Hi Everybody!
I'm Ashley Smith, Head of Community and Blog Manager here at Stage 32. If we've connected in the Lounges, in the comments, at an Open House, or through the blog, I'm so glad to see you again. And if you're brand new, welcome. Truly. You're in the right place.
Before Stage 32, I spent many years working in scripted development and talent management, supporting television and film projects in development with studios and networks like Amazon, FX, Paramount TV, Universal TV, Sony TV, MGM, and Legendary Global. I had the privilege of working closely with writers, producers, authors, and directors, helping shape projects from early drafts through greenlights. That experience gave me a deep respect for both the creative process and the realities of the industry.
At Stage 32, my focus is connection, clarity, and momentum. I help shape our community spaces, curate the daily blog, host events, and support members as they navigate the platform and their goals. What motivates me most is helping creatives move from "stuck" to "in motion" by engaging strategically, building real relationships, and taking aligned action instead of just shouting into the void.
This month I've been running the Creative Army Drive, which is all about growing this community by bringing in the people we'd want beside us. And spending September watching members invite their sisters, their sons, their old classmates, their collaborators, and the quiet friend who's been meaning to speak up has had me thinking about something else. Not the connections we make. The kindnesses inside them.
Because most of us didn't get here alone. Somebody read the draft nobody else would read. Somebody made an introduction they didn't have to make. Somebody talked you through the week you almost quit, or told you the truth about your work when it would have been easier to be nice.
Mine is an actress and director I used to work very closely with. The company where I ran Development was also a management company, and she was a client there as well as a producer developing multiple projects with us. Over the years we became friends. We got to know each other as actual people, we worked hard on projects we were both genuinely passionate about, and she was never quiet about making sure I received credit and acknowledgment for my work. Especially when others didn't.
When my mom passed away, she was one of the first people to reach out with support and care.
And when I decided to leave that company, she left too. Our friendship and our working relationship have continued ever since. She's been a friend, a mentor, and a support system in ways I never could have predicted when we first started working together.
I think about that more than almost anything else I took from those years. Not the projects. Her.
So that's my question for Introduce Yourself Weekend. What's the kindest thing another creative has ever done for you?
It doesn't have to be career-changing. Sometimes it's the person who stayed late to help you finish. The one who sent your reel to someone without being asked. The stranger in a comment section who said the exact right thing on the exact right day. The mentor who gave you an hour they didn't have.
A lot of people who have done something generous for another creative have no idea it mattered, and this is a good weekend to let them know. Drop it in the comments and let's spend Introduce Yourself Weekend getting to know each other through the people who helped us get here.
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Well Ashley Renée Smith - I could honestly make a list of all of the kind things YOU have done for me. Asking me to be a mod, for one - everything that came after that has been icing on a giant cake. Sebastian asking me to write a short that has nothing to do with sci-fi was a kind thing in disguise, I would say. It's just nice to know that folks like you and he believe in me but not because of what I've done but because of who I am. That's a huge encouragement in itself. Thanks for all that you do my friend.
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the kindest thing a creative has done for me is give me her time so generously! And that person is you Ash! You give, give, give so I hope the karma gods shine their light on you and give you some love. You are incredible girl!
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Shown and directed me the way of improving my skills.
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Having worked in the bookselling/writing/publishing arena for most of my adult life, I've had no end of creative people doing wonderful things for me. Well-known writers like Don Winslow and David Morrell have offered generous blurbs for my books. Ray Bradbury was a dear friend who came to the bookstore I managed, to sign for my customers on every occasion that he could, including his birthday one year and Halloween another year. Comic artist Jim Lee gave me my start in comics publishing, which led to writing comics and then to writing novels and fulfilled my lifelong goal of being a much-published author. Being with creative people just leads to kindness, I believe.
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I will say you were kind
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You are kind enough to give everyone a chance
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Leonardo Ramirez this made my whole day, and I want to push back on one part of it.
Asking you to be a Mod wasn't a kindness. It was a good decision. You'd already been showing up for people here long before I ever reached out, and I just noticed what was already true.
But the thing you said about being believed in for who you are rather than what you've done is the heart of all of this. That's what actually changes people. It's why Sebastian asking you to write outside your genre was such a good gift, because someone only asks you to try something new when they trust your skills and potential.
Thank you, my friend. Truly.
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Lauren Hackney you're going to make me cry at my desk on a Saturday.
Thank you. Genuinely. And you're one of the people who make the giving easy, because you show up for this community constantly without making it about you. Appreciate you.
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Nicholas P thank you, that's a very kind thing to say.
And for what it's worth, giving people a chance isn't hard when they're actually doing the work. You've been putting the effort in and taking the guidance seriously, which is genuinely more than a lot of people do.
Keep going. Rooting for you!
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Jeffrey Mariotte what a life. I'm always blown away by the stories you share. Ray Bradbury coming to sign at your store on his own birthday is an extraordinary detail, and it says everything about the kind of person he was that he spent it that way.
And Jim Lee giving you your start, which led to comics, which led to novels. That's the thing I most wanted this thread to surface. It's almost never one door. It's a series of people who each opened one, and the writer at the end of it is the product of all of them.
"Being with creative people just leads to kindness" is a lovely way to put it, and you'd know better than most.
Thank you for sharing this one. Hearing that Jim is such a kind person in real life makes me SO happy. Sometimes the old adage of "never meet your heroes" isn't true. I hope I get the opportunity to meet him someday.
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Thank you Ashley Renée Smith
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At the risk of sounding like a parrot, I'll say you have done a lot for me that you might not even realize. Given me courage to speak, made me realize I'm no where near the drudge I often think I am. I'm grateful.
But you're kind of a rockstar that way. You're probably the nicest person ever. Besides Sandra Isabel. Y'all run a tight race.
But I have to give a thought to an old friend from another writer's group. She probably doesn't remember me by now, and even if she did she knew me by a different name entirely. Her name is Alice Loweecy. She's an author and in that group, we were friends. I was running a contest on AW and had some awesome stuff lined up, grand prize being publication. My grandmother passed as the contest was closing, and I was by this time struggling hard with my addiction already. I... Lost it. I wasn't attentive to the end of the contest. I basically washed my hands of it and walked away. Took my solace from my DoC.
The day after the contest closed, I had enough guilt in me to reach out. She was giving one of the runner up prizes (a signed copy of one of her books) and she understood. I was honest with her, as much as an addict can be honest.
We were all friendly, so the prizes were still distributed. No one lost out because of me.
They didn't... Because of her. She carried my sorry self through that.
It wasn't long after that I ended up clean (enough, I still drank). But I never returned to the writing world until I came here.
She's the reason no one else knew just what a sorry ass I was when I left that circuit. Until now, anyway.
I will never forget her.
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Beautiful, uplifting words Ashley Renée Smith - thank you my friend.
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I'm a songwriter, who just happened to write several Christmas song that I thought would make a good film. I had never written a script but reached out to someone who was well versed and also she had a friend she invited to the party, together we formed Little Red Guitar Productions for the sole purpose of producing "Snow Falls" . This partnership has been a blessing. The fact that I, as a novice, and they saying yes to helping me bring my idea to fruition in a world of Nos, it pushed e to write another script which I wrote with my late twin brother "Pals Forever". A single Yes, can replace many Nos...and those ladies were my start in th efilm space.
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I think one of the kindest things a creative can do for another creative is to reach out a hand when someone doesn’t yet have many opportunities to be seen, and help them show what they’re capable of.
Sometimes someone has talent and a story worth telling, but because of their circumstances, lack of connections, or simply not knowing how to navigate the industry, they may never get the opportunity to show it to the right people. At that moment, having someone who is willing to take them seriously, look at their work, and perhaps even open a door for them can make a huge difference in their life.
I think some of the most important opportunities in life begin with someone saying, “I see you. Keep going.” ❤️
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Elle Bolan thank you for trusting this thread with that.
Alice sounds like a genuinely remarkable person. What she did wasn't just covering for you, it was protecting everyone else's experience of something you'd built, at a moment when you couldn't. That's a specific kind of generosity, and it asks nothing in return because there was nothing to gain from it.
You describe yourself walking away and her carrying you, but you also reached out the next day when you were in no condition to. That took something strong and special within you, even during a hard time. I hope she knows. If she's findable, tell her. People who do things like that almost never learn what it meant.
And for the record, you're not a drudge. You're one of the people this community counts on, and that isn't me being nice. It's just true.
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What strikes me most is that they said yes to a novice with an idea and no script. That's a real risk to take on someone, and it's the kind of generosity that only makes sense if you believe in the person rather than the project. They did, and now there's a production company and two screenplays that exist because of it.
And writing PALS FOREVER with your late twin brother is a lovely thing to have made together. That one will keep mattering.
Thank you for sharing this, Ray Fontenault.
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Marziyeh Mohammad Salehi "I see you, keep going" is exactly it! The part I'd underline is your point about circumstances and connections. Talent is distributed everywhere. Access isn't. There are people doing genuinely good work who will never be in the right room, not because the work isn't there but because nobody ever pointed them toward the door. That's an enormous waste and it happens constantly.
Which is why the people willing to take someone seriously before there's any reason to matter so much. It costs them very little and it can change everything for the person on the other side.
Thank you for this one.
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I'm new to this site but right now? I am in the early stages of networking. I have had a LOT of people reaching out but, the main issue I have found so far? No collab offers, just sales pitches on services offered. No-one seems to ask how I want to see this project going. I even made a post about it specifically. A lot of this platform seems to be people offering paid services instead of offers to collaborate. Early stages though so I could be wrong.. we will see.
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I’ve been helped most by creatives who respected me enough to be candid. They spoke honestly about their experience, and encouraged me to look into things for myself. It may seem like a small kindness, but it gave me something more useful than parsing embellishment. It was a chance to make an informed choice based on verifiable facts, not warnings against them.
I’m grateful, too, for the person willing to say, “Hang on, something doesn’t add up,” when it would be easier to stay quiet. That can take courage in a room where some voices carry more weight than others.
Those moments tell you a lot about a community. The people with the most influence have an opportunity to make honesty easier by choosing their own words carefully and hearing others out, even when a question is uncomfortable. When they do, people feel safe enough to look out for one another.
Hi, Ashley Renée Smith. Happy Introduce Yourself Weekend! That's great that you and the actress-director had that kind of friendship and working relationship and they're still going on!
When I start writing scripts, I sent a script to a guy. I think he was a producer, and I think the script was in Microsoft Word. He wrote back and told me scripts should be in pdf. The script wasn't in the right format, so he didn't have to read the script and write back, but he did. And he didn't have to be nice about it, but he was. That might not be the kindest thing someone has done for me, but it was kind and helped me as writer. Of course, you've been really kind to me! Leo too! Elle too! Lauren too! A lot of people on Stage 32.