Anything Goes

Happy New Year 2026 to everyone here on Stage 32!

I’ve met many great friends on this platform, and I’m truly grateful for the creative connections so far. I hope this new year brings even more collaboration, inspiration, and opportunities for all of us.

Thank you to every artist and filmmaker here —...

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When I was a teenager I had a tradition where I'd review the entire year on the last day of it (even more traditionally it would be the last hour of the year). So here I will try to bring the tradition back since I have less time on my hands now than I did back then lol:

At the start of the year I kn...

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At the start of the year I knew Finding Elpis would have a part 3, and all I knew for sure was that it would have more heavenly elements. I schedu RoP, part 2's table read as a birthday present to myself and the first draft was chaotic as all hell and yet so much was born from it. Not long after I wrote TER, part 3, and sent it in for its table read where I finally found the perfect actor for Iesu, the character who gave me the most trouble because he's all I can't be; someone who's more concerned about being a good person than an artist, and 100% willing to trust in a higher power's plan for him, while I doubt every single thing I both did and didn't have a hand in. No one ever had anything to say about him during the table reads until his actor, who said that he was a very loving character and I did a great job on him. It made me happy knowing that it paid off finally. Sure enough, by the end of TER, I knew there would be a part 4 with the inclusion of Phi as well as Starman's decision, nevermind that there was still a bunch of loose ends lol

Somewhere along the way I decided to write Glass Waltz as a short script because try as I might, all I knew about it was that Rylie loved Richard but he wouldn't let go of Rachel, who happened to be her sister, even though she was dead lol. I decided why not try a short script even just to see if I can do it? Turns out, I can lol.

Several times I found myself getting tired of and discouraged by the pitching process and decided I was done, only to once again be faced by my complete inability to know when to quit and actually give up lol. It's still something I'm not particularly good at so I hope y'all can forgive me for it :p

I also don't remember when it happened but the idea was planted into my head to get into directing. I wasn't into it because writing is challenging enough, but with the way things are going and how allergic I am to completely letting go of my world to let someone else take over... it's not a bad idea after all, so it's a possibility that yours truly will be a director in addition to author, screenwriter, and artist, one day.

And then in the summer sometime, I got ready to start BoFS, part 4, and even before I started, I knew there would be a part 5 lol. The series was looking more and more like a hard sell but dammit, it's my world and I don't need someone else's permission to write it :p all the same, I knew I had to clear up the issues in both Finding Elpis proper and RoP because I knew where the later entries were going for the most part. So I took it upon myself to go back and cut huge chunks of both scripts and inject all the subtle and more blatant foreshadowing that I could, and so when I finally decided it was time to write BoFS, I managed to finish it before November was even done. Somewhere along the way, the writing gods blessed me with two very big visions that I split into three and Finding Elpis at long last became a heptalogy lol

Then came December. I learned that romcoms are in right now and rifling through my pool of ideas, I realised that Lunar Window is technically one even though it's a social satire. I initially wanted to get it halfway finished but the writing gods decided I will finish it before my birthday, even the end of the year. It bottlenecked several times where I had to step back and untangle little narrative knots that belied strong currents, and even now that the draft is finished I wonder if I missed a couple. The story started off very different, where Cass was constantly daring John to do impossible things to win her over like Princess Kaguya was known to, but in the actual writing she became much more of a kuudere who started warming up to this normie who's nonetheless capable of amazing things. It's a romantic comedy the likes of which only I can write, and it also turned out much more personal than expected so I'd be lying if I said I wasn't terrified of anyone ever reading it. Nonetheless I decided to send it in to one exec I really liked in particular, so once again my inability to give up when I really want to strikes XD

All this to say... 2025 has been a pretty big year. I got a lot done, lots of emotions were had and are still being had, so if superstition prevails, I'm bringing all that nonsense with me into the new year. With any luck I'll get even more done, not just Finding Elpis's three remaining sequels but I'll return to Seed and from there work on Iron Rain in earnest, and also rewrite Metal Garden as a screenplay using the setup I'm most comfortable with (dual protagonists and predominantly random-events plot). Maybe I'll even be brave and risk more of my works being seen by even more people. Either way, I'd say it was a good year and I'm curious to see what's next.

Hope y'all also have an excellent 2026~

View all All comments

Maurice Vaughan

3 days ago

I like Architects of Time, THE PASSAGE, and Across Worlds, Ilanna Mandel. I vote for Architects of Time.

Jovana T Rizzo

2
2 people like this
- Jim Boston
- Maurice Vaughan
3 days ago

Please don't push too hard on yourself, looking for the perfect title, because production studios LOVE changing it anyway. Well, they figure that when they buy your work, they can do whatever they want with it.

Fares Moha

2
2 people like this
- Rose Dupuis
- Maurice Vaughan
3 days ago

hello, Maurice, Architect of Time really works — very high-concept. Ilanna Mandel If you want something shorter, I’d suggest INDEX (a nod to the hidden architecture / underlying system). And I took th...

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1 person likes this
- Fares Moha
2 days ago

Happy New Year, Fares Moha!

Karlyle Tomms

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1 person likes this
- Maurice Vaughan
7 hours ago

Flowering Enigma or The Flowering or Enigma Unfolding

Georgette Skolnick

1
1 person likes this
- Maurice Vaughan
1 day ago

Happy New Year, Maurice. I just did again. I also messaged Richard Botto, but no response from him yet. I can't believe a Stage 32 member would scam another member on this trusted website.

1 day ago

Happy New Year, Georgette Skolnick! Stage 32 is growing, so more scammers will pop up like with any platform. Stage 32 is quick to get rid of them. If you see a fake account, scam account, or suspicio...

Thanks for your advice, Maurice. You're always a great help!

You're welcome, Georgette Skolnick. I try to be. Have a great weekend!

8 hours ago

Maurice, I'm very disappointed in Stage 32 because the response is that they do not get involved. I think it's time this industry stands up to Harvey Weinstein abusers and screenwriters should not be...

1
1 person likes this
- Muhammad Abed Baryal
3 days ago

Happy New Year, Muhammad Abed Baryal! Congratulations on making great friends on here and everything you accomplished in 2025! Hope you have an incredible year!...

Debbie Elicksen

Happy New Year Muhammad Abed Baryal. Here's to a creative 2026!

Meriem Bouziani

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3 people like this
3 days ago

Congratulations, these are truly excellent accomplishments. You really deserve to celebrate all of these great achievements.

I hope you create even more great things in 2026.

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1 person likes this
- Banafsheh Esmailzadeh
3 days ago

You're welcome, Banafsheh Esmailzadeh. That's a great goal.

Elle Bolan

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2 people like this
- Banafsheh Esmailzadeh
- Maurice Vaughan
2 days ago

Congratulations on everything 2025 blessed you with!

2026 is here Bana! We are in our tomorrow. Bright days ahead!

May this year bring you all the success and joy you deserve!

Banafsheh Esmailzadeh

2
2 people like this
- Maurice Vaughan
- Meriem Bouziani
2 days ago

Thank you so much Meriem Bouziani, Maurice Vaughan, and Elle Bolan~ I do have my vacation coming up shortly after my birthday so lots of partying is on the horizon lol. Maybe also with the finalisatio...

1
1 person likes this
- Banafsheh Esmailzadeh
2 days ago

You're welcome, Banafsheh Esmailzadeh.

Tania Ocasio

2
2 people like this
- Hermina Orcsik
- Maurice Vaughan
2 days ago

happy new year

Rutger Oosterhoff 2

Happy new year!

Hermina Orcsik

1
1 person likes this
- Maurice Vaughan
2 days ago

Rutger Oosterhoff 2 thank you very much

Tania Ocasio thank you very much

Suzanne Bronson

2 days ago

Hey Hermina, this is Suzanne from the Stage 32 team. I just wanted to let you know I moved your post from Acting to Anything Goes, as it fits much better there. Let me know if you have any questions, and all the best to you!

1
1 person likes this
- Sherri ZImmerman
1 week ago

Hi, Sherri ZImmerman. Happy New Year! Hope you have an incredible year!

Sherri ZImmerman

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1 person likes this
- Maurice Vaughan
3 days ago

You too Maurice!! Waiting on your horror film!! ❤️

2
2 people like this
- Suzanne Bronson
- Wyman Brent
3 days ago

Happy New Year, Wyman Brent! Hope you and your family have an incredible 2026!

Happy New Year!

Wyman Brent

2
2 people like this
- Suzanne Bronson
- Maurice Vaughan
3 days ago

Maurice Vaughan, thank you so much. I wish the same for you and your family.

Elle Bolan, thanks a lot. Happy New Year from Germany.

2
2 people like this
- Wyman Brent
- Suzanne Bronson
3 days ago

You're welcome, Wyman Brent. Thank you.

1
1 person likes this
- Suzanne Bronson
3 days ago

Hi, Curt Samlaska. Move your mouse over "Profile" on the bar near the top of Stage 32's home page and click “Photos” in the drop-down menu. Find the picture and click the downward arrow in the drop-do...

Curt Samlaska

Wow. That was easy, but it certainly isn't intuitive. Thanks as always Maurice! I hope you have a wonderful and safe New Years!!!!

You're welcome, Curt Samlaska. Thanks. Hope you have a wonderful and safe New Years too!

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