I just wrapped a 4 year production called grad school. After Sunday’s graduation from DePaul with my M.F.A. the above quote and motto of the late, great Billy Strayhorn seems appropriate.
Everyday, for four years, I had been working on something for school. Sometimes entire days on multiple projects. And as the school I attended was 2 hours away from my home, the commute was no picnic. Dedication to the task was the most important asset. You have to have the perseverance to see it through when every little obstacle could be a reason to quit. You have to stay positive and leave nothing you could control to chance.
It meant alot for me to attempt and succeed at the goal I had set out for myself back in 2006 and learn all that I have. The program and instructors at DePaul are some of the best I’ve had and I can certainly say I made the right choice. They helped me as a student to already become a better teacher. I’ve used the great lessons I’ve learned there and applied them to my own style of teaching classes. I’ve also made some lifelong friends as well, and hope to keep working with them in the future.
That said, it’s time to take a quick breath and move on.
We at The CNS CO. are currently in negotiations on two fantastic novels which we’ll be adapting. One has a well-known director attached and would make for an exhilarating epic project set during WWII. The other is a thriller that we’ve had our eye on for years and feel now is the time to approach the author.
On the original screenplay front we are working mostly on 3 feature scripts; a comedy, a horror/comedy, and a science-fiction drama (the long developing project entitled “The Waves”.) Our goal is to develop and finance and/or sell one or more of these projects in the upcoming months. We’ll hopefully still make the occasional short – but as we move into this bigger writing and producing market, while moving towards our larger goals, the time just won’t be there too often.
As for other things, I am still teaching and truly enjoy it. The mentoring is my favorite part and in a lot of ways I think it’s the most important part.
It’s like being a coach. Every year you get a team of players with varying levels of talent, desire, and ability. You teach the fundamentals to all and that will help most players get better, but they have to have self-initiative to do so. Some are too immature or lazy to actually work at it, and they never progress. (This happens all too often.) Some players will come to you with very little or no talent, but they tend to have a strong desire to make it, so they work really hard and they get much better. And sometimes, on those rare occasions, you just get someone who has that natural ability and talent to be great. And you realize you can help them develop that correctly through mentoring and instruction so they achieve their great potential. I have seen this only a handful of times, but it means quite a bit when they actually reach those heights they deserve.
So keep checking back as we move on with these new projects. It’s fun to be at this level right now and I can’t wait to see what happens in the near future as we continue to move “ever up and onward.”
- Jer
