“Don’t worry if you don’t hear the audience laughing during dress rehearsal. They’re old. They’re smiling as loudly as they can.” -Tim Frawley,Theatre Director, Libertyville High School The high school I attended had an ongoing tradition of inviting elderly citizens...

I got into an argument yesterday with one of my fellow Blue Damen team members about how many projects we should be scheduling for next year. We didn’t really resolve things straight out,  but it did get me thinking about where the line is between doing enough and doing too much. The first part...

Karma. Murphy’s Law. Tommyluck. There are lots of names for the concept of “When god closes the door he opens a window”. I’ve been experiencing this first hand this week and it has reminded me that no success can be earned without struggle. The good news is, that Blue Damen Pictures’...

The other day, in a bad mood, I went for a walk and asked the universe for a sign. I didn’t really have a particular sign in mind. I didn’t even have a question in mind that I needed an answer for. I just needed to know that there was something bigger than myself at work in the world that...

If you’ve always wanted to try screenwriting but never felt like you knew where to start, now is your opportunity! The Chicago Dramatists, an organization that supports playwrights and their creative process, is now offering a course on screenwriting. The listing for the course reads something...

The Elgin Film Festival Trophy- Made by the same company that makes the Academy Awards. This past Saturday was the first annual Elgin Film Festival, and if you were unable to attend this year I recommend that you mark your calendars RIGHT NOW for next year because this is the film festival to attend. When...

September is the month for film festivals, it seems, this year and I could not be more thrilled. Last weekend was the Chicago REEL Shorts film festival which was a hoot and my only regret was not being able to stay longer to see what other work they selected. “The Visionary” screened in a...

Save this date: Friday, September 11, 2009, 7:15 pm You’ll be glad that you did and here’s why: Back when I was studying theatre in college we used to say “If you want to be famous then go to New York, but if you want to work, go to Chicago”. Chicago is home to dozens of boutique...

Greetings Friends and Neighbors, Sometimes it’s fun to have a blog to just be able to share some good news and today I’m pleased to announce that Blue Damen Pictures is honored to be presenting our newest film “The Visionary” at the Chicago REEL Short Film Festival. We submitted...

Step 1. Make a to do list Break big projects into little tasks and include some dumb items like “clear off work space” and “gather materials” so that you have some things that you can be sure to accomplish in one day. The point of this step is to show exactly what needs to be...

I was taking a tour in Scotland back in my traveling days and the tour guide in Edinburgh pointed out  a series of openings near the peak of a roof on one of the older buildings in the city. “Do you know what those are for?” She asked everyone in general. No one did. “Openings were...

There’s a saying that many people are familiar with that goes: “A rolling stone gathers no moss”. It is understood to mean that constant activity will prevent you from stagnating in life. There’s a saying that many people are familiar with that goes: “A rolling stone gathers no moss”....

Allow me to play the devils advocate for a moment and ask “What’s wrong with thinking inside the box”? It’s dull, certainly, and not very rewarding, and usually quite a tedious process, but other than that, what is the harm? When did “thinking inside the box” become...

A few days ago, one of the artists that I work with sent me a link to this video: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2a8TRSgzZY&hl=en&fs=1&] You know those tingles that you get when you realize something is true and you wish that it weren’t? I was getting those. By day I work...

I was thinking about failure not too long ago. This is something that I do with a fair amount of regularity considering that I am an independent filmmaker during a recession. It occurred to me that failure should probably be on that list along with death and taxes as one of life’s inevitabilities....

As much as I hate to admit it, I am not convinced that Creativity is The Answer. This is heresy, I know, but when you get right down to it just how useful is creativity anyway? Creativity is like gunpowder; incredibly powerful- and dangerous- stuff, but largely  useless without a structure to contain...

The second most important thing that I have learned in life is how to apologize, and it’s the kind of thing that is so important that I wish they taught it in schools. Life is a risky business, and with all risk there is as much potential for mistakes as there is for success and sometimes more....

Last week I was told to lose the screenplay format for my blogs. It turns out that they were “too different” and that no one was “getting” them. So much for writing in a distinctively film-related style. No one had told me that I was supposed to write prose. Frankly I felt (and...

EXT. SIDEWALK.DAY GWYDHAR and BLUE DAMEN, the manifestation of her conscience, walk home from work. BLUE DAMEN You’re an idiot. GWYDHAR Why is that? BLUE DAMEN You say that “Work” is not a four letter word. It totally is. GWYDHAR I meant that people say “work” like it’s...

INT. SCREENING ROOM. DAY GWYDHAR, a young film director sits in a workshop at the Kent Independent Film Festival in Kent, CT. She is hoping to glean some tips on how to make contacts in the industry. Her notebook is blank except for the date. Slowly a quote bubbles up in her memory: J. MICHAEL STRYCZNSKI...