Rosalyn Coleman Williams
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Rosalyn Coleman Williams
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Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Writer!

You want to be a Writer?
You must be MAD!!

Just started watching Mad Men. OMG!! (I know, I'm late to the party)

The world created by Matthew Weiner and company is so specific, so nuanced, the dialogue so rich and funny, a friend said to me "their subtext has subtext."  Every scene rife with conflict, both internal and external.

It's part of what is being referred to as the new Golden Age of Television.  Have you seen what's out there lately? Breaking Bad, Game Of Thrones, The Good Wife, True Blood, Modern Family, The Walking Dead, Boardwalk Empire, True Detective, I could go on and on, the writing on these shows is PHENOMENAL. You want to compete with those guys?? You must be MAD, CRAZY, CRAY-CRAY!

But WE CAN. Here's how. There was a time not that long ago where the average Joe The Writer had no access to information. We are in a spectacular time where anything we wish to learn or experience is at our finger tips. Blogs, podcasts, seminars, books, there is a TV show called "The Writers Room" where writers from our favorite shows talk about their writing process. 

Before you begin this mad journey, or even while you're in the middle of it, you'll need resources. Information is POWER.

Here are some of my favorites:

1. Script Notes - A podcast from John August and Craig Mazin, 2 WORKING screenwriters, (look up their credits you'll be impressed) this is perspective on the life of a screenwriter that you won't find anywhere else. Unions, contracts, representation, money and craft, craft, craft! These two guys pull no punches, they tell the unvarnished truth about the industry, some of it is hard to hear, but you must if you're serious about being a writer.

2. Nerdist Writers Panel - A podcast from Ben Blacker, a working TV writer. A collection of round table and one on one discussions with writers who are working on the TV shows we are watching right now. Smart, funny and very informative.

3. On The Page - A podcast from Pilar Alessandra. Pilar is a script consultant and screenwriting teacher. She's read probably thousands of scripts, so she knows her stuff about the craft of screenwriting. She's smart, funny and very down to earth.

I'm always looking to learn more, do you have any recommendations for me? Send them to redwallproductions@gmail.com.

Writers write, but they should also read!

A link to TV scripts and screenplays: https://sites.google.com/site/tvwriting/home

Happy Writing!

Craig

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Write What You Know? Bite Me!!

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Write What You Know - Bite Me!

“Write what you know.”  Writers hear it over and over and over again. And if you’re a new writer it’s probably the most frustrating thing you’ll ever hear.

Write what you know implies that you have to be living or have lived a spectacularly exciting, tragic or privileged life.  Write what you know implies that if you aren’t a mass murderer (Silence of the Lambs) , a swash buckling billionaire (Ironman) or a hooker with a heart of gold (Pretty Woman) that you aren’t capable of writing a compelling screenplay.

Let me suggest to you to instead WRITE THE FEELINGS YOU KNOW!

Have you ever known real disappointment, love, jealously or crippling fear? These are the feeling that will unearth the story that lies with in you.  

Can you remember your teenage years where you felt misunderstood and isolated? That could be Napoleon Dynamite or Carrie or American Pie.

Looking for love in your life? That could be 40 Year Old Virgin, Bridget Jones Diary or 500 Days of Summer.

Ever felt like a stranger adjusting to new surroundings? That could be E.T. or Shawshank Redemption or Austin Powers.

Think about your favorite movies and remember what emotions were brought up when you saw them. THAT IS WHAT WE WRITE!!

What emotions do you want to explore? Share them with me and I’ll give you some examples.

Happy Writing!!

Craig

Dallas Travers Free Seminar

We have an exciting opportunity to share with you. Dallas Travers, The Actors' Advocate, is hosting some free "Break Your Marketing Mold" seminars in New York next week, and there are just a few spots left in the seminar on Thursday, June 12th. 

Dallas really simplifies the whole "business of acting" thing, so I know these seminars are going to offer fresh ideas and great resources. I promise it’s not just a pitch, you’ll actually learn things you can apply right away. 

Here's a little about what she'll be sharing:

  • Why your relationships matter way more than your resume
  • How one of Dallas’ students booked four guest stars in four months.
  • How to book more work, even without representation.

I know you'll leave with some new ideas to inspire you.  Plus it’s free, so there’s nothing to lose.

Spots are filling up quickly, so register now at http://www.dallastravers.com/free-classes/.

Casting

Not a RED WALL Production

CASTING NOTICE:
COMMERCIAL PROMO - Looking for Non-Union Afr-American Male & Females for upcoming commercial promo
Men: Ages 26-35 5'7" - 6'3" Handsome, Fit, upbeat, fashionable - no visible tattoos some DJ experience would be great.
Women: Ages: 22- 27 5'2 - 5'9" All ethnicities Fit, attractive, energetic model types
PAY
PLEASE SEND PICTURES & RESUMES ASAP (this will audition this week) to gpscasting@gmail.com

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Beware the cult of busy.

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Are you running around, crossing items off your ever-growing to-do list, feeling like a chicken with her head cut off, and wondering what the heck it’s all for? It’s a very common experience, most especially for freelancers (which all artists are).

The problem is we often confuse being busy with being effective. We think if we can just keep up the frantic pace, then everything will pay off in a big way. But it turns out that most of what we focus on is not the game changing work we hope it to be.

Being busy is about being reactive, tending to every day minutia rather than honing in on big vision stuff. Being busy is about chasing every opportunity – or perceived opportunity – without evaluating how it fits into your master plan.

For actors, this can look like:

- Mass mailing every single agent in town with your generic headshot and resume; rather than focusing on the top 5 agents who are right for your career right now, and building a relationship with consistent marketing directed to them personally

- Submitting to every Actors Access notice; rather than making 1 bold phone call to a big casting office for a job you’re perfect for

For writers, this can be:

- Handing out your business card to everyone at every networking event, hoping someone will call you; rather than getting the business cards of people you want to work with and starting an email campaign to stay in touch every few months

- Repeatedly deleting and rewriting the first act of your script; rather than finishing it and holding a table read to get some perspective on where it works and where it doesn’t

One of the reasons being busy is so attractive is because there is an immediate sense of gratification. Checking off your to-do list every day feels productive. Also, busy tasks don’t make us vulnerable. Getting a “no” from a casting director is harder than the non-answer of Actors Access. Having your script read aloud and hearing where it falls flat can be painful. But without taking these risks, how will you truly grow?

I invite you to step off the hamster wheel for a weekend getaway with me in the Hudson Valley this June. I’ve organized a vision-clarifying, gremlin-crushing, goal-setting retreat in nature, where we will stop the busy-making and reevaluate what you are doing and why. Check out the full details here: tinyurl.com/cm4aRetreat

Bonus for Red Wall Productions family: Get $100 off the registration fee if you can tell me what TV show Roz guest-starred on with Edie Falco.

Sam Garland is a Creative Career Coach who helps actors, writers, and filmmakers take charge of their journeys and uplevel their careers in powerful ways.  You can get more tools, tips, and inspiration at www.cm4a.com.

FREE Workshops


 
Hi Everyone,
Karen and Roz are excited to present these workshops next Tuesday evening May 20th
They are free!
See below for all info
Karen
— TUESDAY MAY 20th, 7-9:15PM—
 
These are FREE workshops! Please reserve early, and let us know if you need to cancel so that someone else may have your place.
 
7:00-8:00pm
Karen Kohlhaas will see monologues from a several participants, focusing on making clean starts and finishes to your monologue auditions, using both staging and editing decisions about the text.
 
8:15-9:15pm
Rosalyn Coleman Williams will speak on all things digital: what makes a good reel, how actors should/should not use social media, creating effective websites, and how to make your internet presence positive, professional, and productive.  
 
RESERVATIONS REQUIRED: To reserve please email classes@monologueaudition.com
(**please note if you are reserving for a friend, we need their email as well. You will be emailed info about entering the building.)
 
BIOS
KAREN KOHLHAAS is an Off-Broadway director, teacher, author and filmmaker. Most recently at Atlantic she directed the Lortel Award nominated The Collection and A Kind of Alaska by Harold Pinter, named in the top 10 play lists for the New York Times, New York Magazine, and the New York Daily News. She is a founding member of the Atlantic Theater Company and senior teacher at the Atlantic Acting School. She is the author of The Monologue Audition: A Practical Guide for Actors (foreword by David Mamet); How to Choose a Monologue for Any Audition, the creator of The Monologue Audition Video (DVD) all available on her website www.monologueaudition.com. She teaches monologue, cold reading, directing, and advanced scene study classes in NYC. She is currently at work on a feature length documentary, Tennessee Williams in the Mississippi Delta (www.TennWmsDelta.com).
 
ROSALYN COLEMAN WILLIAMS is an award winning director, actor and educator. As a director, her film projects have appeared on several stations nationally and in film festivals all around the world. She is an actor with Broadway, Film and Television credits. As an educator, Rosalyn is one of the most sought after acting coaches in NY, chosen by readers of Back Stage as their favorite on-camera teacher in both 2011 and 2012. Currently teaching “Acting In The Digital Age” at NYU, Rosalyn served as on-set acting coach during the second season of HBO’s “In Treatment.” She is an adjunct professor at SUNY Purchase, teaching on camera audition to the senior class.
Rosalyn is co-creator of Everything Acting Podcast App and iRoz App. Both Apps are currently available on all mobile platforms, and have a mission of demystifying the actor’s journey.  
Roz can soon be seen playing Rose on a TV Documentary about August Wilson, in the film Hands To The Sky, and FRANKIE AND ALICE feature film in theaters now. A Howard University and Yale School of Drama graduate, Rosalyn is Chief Creative Officer at Red Wall Productions, a company that she runs with her husband, Craig T. Williams. www.redwallproductions.com @irozapp

 

Basic Acting Answers & HOMEWORK

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What you can probably guess about me is that I am your average MJJ fan. I had my 8th grade fantasy of MIchael driving up in a (dark red Tbird convertible) to my English class. I got in his car we we drove off to get married as everyone watched in jealous awe. 

What you don't know is that I had the privilege of working with Michael Bearden, his music director, on my second film Allergic to nuts. Michael B generously composed original  A list level music for my film (why? because sometimes God shows an artist like me favor).  

Anyway Michael B is in the film This Is It.  You see him working the music out with MJJ for the tour. You see them in process.  Kind of almost conflict as they go thru what it takes to make a genius happy.  To make his music stanky or funky or whatever it is they say.  It's a vulnerable and beautiful thing they let us see. And I thank them both with a heavy soul.  I miss MJJ and I know my Michael B is sill dealing with a loss that will never be filled. 

I got a few chances to talk about MJJ with Michael B.  It was brief but so insightful, what I got was that yes....MJJ was as divine an artist as we all suspected. MJJ was the TRUTH.

I have watched the film 100 times.  Because it is MJJ's legacy to all of us artists. It's his 'letters to a young artist." It is such a gift to allow us behind the curtain to see the imperfect to see him say... "let it sizzle"  code for take a moment....or "this is why we rehearse" code for 'that's okay, do again til we get it right. "I cue that."  OMG.  Thank you MJJ for your genius and your sacrifice. Thank you for allowing us to see tiny bit of process.  

To my basic acting students.  REHEARSE. Be like Michael.  That is the way to artistic freedom.  Rehearsal allows you to let go and not think about the mechanics.  It allows you to trust yourself and the other people on stage with you. It gives you the confidence to know how to handle another performer who is not as free as you are and may forget.  You can think on your feet because you are free of the burden of having to remember what you have to say or do.  You body knows from instinct and rehearsal and can do it spontaneously, to the delight and joy of yourself and the audience.  This can be achieved in acting just like in music.