Stage 32 Meetups : Stage32 Boston networking meet up! by Cesar Suarez

I'm in! Thanks for getting things going!

hopefully there's more people interested and we'll find a cool place to meet.

Sounds good

I can probably rustle up a few more stage 32'ers who may not have seen this thread.

I know a lot of actor's and filmmakers on my facebook page who would join stage 32 and would love to get together and network. Would love to see some serious investors attend. The community needs more serious investors.

yes the more people we can involve from Boston the better! any ideas on some locations? I attended a meeting at a place called workbar over at Central Sq in cambridge. that can probably be an awesome place to meet? if someone has another place that's a great location let us know. Thanks Cheryl, bring on your connections from facebook and let's get this rolling. cheers!

Hi Cesar, I'd be down for a meeting of creative types. The 2nd floor of the Hong Kong restaurant in Harvard Sq. would be a cool place to meet.

Hi Tony, Great to have in you here. Ok, thanks for the recommendation, i'll look into it. and just to let everyone know, we can plan this meet for january if that ok with everyone. december is a busy month and all the xmas parties and events at the office are quite a time stealer. Would some time in the 3rd week of January sounds nice to some of you? and again thanks for making this happen! Cheers

Hey Cesar. Thats sounds great. We have been doing a similar thing with Boston Indie Mafia since last June. Please let us know if we can be of assistance https://www.facebook.com/BostonIndieMafia

Thanks Joseph, i guess i haven't thought that far ahead to the point of forming an activate community, but my intentions are more just to meet new people, collaborate and continue building everyones careers via networking and collaboration. any help from you guys would be greatly appreciated. when we have the date of our meeting more concrete and the location, it would be great if you could promote the event in your Facebook community page. thanks!

Anytime. feel free to connect with us on twitter @bosindiemafia, fb or email me directly at joseph@rockfightfilms.com We would be glad to help

FYI: our next event is Sat 1/17 in Somerville.

awesome, i'll check it out. if you wouldn't mind emailing me directly with the location that would be splendid. csuarez@sonicframeproductions.com

Ill get to this tonight.

Hey Cesar, 3rd week in January sounds good to me. Just a thought to keep in mind when you pick a meeting place is parking availability as I'm sure many of us live in the Boston burbs and some sections of Boston are more difficult than others for parking. I went to a couple of networking events, one was held at Kings in Burlington and one at Kings in Lynnfield, one was held on a Wednesday evening and one on a Thursday evening. Plenty of parking, nice bar, good food, everyone paid there own way and some people even got together and bowled a few strings of bowling. Made some great connections and it was a lot of fun as well. I know there is another networking event that I go to that is affiliated with the UR Business Network that is a good networking event that is going to be held at The Vault which is in the financial district of Boston, not sure about the time but it's usually 6 pm to 9 pm and there's usually a good amount of on street meter parking and most of the parking garages are reasonable in the evening, about $8 to $9 for the evening. I'll let everyone know more about this one as soon as I get more information. Joseph, would like to know more about your networking community.

well as far as a location, i would like to keep it in a reachable area via the T, because i for one don't have a car and i don't know how many people share my same situation. but i do know that in Harvard Sq there are some parking lots if we decide to do it that location that was recommended to me. i'll take everything into consideration when choosing the location. but my main goal is to keep in Boston or very close to it.

3rd week in Jan. sounds good to me. and so does Harvard Square -- good parking AND T accessibility.

great i'll look into the place and let you all know.

I'm interested! ☺

i am thinking Friday night or Saturday? but it would be great if you could make the drive down Lynn, the more the merrier.

The third weekend in January's a holiday weekend. I think we might have better attendance if we stick to mid-week. Plus, it will be easier to find a place.

Plus, looks like the Boston Indie Mafia event is Sat., 1/17. We should space things out a little.

yeah you are right Shari, well we can do it 2 week later from the BIM event. but i am not sure about weekdays because of peoples day jobs, but if everyone is fine with doing it on a weekday instead, i can take a day off from work with out a problem. I just want to get a feel for what's better for everyone, Maybe thursday January 30th? that give us 2 week after the BIM even and it's on a weekday?

That's fine with me.

Cesar, let us know when you finalize the details and we can post the info for you

I'm in, Thursday the 30th would be good.

FWIW, I won't be able to make a Thursday night since I teach those evenings. But, don't let that change anything. You all meet when you can! And, if I don't make it, I'd still like to follow up online with you all. :)

Jan. 30th is actually a Fri., and I'm sorry to say that I'm also unavailable on Thurs. the 29th. If it's what works for everyone else, then don't worry about me - I'll catch the next one :) But if there's wiggle room, how about the following week? On a Wed., so Steve can come? Feb. 4th?

Actually, that Wednesday would be better, I forgot I have class that day.

I'm in Brookline! Would love to meet fellow industry folk here in Boston!

Hey all, so thanks to everyone's feedback regarding a date, it looks like February 4th which is a Wednesday would be the date! I'll look into a place in Harvard Sq. And also welcome CK Steefel and I am glad for you to join us. I'll keep everyone updated regarding the exact location and time. Cheers.

Thanks, Cesar! :)

Thanks! Looking forward!

I would love to come, I'm usually in between Allston and Hopkinton, MA location wise and would love to meet other creatives in the Boston area!

Let's do this brotha :-)

Allison, you are more than welcome! I am location in Allston, MA so that's good to know that you are near by. I will make an official announcement as to the exact time and date (which it might very well be Wed, Feb 4th) and the location. stay tunned! and to all of you have a Happy Holidays! i'll going to Russia for xmas and new years break! so stay warm guys! cheers!

Safe travels to Russia, Cesar!

Thanks CK! ; )

Greetings, everyone. I'd love to be a part of this meet up! I'm in Cambridge, so Harvard Square would be wonderful. The Hong Kong would be a good place to meet up, as well as the basement of Tasty Burger. I don't know if anyone's been, but its a nice beer bar with the full upstairs menu and a great place to talk.

Both sound great to me! :)

Hi Rebecca and welcome, thanks for taking part of this event. would love to have you join us. I'll be checking both locations out in january, but since you have been in both places, how big is hong kong?

a lounge would be ideal, instead of a restaurant by the way.

I've only been to the Hong Kong for comedy shows so I'm not sure what it's like upstairs on a normal night in terms of setup and volume, but it's a nice big space. I'll let you know if I think of anything else!

There's also The Cellar, right before Harvard Sq. on Mass. Ave. It's a cozy little place.

Big fan of their burger!

Yes! Their food is great.

And, their garlic fries, forgot about those, lol!

garlic fries...okay, i'm sold!

BTW, as my wife tells me, if one of us has garlic, we ALL have to have garlic ...

BTW, should we have an agenda? Maybe something along the lines of: Introductions (Who are you and what can you do?) Quick Pitches (What are you working on?) Group Discussions (What can we do together?) Wrap Up (What's next?) Also, I plan to bring my spouse along. It will be great for her to see that Stage32 is real dreams and real people. :)

Great idea Steve, well i was thinking depending on the place we choose and the atmosphere, we have to see if we are going to have a chance to formalize this gathering. if its more of a lounge place then hopefully music is not too loud or if its a restaurant that would be tough. i think making an initial announcement and just let every one start to mingle and network was my first thought, but if we want to really get it organized i can arrange for some stage 32 name stickers or at least like you said have some sort of introduction and then we can have some sort of speed date type thing but with networking? i am just throwing ideas out there. of course, if we rented a venue that would be ideal but i don't think that's the idea you know. maybe as a group discussion we can all talk about what we can do locally in Boston and how to expand our network and bring more of LA/NY/Seattle(video game) market over here. well at least let's get the ball rolling on some ideas rolling.

I see the date, February 4th but is there a time/location as of yet?

Hey Cesar; justr a reminder to let us know when you finalize the details and we can post the info for you

ok everyone! after taking in all the feedback and looking at all the options this is the outcome. Our first Boston Stage 32 meet up will be on Wed Feb 4th @ The Hong Kong in Cambridge at 8 PM. I will make a nice Stage 32 sign so we know where we are going to meet within the restaurant and of course so you can recognize me! lol As far as getting an agenda, unless everyone is alright with just winging it and let people get some drinks and just chat and network, we can try to do what Steve suggested and have some sort of structure for the night? let me know what you guys think.

I second the motion! :)

Hi everyone! Cesar, I'm so impressed with your organizational skills! Unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to make this meet-up! I'm disappointed, but I'm actually going to be in Florida on vacation during that time! I hope you all enjoy a wonderful night, and hopefully I'll be able to catch you at the next meet-up!

Hello everyone, It pains to have to let you all know that i have to make a emergency trip to my native country of Ecuador due to my fathers pending risky life threatening surgery. I will be leaving the country on Feb 1st and that means that i won't be able to host the event. But by no means does the event need to be cancelled. i believe the meet up should still be held on the date agreed upon and it would make me extremely happy to know that all you amazing people got your networking on! if someone would like to take lead in hosting the event it would be wonderful. Again i apologize for this last minute change but you all know how things like this go, completely unexpected events. Thank you in advance for your support during this tough time and hopefully someone could share/post pictures if you all agree in continuing the event. Thanks guys and hopefully i'll meet you all for the next one., Cheers!

ok, so i have spoken to Joshua Cohen, He's my business partner and co-composer over at Sonicframe Productions and he will lead the hosting of the event. So the event will still be happening people. Have fun guys!

Hey Everyone, that's right, since Cesar is going to be out of town I will be taking over hosting duties. I'm very excited for this event, and am really looking forward to meeting all of you :-) It's our hope that wonderful collaborations will come out of this, and future meetups. Cesar, our prayers go out to your father.

Thank you Joshua for taking over and sending prayers to your father, Cesar.

Thanks CK for your prayers! ; ) Cheers

Hi Larry, Yes the meet up is still happening. the address is 1238 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138. hope you can make it. Good luck!

Looking forward to meeting everyone this Wednesday... Fingers crossed for the weather!

I don't believe I can make it this Wednesday (I just found out about it.) However, do you believe there may be one next month?

Oh no, Cesar, I'm so sorry to hear the news. Sending prayers. We'll just have to plan another meet up soon!

FWIW, they are talking continued grid lock and problems with the T tomorrow. Don't know if I'll be making it in. :(

Not sure I will make it as well. Sigh.

I might not be looking good either. Double sigh. Sounds like Storrow Drive's a disaster... Maybe we need another meet up in spring?

We would love to host the next meet up at our studio. We are busy and looking for writers, production and post help. We are in Framingham but easy to get to from Mass Pike or by commuter rail. Thank you and congrats on a great idea of networking with local talent. www.ravision.net

How did it go?? I'm so bummed I couldn't be there, but I'd love to hear about it...

Last night's meetup was fantastic, thanks so much to everyone who came out. We'll be sure to do another one soon; really looking forwards to meeting many more talented creatives in the area :-) Stay warm!

I missed the last one too. Would love it if there was another plan. Congrats Lynn on your film!

Per invite from Stage32, let's participate in setting up the next meetup. Stage32 requests we start a post for this by Monday, if possible. Here is what I suggest and would happily like feedback from you all before I post. Unless advised otherwise, I would like to post this on Sunday. I anticipate we can make changes after the post, of course. Group Name: Boston32 Group Description: Informal meetup of Boston-area talent interested film making and production. Meetup Title: Stage32 Boston Network Meetup Location Name: Hong Kong Address: 1238 Massachusetts Avenue City: Cambridge, MA Meetup Date: Wednesday, April 8 Meetup Time: 8 PM Meetup Description: Follow up to Cesar Suarez's initial meetup of February 4.

Hey Steve, thanks for following up with the meet up, Yes, i definitely agree with another meeting and that date is good. i was going to do the same once i got that email, but glad someone got on top of that. Also, for those of you that don't know, also dove tailing from what Lynn said, i recommend people to go to the Boston International Film Festival and support our fellow stage32er Lynn on her Film. plenty of networking can be done there as well.

Okay, unless there are objections or other feedback soon, I'll post this soon. :)

Okay, I've posted the meetup. I don't know what happens next. But, we made the deadline as a group. I anticipate further instructions from Stage32 soon.

So, Stage32 has the Boston32 event up. Click on the Meetups icon and search for Boston to find it.

Gack! I was informed recently that I need to substitute teach that night! Rats, rats, rats. But, I will continue to provide support for this event as much as I can.

Thank you for all those that came to our meeting, it was fun meeting new talented fellow filmmakers and collaborators. i think that for the next meeting it will be held on a weekend, it seems like it might be easier for some to attend outside of their hectic weekday schedules. till next time people! cheers!

Hey Lynn, got a ticket for your session, i'll see you there! looking forward to checking out your film and show support to a fellow stage32er! best of luck!

I'm up for a Boston meetup http://mcusiman.tripod.com/biff.html