Well, it's a good Thursday morning when I can quote Too $hort in my post title... and, thankfully, his lyrics still ring true today. You see, I received an email not too long ago, which I'll highlight and share below, and it got me thinking. As an up-and-coming or fledgling writer/director/filmmaker, when you're starting out, you really need to just get in wherever you can fit in or, to officially quote Too $hort, "Get in where you fit in, bitch". I'm really not sure how HE meant it, but I mean you should do what you can, even if it's just slightly related to your goal. Sure, endgame may be a career making feature length motion pictures, but the path to get there is different for everyone and you never know what you're going to discover along that path. I really think that you shouldn't JUST be concentrating on writing or making features all the time, you should be diversifying, experimenting... do other things. You think I want to be a professional blogger??? You need to get out there, make shorts for festivals, make commercials for local companies, make music videos for bands that need them... if you're into writing, write a blog, submit articles to small horror magazines or look for opportunities like this one, Deathscribe, where you submit a 10 minute horror radio script.You see, I had this conversation with one of the other Dead Harvey guys not too long ago. The question is, do you play small ball or are you trying to hit home runs every at bat? For those who don't know baseball, I'll clarify. Are you putting all your effort into one project and it's do or die OR are you diversifying into various little projects, building your resume and reel as you go? I think the idea here should be diversify yourself, do lots of stuff. Do everything. Say you have a few big ideas... well, how else can you get that idea out there? Maybe you write short stories based on it, maybe you do a web based project on it, maybe you write a comic about it. Anything to get it or your name out there... who knows how you'll get noticed? So, when an opportunity like Deathscribe comes around, think outside the box. 10 minute radio script? Well, I'm not into radio... well, what if you took your feature idea, based a 10 minute idea on it, then changed it into a radio script? Or, what if you just wrote something on spec for it, just for shits and giggles? Then, what if it won or was picked up? Well, now you have something to build on and maybe that'll get you noticed...
Long and $hort, when something like this pops up, you need to think outside the box and take advantage. Life will keep throwing you opportunities and it's up to you to take advantage of them.
DEATHSCRIBE 2009: The Second Annual International Festival of Radio Horror Plays is OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS!
WildClaw Theatre is proud to announce that we are accepting submissions for the second annual DEATHSCRIBE Horror Radio Play Festival. We are looking for 10 minute radio scripts that are genuinely scary, imaginative, chilling, intelligent, suspenseful, horrific or downright grotesque. We put no restrictions on contestants as to content or tone, but keep in mind that we are a Horror Theatre. We take our horror seriously, and so should you.
So, if you have a dandy little campfire tale to share - and you know you do - visit here for submission rules and regulations. Likewise, if you know someone who would like to toss their bloody hat in the ring, please feel free to forward this email along. Submission deadline is July 30th, 2009, so get crackin'!
Last year's DEATHSCRIBE (held Oct 6, 2008 at Chicago's historic Music Box Theatre) was an extraordinary evening of live performances of original short radio plays, written by horror enthusiasts and professionals from all around the globe. The thrill of watching skilled foley artists creating sound effects live, right in front of you, is truly like no other. With live musical accompaniment, special guest directors and a celebrity panel to judge the best in the fest, the night was magical and we're looking to do it again, bigger and better!
(To listen to the live recordings of DEATHSCRIBE 2008, go here and look in the upper right hand corner. Podcasts are also available on ITunes.)
Any questions? Email the DEATHSCRIBE DAEMON at wildclawdeathscribe@gmail.com.
WILDCLAW THEATRE - Bringing Horror and the Supernatural to the Chicago Stage
2 comments:
Good points and good plug (I'm with WildClaw Theatre). To add another motivator to this, it is always a great learning experience to see how others work with your script. In the case of Deathscribe, you will have a director, a cast of actors, a musician and and foley person interpreting your words. Authors are often amazed at what other creatives will do with their work and are excited to see possibilities in their writing that hadn't occurred to them when writing. So, tell us a story.
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