Acting

Having been a full-time writer-director/producer for the past 15 years and having taught my twice-monthly 'So You Want To Be An Actor' Workshops for the past seven, I'm often asked by young - and in some cases, older - actors how they can best achieve their dreams, but, sometimes, I think what they need to be asking is 'what pitfalls should I avoid'. It's frustrating for me because I frequently see many actors making the very same mistakes in their career - often things that require little els...

Hopefully you are enjoying a productive Sunday and working on your creative pursuits! I love seeing our community in our Next Level educational webinars and classes and it thrills me to be able to provide you tools to help your craft or help you navigate the industry. Some of you may not know about all the incredible education resources we have on Stage 32, including a 2 year archive of our monthly "On Stage With RB" webcasts. If you're not familiar with our "On Stage With RB" webcast, our fea...

Our very own fearless leader, Richard "RB" Botto was a guest on the Small Business Society podcast, and holy h*ll, did he have a lot to talk about! This is 45-minutes jam-packed with motivational, actionable advice. If you're not familiar with Bidsy it features today's most dynamic entrepreneurs talking about what makes their business successful.  Guests include multi-millionaire entrepreneurs, international best-selling authors, world-renowned motivational speakers and coaches, and award-winn...

Back in college, my fellow actors and I were eligible for a competition at the Kennedy Center’s American College Theater Festival. A judge watched our production of “Beyond Therapy”, and then got to decide which two actors that would be entered in the competition, but not before sitting down the cast to give reviews of our individual performances. When I got my review she said something that struck me: she noticed that I was a “giving” actor.     As the lead role of Bruce in college pro...

A year and a half ago I wrote a new script, a comedic pilot called "The Other F Word." I had previously written four-produced indie features, but this story was episodic in nature, so it was a whole new world, as none of my relationships were in television. "The Other F Word" is a comedic coming of age series about four women who deal with the hights and lows of mid-life as they reinvent themselves now that their kids are grown. I discovered Stage 32 and after joining Happy Writers, I perfecte...

No weekend News and Notes blog this weekend because I'm out of town...However... As we approach the final stretch of 2016 I thought it might be a good time to reflect a little on the creative goals we set for the year. Need a refresher on the goals you set? Here is where we all checked in to start this year. How are you doing? Making progress? Lagging behind? Changing direction entirely? Let's talk about it in the Comments section below. And, of course, if there is the opportunity to assist...

  As actors, we tell stories constantly. I first told mine over four years ago. Not only to myself, but to complete strangers and New York theater goers. Fresh out of my 27th surgery, I performed words from journal entries I wrote years ago as a way to pass the time between the endless series of medical interventions. Every time I 'perform' what happened to me, I find myself somehow transformed in the process. Theater has the power to change lives, both for those performing and those who wat...

It's an active week here at Stage 32 Next Level Education. I've brought in some great teachers for our writers, actors, producers and filmmakers!   Writing Contracts: What You Need To Know Tuesday, August 16 at 1pm PDT I've brought in Jordan Barel, an entertainment attorney and development executive to go over 3 types of writing contracts: Purchase Agreement, Option Agreement and Negative Pickup agreement. Reading To Earn: An Audiobook Narration Primer Thursday, August 18 at 1pm PDT...

Often when people find out I work as a radio DJ, they put a fist in my face as if they were holding a microphone and ask me to do my 'radio voice.' Truth is, my 'radio voice' in real life doesn't even remotely sound like my voice on the radio. This is because there is so much processing and filters going on between the voice and the actual broadcast that what is poured on one side doesn't sound the same as the output. It's almost like making a soup, you might have a nice piece of chicken but all...

I remember being at work, in addition to being a filmmaker I'm a full-time bus driver for one of the largest transportation companies in the country. So I'm driving and out of nowhere a thought popped into my head. Why aren't there any award shows for indie filmmakers in Philadelphia? The talent is here, so why nothing to acknowledge that? Then a second thought popped in there, why don't you create one? And that started a year and a half long journey that culminated with the Philadelphia Indepen...