Rosalyn Coleman Williams
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Rosalyn Coleman Williams
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Free Writing Spaces in NY!

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Some write at home - I can't. Some write everyday - I do.
Are you like me? Always looking for a place that will be quiet enough, comfortable enough, have the kind of atmosphere that will inspire your fingers to move incessantly over the keyboard as you pound out the next great American Novel/Screenplay/Webseries/Stage Play?

I came across this list on Yelp that was too good not to share.

Free Places To Write In NY.

Do you have a favorite writing spot?
Please share by leaving a comment!

Write On Write On!
Craig

Roz Returns To Actors Connection!!

ACTING FOR FILM & TV: The Super Four - 4 Week On-Camera Class with Roz Coleman, Professional Actress, Film Director and On-Set Coach

11:00 am - After RAVE reviews...Actors Connection is thrilled to have SUPERSTAR Roz Coleman back teaching our Saturday on-camera class for film and TV. This sought after actress is an incredible acting coach and was recently voted Favorite On Camera Teacher in the Backstage Readers Poll for the 2nd Year in a row! Roz also served as the on-set coach for HBO's hit series In Treatment starring Gabriel Byrne. 

In this 4 Week on-camera class, you'll work with Roz Coleman on 4 genres that Film/TV actors encounter in auditions and on-set.

For all four classes, you'll be shooting scenes with a reader to view in class with extensive feedback. Roz will cover the unique elements that each genre poses to the actor and the ways to improve your performance.

Your first week will start off with Sitcom material. Roz will work with you on pacing, proximity and "how to find the funny" for television. The second week, Roz will cover One-Hour Dramas going over elements such as heightened stakes and keeping things conversational. In your third week, you'll work on Dramatic Features adjusting the size of your performance to be more film friendly. In your final week, Roz will work with you on Comedy Features and how to adjust your performance for film while maintaining pace, character and comedic timing.

Throughout the course, Roz will also cover working with a reader, script analysis and some of the challenges of working on set. You'll gain a better understanding of these FOUR genres and how to approach them for future auditions.

MORE INFO

NBC Scene Showcase

A 6-8 week workshop of original scenes by diverse writers, cast with up-and-coming actors and guided by directors of diverse backgrounds presented in a one-day live theatrical showcase for executives, producers, casting directors, and other industry professionals.

SELECTION PROCESS

Stage One:  Script Selection (Writers)

We will put out an open call for scripts to be performed live in front of an audience.  We will accept two types of scripts: comedy scenes and dramatic monologues.

COMEDY SCENE REQUIREMENTS:

  • There should be no more than two actors in the scene (and no less).
  • The scene should be five minutes long (4-6 pages, standard script format).
  • The piece should be stand-alone; it shouldn’t feel like an excerpt from a longer piece, and should have a clear beginning, middle, and end.
  • Given that these scenes are meant to be performed on a stage in front of a live audience, special effects should be kept to a minimum.

DRAMATIC MONOLOGUE REQUIREMENTS:

  • As it is a monologue, it should be written for ONE actor.
  • The monologue should be 1-2 minutes long.
  • The piece should be able to stand alone.

Submit your scenes using our online form, which will open for submissions on November 17th and will close on December 12th at 11:59pm.  You may download the legal release form here.

We will accept only one submission per applicant.

Once the window has closed, the reading process will begin.  If the Scene Showcase decides to move forward with your script, you will be notified by early Feburary 2015.

Free Screenplays 2014

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What makes a great writer? Reading!!

I think it's important to do all kinds of reading, fiction, non-fiction, comics, graphic novels, newspapers (are there any left) and even blogs, but for us screenwriters I think it's most important to read other screenplays.

You'll learn:

  1. How scenes are mapped on the page.
  2. How characters are introduced.
  3. How action is written.

As you read through a screenplay keep note of:

  1. Pacing. Does it make you want to turn the page?
  2. Setting. Is the writer giving you a sense of time and place?
  3. Tone. Do the comedies read funny? Do thrillers feel suspenseful? Do dramas feel dramaful?(OK that's not a word, but I was on a roll.)

So to that end I've come across a list of screenplays of movies for 2014.

If you've seen the movie - how does reading it compare to what you saw?
If you haven't seen the movie - see it, how does the movie compare to what you read?

Then I would suggest writing a paragraph or two about your observations. Because writers write right??

What's your favorite movie? Have you read the screenplay?

Share it with me - redwallproductions@gmail.com
 

Download free screenplays.

Write On, Write On!
Craig

www.redwallproductions.com

Casting

Bank Commercial - Internationally known brand.

Bi-Racial Children, 1 Boy, 1 Girl - Ages 6-10

NO FURTHER CASTING

Real world types, not too “modely.”  

No script or lines, just action. 

Shooting to take place at a car dealership as a couple buys a car on Thursday, October 16th in New Jersey.

You will be cast from your pictures, there will not be an audition!

Please submit headshot/resume and 1 recent photo (taken it now, with your phone or digital camera)

Pay - $300

PROJECT HAS BEEN CAST and SHOT.

 

Nigerian Girl Loses Her Virginity, Ngozi Anayawu

Let's talk about a great play that I just saw. It was called Good Grief written by Ngozi Anyanwu. Produced by her beautiful sister Chichi, directed by Russell G Jones.

It was the sexual coming of age of a young African woman living in all-white neighborhood in upstate New York. In the first scene her best friend, childhood playmate and almost boyfriend (yes all in the same person) dies.

I could relate to play more than I like to admit. I too experienced the late coming-of-age like the main character. I also had times when I was in all-white environment and had the mixed signals and attention of white boys loving me on the down low. And tragically I lost a friend in high school in a car accident.

Her name was Carrie Blair. I had no idea how to mourn at the time. Carrie was a wild fun sweet big hearted cool girl who taught me how to use a tampon (before I had jump on a trampoline gym class). She was blonde and big busted and my mother didn't like her at all.

For the record Carrie Blair was bad ass great chick who could have been notorious but for some stupid teenage driving mistake.

Thank you Ngozi for helping me remember my friend and my mother's love, who at the time of Carrie's passing, helped me. Now I recall her coming with me to the memorial service and being really gentle with me.

I think the play Ngozi wrote is so specific in character voices, world, and time that it is universal.

My favorite scene was between the mother and father from Nigeria when Ngozi's character is crying in the background and they begin to tease each other about how they grieved over their losses. It was the mix of tragedy and comedy that the great stage director Lloyd Richards used to talk about when we were rehearsing the Piano Lesson. Perfection. Recognizable. Truly "Good Grief."

Finally her play reminds me a lot of the movie Cooley High. I would love to direct Good Grief as a feature film. (I'm just saying. )

Sent from my iPhone

Audition

Short Film Casting:
JO (working title)
Directed by Nicholas Heet
Produced by Craig T. Williams, Rhett Dupont, Kris Cheppaikode, Film Shop

Seeking:
Jo - Female, White or Hispanic, mid 30s, pretty, she’s a woman who wants and seeks, but ends up looking in the wrong places.

Hunter - Male, White, 40, a rough but baby-faced man, outdoorsy type with that lived in look.

Brand - Male, White, early 30’s, groomed, ambitious, stuck

Auditions, Monday July 28 in Midtown Manhattan - By appointment only
SAG/NON-SAG
Pay
2 shoot days - between August 10-16

Send headshots/resumes/links to reels to - redwallcasting@gmail.com

Writers - Gird Your Loins!

"Gird Your Loins," remember that scene from "The Devil Wears Prada?" As Meryl Streep's character approaches, Stanley Tucci's character yells to everyone in the office - "gird your loins." Basically it meant, steel yourself people, here comes Miranda the crotch kicking boss. It was a great way to introduce the character. But it got me thinking about the most frequent question I hear from new writers "How do I protect my work?"  Let's talk about that.

Firstly, I am not an attorney, this isn't legal advice this is just stuff I've learned (my lawyer told me to write that.)

Copyright your work. Register it with the US Copyright Office.

Copyright protects "original works of authorship that are fixed in a tangible form of expression.” What that means is -  you cannot copyright your idea for a movie; you can only copyright your expression of that idea in the form of the screenplay. YOU HAVE TO WRITE THE SCREENPLAY!

For years I was led to believe that registering your screenplay with the WGA (Writers Guild of America) was just as good. THAT IS INCORRECT. US Copyright registration is $35 and last's your lifetime plus 70 years. WGA registration is $10 for members, $25 for non-members and lasts 5 years. HMMMMMM! No brainer right.

US Copyright registration entitles you to sue for statutory damages if you feel someone has stolen the execution of your idea and to win attorney’s fees, should the court settle in their favor.  WGA registration does not.

You've written your script (YAY!) maybe even re-written it 2 or 20 times and it's your baby, you have slaved over every word and it's ready, now all you need is someone to read it.

You pitch the idea -  GASP and SWOON, someone wants to read it.

This is where the panic and paranoia set in.

What if they steal it?

In my mind I've already put a down payment on my Malibu dream house.

Oh GOD, they're gonna steal it.

I have to get them to sign a Non Disclosure Agreement, they have to sign a contract that they won't share it with ANYONE. I can't breathe, there goes my Academy Award.

THEY'RE GONNA STEAL IT!!!!!

STOP!

RELAX!

I'm gonna say this and some of you may not like it, no one will ever tell you this - thinking and acting like someone is going to steal your script makes you look like an amateur.

Stop worrying about people stealing your script. I'm not gonna tell you it doesn't happen, It just  doesn't happen nearly as often as you've been led to believe. 

This is an industry of collaboration and relationships. If you have talent people are excited to know you and excited about the possibility of what you can produce for them.

You have to get as many eyes on your story as humanly possible in order to get it to the person who is going to respond and want to get it made.  And sharing is in itself, a form of protection. The more people that know about it, the harder it is for someone else to claim they wrote it.

Industry people know we writers will happily sell ourselves to the lowest bidders. So believe this - it is more effort to steal your story and try and get away with it, then it is to just buy it or even option it from you.

And if you just can't help yourself, keep track write down names and numbers and emails, number your scripts, keep a log, keep a journal. It's a good idea anyway so that you know who you've had contact with because remember you're building relationships.

Sharing your work also frees you of the concept that this is your one and only idea. You are a creative person, you'll have many, many, many ideas and stories to tell, don't get fixated on protecting just one.

So register and move on.

Gird Your Loins.

Think I'm wrong or right? Let me hear from you redwallproductions@gmail.com

Happy Writing!

Craig