Success Stories

Good morning Stage 32 Creative Crew! We’re back with an update on a fantastic Stage 32 success story that started over 3 years ago. I’m particularly excited to share this story with you because it highlights a few important points that we have been making here for a while. The first is that writers and creatives need to be ready to pivot when faced with challenges, form meaningful relationships with producers and industry professionals, and pay attention to trends in the market when writing....

Wow, so it’s definitely really weird for me to be writing one of these. For years, I’ve seen these blogs pop up in my inbox and read the stories of other writers having their breaks and successes and felt pretty detached from their experiences. Even though writing professionally was always my goal, every year that passed made it feel less likely that I would gain any traction. I’ve done a good chunk of the things that you’re supposed to do as an aspiring writer: wrote sketches in college and a...

The night before the winner of the 5th Annual Comedy Writing Contest was announced, I turned to my husband and said: “Do you think I’ll win?” He took a deep breath, looked at me with all the love in the world and said: “No.” Boy, did he feel like a jerk when I got the email. Like a lot of writers, it was a bit of a circuitous path for me to get here. I think it was 7th grade that I started to write my first novel. It was about a plucky thirteen-year-old girl who was pretty, but didn’t know it,...

And here we are folks, back at it for another exciting excursion into the best Stage 32 success stories from the previous 12 months. Last week we highlighted the months of January through June 2020. If you missed Part 1 you can find it here. Now, we’re onto (Believe it or Not) It's Been A Great Year!: Recapping the Best Stage 32 Success Stories of 2020 (Part 2)... And like most sequels, this one is even bigger than the first. I'm thrilled to bring you the top stories from your fellow membe...

This story is real, and hopefully will inspire anyone in the film industry to understand that serendipity is real. If you keep your eyes open, amazing things can happen. In 2017, I closed my music store in Seattle after 25 years. I moved my teaching to my house, in a building that already had been converted into a music studio by the earlier owner. I was able to attract students and transitioned away from retail. I have been composing music all my life, and had gotten very involved in scoring...

You've made a short film. You've put in your time, effort, blood, sweat, tears, and perhaps even some serious money into your project. Your goal isn't only to get your film seen, but to get it seen around the world and by people who can make a difference in your career. Would being screened by an Oscar qualifying film festival matter? How about having it screened for over 1,000 executives including managers, agents, producers, film financiers and more? Look no further. The most prestigious sho...

I know, I know. Hold back on hurling the rotten fruit until I’ve made my point. Believe it or not, for as tumultuous as 2020 has been, this black cloud of a year is not without its silver linings. To start, we had over 550 connections made between screenwriters and filmmakers and the industry professionals who work with Stage 32 this year alone. (By comparison, last year, it was 327.) This year we have had more than - wait for it - 3,000 requests from industry professionals for scripts throug...

It is an honor and a privilege to bring you the worldwide premiere of the 5th Annual Stage 32 Short Film Program! Below you will find seven amazing short films to watch that were carefully curated by Stage 32's panel of leading industry executives. Our esteemed panel of judges is made up of top producers, managers, development executives, and Oscar-winning filmmakers. These films are only available for viewing Thursday 12/17/20 - Sunday 12/20/20 Plus, join the filmmakers for a live Q&A this F...

My screenplay, THE EYE OF OWUO, was the Grand Prize Winner in the Microbudget Horror Script Competition presented by Stage 32, Trick Candle Productions and Glasshouse Distribution. The grand prize not only included a $5,000 option agreement, but a mentorship and the opportunity to have the screenplay greenlit with a $100,000 budget through Trick Candle Productions and Glass House Distribution. One may assume that the screenplay was perfect as written. After all it’s a contest winner. Right? Ex...

Hello Stage 32 Community! Wow. Believe it or not, you made it through a harrowing year. I want you to use this moment to very quickly reflect - and take stock - on all that you have personally dealt with - and overcome - in 2020. The world kicked off the “roaring” 2020’s with an inauspicious start. And then, we had a pretty rough middle of the year. And now, it seems we are in for an anxiety-inducing Finale. But, we are enthusiastic. We are hopeful. We are empowered. We are Stage 32. Amidst th...