There is a strange phenomenon amongst screenwriter’s and their profiles on Stage 32, where there is no Bio written. I don’t know why, as presumably we are good with words!
We all have a story to tell and we’d love to know more about you in our community and to connect with you, but it’s difficult to know who you are when there’s nothing personal about your profile.
It doesn’t need to be long like mine, which reads more like an Outline for a Blumhouse movie called The Halls of Pain, but please would you take the time this week to update your Bio and help us to share in the joy of you. Thank you kindly.
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I wrote a bio. It's terrible. Having spent most of my adult life as a carer, there really aren't that many stories I can tell about myself. Even I find my life boring. That's probably why I keep writing fantasy and sci-fi...
But I do concur. Even if you aren't the least bit interesting, or you find the prospect of writing about yourself uncomfortable, a few words to give people an idea of who you are is a good idea.
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I don’t accept network request from empty profiles. Google indexes these profiles. If you are using Stage32 to build a rep, be complete.
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Great idea and reminder, Geoff Hall! Even if a writer doesn't have anything they've done, they can put their goals and writing genres in their bios. Then when they build up a portfolio and resume, they can add those things to their bios.
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Yeah, it's not just screenwriters that do this but as you say, the writers have no excuse. I don't accept invites from anyone without a bio.
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Dito!
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Agree with those who do not accept any friend requests without bios. And I also prefer a mug shot. Furthermore, since I conduct a lot of business online, I won't work with anyone who declines a video conference so we can vet identities. And even then, do your homework. I've recently flushed out a few phonies online.
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Mug shot and Bio and no all at once request coming from nowhere just after my "Dito" will be accepted. Sorry folks!
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Same man!
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Yes, a bio doesn't take much time. It is nice to know a little about fellow artists.
I don't want to put anything personal in my bio.
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Hi Dan - I think what Geoff is referring to are past & current projects, not personal family information. Stage 32 profiles are a digital legacy of all your conversations and professional networking done on the site. It's what sets us our community apart from other platforms!
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When I receive a request to join my network, the first thing I do is read is the bio. Even it if just says something like, "Actor", as long as its not a sales pitch or a bunch of nonsense I accept the request. Otherwise I let it sit, and after several months I deny it. I feel that if a person can't be bothered to put anything in their bio, then they may have something to hide or they aren't committed enough to their craft to tell people what they do.
Additionally, in the future if I need someone for a project, my contact list would be one of the first places I look be looking for talent.
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John Austin thank you, John.
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Writers hate writing about themselves.
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Just updated my profile as a result of your comments here...thanks for the prompt!
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I'm planning to update my profile also, Ingrid.
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Hi Alister, but at some point we have to learn how to sell ourselves, to a potential Producer…
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"Hey, it's my dream in life to be a Hollywood screenwriter and I'll do anything to make it happen."
"Cool. Can you write a paragraph about yourself."
"Absolutely not!"
Same attitude with loglines, synopses, and written pitches.
Too many people want to compete in one of the most competitive industries in the world while putting in the least amount of effort possible.
See also; thinking formatting is craft and wanting an agent after producing a single script.
@IngridWren sorry the tagging isn’t working on your name. Anyway, thank you for updating your profile.
Local Theatre Production. Yes, me too. I played Judas in a passion play, many years ago in Bristol. No one else wanted to play him, because they felt uncomfortable being associated with one of the devil’s own!
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Hi Geoff Hall, I also wrote and workshopped plays in my Theatre Studies unit at university which were inspired by my obsession with Dr Who and time travel. I had a huge amount of fun with it until it came to the pointy end of my degree and my parents said "You can't make a living out of acting and writing. So do a real subject so you can get a real job". Creativity crushers right there.
Spent my entire working life as a square peg in a round hole, and now have the opportunity to write creatively, listen and learn. Thanks for the inspiration! Cheers from the antipodes!
I assume these are bots or fake accounts.
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Hi Erik, not always. A lot of the time they are real people.
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CJ: You are 100 percent correct.
I just spent two full days refining my pitch deck, rewriting my logline and synopsis, and creating a character description sheet, which was requested by my producer. I also gave him both a one-page and two-page logline and synopsis to provide him with the necessary tools to pitch the project to other interested parties. All these supporting documents are equally important to the process. He thanked me for a great turnaround and quality job. His last statement was He's ready to go.
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Nice one, Phillip! Agreed, the supporting documents are invaluable.
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Geoff: Thanks!