AFI Actors Group

Back in December I audited a session of the AFI Actors Group and it was fascinating to peek in on a world I've rarely seen from the inside. To watch actors doing their thing, taking it seriously, working on their craft. I was invited to submit a script for consideration and sent it along the next day.


Fast forward to last night.

After being invited to submit scenes to the group I chose the first ten pages of my pilot TORCHED. It's a one-hour drama about an arson investigator set in Detroit on Devil's Night. It's a script I've been working on for about two years and a script I love. But also a script I really want to finish, make better, and move on from. (Until it's sold to a big production company and we start producing episodes, of course.) So I was excited to take it to the group last night.

The process was really interesting. The actors took their assigned parts and acted them out. They read the pages, they acted them, they asked questions and wanted to know motivation and relationships. They wanted way more than I was expecting and that was kinda cool.

We rehearsed for an hour and I have to say, it felt kinda cool to "direct" the scene. I didn't have a ton of notes but I did give a couple, including a line reading (telling the actress that I imagine the line being said much differently), and it was cool to have people be receptive and do it again and again.

After rehearsal we performed the scene (I read stage directions so I was a part of it) for the rest of the group and then I sat in the front of the room with the leader and listened to comments. That was hard for me. Not to hear criticism or accolades but to not be able to respond or engage in dialogue. The group just gives notes, they don't have conversations, which is fine but hard. I wanted to say, yes, we learn that on page 11 or no, that wouldn't work and here's why. But overall, I got some great feedback and it was nice to hear people liked the first 10 pages.

So today, as I sit down to work on the rewrite of TORCHED, which will be done tomorrow (fingers crossed), I'll pictures those actors and give another round of thanks to them, for going on this journey with me, and for being so respectful