional response and were thrilled that we went.

Cabaret – INCREDIBLE. (And obviously, falls under the more pricey musical category, although you can occasionally find good deals.) This show, about people whose lives are entwined via a shady nightclub and a boarding house as the Nazis rise to power, seemed flawless to me. If not the best musical I ever saw, then the best performances I ever saw, bar none – Alan Cumming as the Emcee and Michelle Williams as Sally Bowles (the latter of which I think is also up for a Tony. He already won for the same role years ago).

Williams and Cumming doing their thing.

I had seen this performed once before. Granted, that was a college production – but it didn’t even come close to the depth of this one, performed at Studio 54 via the Roundabout Theater Company. A new dimension was added when it seemed that Sally Bowles suffered a complete psychological break – something I hadn’t felt in the other production or even seeing the movie long ago.

An added bonus - you can stay for a Q&A with some of the performers after the show. Worth every penny. Go.

Main things I picked up, applicable to all entertainment: don’t underestimate a steady build; subtle hints and clues, moreso than outright telling, play really well and make an experience more emotional; subtleties of a performance can add a lot to a story that may or may not otherwise show up; and finally, keep characters consistent and never forget the power of a larger-than-life personality.

I Sold a Feature Screenplay!

Ugh – I can’t believe it’s been so long since my last post. Hopefully, that stands as a testament to how busy I’ve been. (I feel like I’ve said that before.) I have a few big pieces of news to share, the biggest of which you can already tell from the title.

For starters, I’m pregnant. HUGE deal in the life of me, and a big reason why I haven’t blogged much. I seem to be in the small percentage of women who wind up being sick throughout the entire course of their pregnancy (5 months now and the nausea’s still going strong!) so I’m learning a whole new level of working around being tired and sick. (Next new level will come when our bundle of joy arrives in August 2014!)

Also, I’m now the blog manager for the Digital Film Academy (dfablog.com), which is a part-time job I absolutely LOVE. So, admittedly, I’ve been cheating on this blog by doing at least one post for them per week. Here are a few in particular I think you might be interested in (but of course, check out the whole blog when you get a chance!):

5 Rules of Successful Crowdfunding Campaigns

4 Rules for Writing Your Screenplay

5 Rules for Doing a Web Series

But onto the news that’s probably most interesting to YOU, which is, yes – I’ve sold a feature screenplay! This was news I actually had back in November, but I wanted everything to be official and signed before I started spreading it around. (Although I hinted at it quite a bit in my last post.) This is the first feature-length script I've sold.

It’s a screenplay I wrote about 8 years ago back in grad school… it underwent a massive revision in Columbia’s Screenplay Revision course last year (a pricey course, but definitely wound up being worth it) and began to get shopped around last fall. I had listed the logline on the International Screenwriters’ Association website, where an indie producer found it, asked to read it - and the rest is history.

So the most direct piece of advice I can give you out of this? Have a presence on networkisa.org, and list your ready-to-sell screenplays there.

Another, less direct but no less important piece of advice? Make sure your screenplays are in as good a shape as possible before you send them around. I had this screenplay sitting, occasionally rejected, for 7 years before biting the bullet and revising. I rolled up my sleeves, did the hard work of getting critiqued, making changes – and only a month after putting it out there again, it found a home. (And I made some decent money and got an IMDB credit.)

Let this be proof, No MFA-ers: you can do it, too! The script is going into production this month - I can't wait to send you updates of how things progress.