Down to the Nitty Gritty

Seniors!  The end approaches.

In your last few weeks, there are a number of deadlines and special dates to keep in mind as you narrow in on graduation and completion of your studies at Drexel.

1. All senior project scripts must be submitted to me no later than Next Wednesday, June 3rd, at 5PM.

2. If you agreed to participate in the Senior Show, I need your 10-15 page script excerpt in a separate MovieMagic file no later than 5:00 PM Friday, June 5th.

3. Also for Senior Show, I need a brief bio from each of you, plus a short pitch for your script.  I will use both to create a program for the evening.  I also need that by 5PM on June 5th.

4. Monday and Tuesday, June 8th and 9th, you will need to sign up for a mandatory 1 hour meeting with me.  We will spend half the time talking about your script and next steps with it, and half the time on a senior exit interview. These meetings are not optional. I will post the schedule sometime tomorrow (Wednesday) so you can access the calendar and sign up.

5. Senior Show will take place June 11th. I will have actors on campus in the afternoon to rehearse with you on the table reads. Plan to be available from 1:30 on that day to arrange the show, rehearse with the actors, and generally get everything organized.

6. The Senior Show will run at 7:00 PM, with a reception immediately afterwards.

E-mail me immediately if you have any questions or concerns.

New Opportunities

If you're going to LA this summer, you might be interested in The Hollywood Pitch Festival.

Playwrights! New Jersey residents, there's an upcoming commission opportunity you might be interested in: Liberty Live is open to emerging writers.

Origin Theater is also offering the W.B. Yeats Emerging Playwright Competition. Get a staged reading of your play!

Austin Film Festival Opportunities!

www.austinfilmfestival.com

Rewriting...ugh.

Seniors, you're in the midst of the hardest work you may ever do, from a writing perspective.  Yes, it's hard to get that first draft script done, but nothing compares to the difficult reality of rewrites. Your senior project, the capstone of your studies at Drexel, tests your rewriting chops like no other class in the roster.

Any professional writer will agree with the maxim that "writing is rewriting" but it's difficult to get yourself into the frame of mind that you need to change those hard-crafted words from draft to draft. For screenwriting, like no other writing discipline, it's essential that you develop the tough skin and critical thinking that allows you to rewrite, because scripts get changed for all kinds of reasons, some valid, some not.

All of that is to say, keep working. I'm looking for second drafts from everyone.

A little contest info...

IndieWire collected info on six upcoming contests worth checking out.  Many of these have late April deadlines and many of you seniors should have at least a second, if not third draft of your senior project completed.  At that point, you should pick at least one of these and cast your fate to the winds.

They also report on HBO's Access Writer's Fellowship writing master class opportunity for emerging diverse and women writers.

Let me know if you have any questions or want to talk about entering.

What are you afraid of?

Come see FMVD grad Rory Abel when he visits campus tomorrow evening, Friday February 27th to screen his feature debut, Phobia.  Rory wrote and directed this psychological horror piece and he'll be on hand to do a Q&A afterwards.  7:00 PM, UCross Large Screening Room.

Senior Project Status

If there are any seniors who have not met with me in the past two weeks, please check in with me directly or update your own blogs so I can track progress on your scripts.  If you still owe me work, let me know how I can help you complete it.  If you're struggling with your third acts, let's talk.