Derek A Howie: Business development/sales in Parrish, Florida.

I understand everyone in Hollywood has a screenplay to sell, but I lived in Indianapolis most of my life and just recently moved to the Tampa, Florida area. I never in my wildest dreams thought I would be writing screenplays, or enjoy doing such a thing.

I have a friend from high school who lives in LA and told me I had to connect with a guy in LA she was following on Facebook. She mentioned we were two peas in a pod and we had to connect because of our videos we had posted, that were only meant for fun and allowed us to express our inner weirdness and desire for joy in this world that can often lack it. He happened to be the son of a huge Hollywood star and I found his life fascinating and his personality to be joyfully contagious. We connected and next thing I know he is telling me I can act and I need to fly out to see him in LA. We used our 3 days enjoying each other's company and learning about how we have dealt with struggle and joy in our lives more than any acting that took place. The anthropologist and creative in me came out and I asked if I could write a movie about him being the son of his famous Dad. He said, "yes." I asked him if I should do a lot of research or if I should let it flow. He said, "let it flow."

That is how my screenplay writing began and we have become good friends, texting and calling each other regularly. I have completed two screenplays, which are currently in the Stage 32 contest, and I have notes on 4 more. If nothing comes of this as a career, I have found a hobby I enjoy. I wish all of you creatives the best.

Hello! I just relocated to New Orleans - after 20 years in NYC. Looking to create meaningful work relationships down here and with those wanting to do business here. NOLA has a thriving music industry along with an ever growing film industry (tax credits!). I have a wealth of knowledge and contacts in publicity, music, and film...both from NYC and LA. Cheers, Derek Scott Graves

Hi Derek. I'm RB, Founder and CEO of Stage 32. As a screenwriter, producer, actor and filmmaker, I know first-hand the challenges all creatives face finding work, landing representation, launching projects, securing funding and simply making the connections that will make a difference in their careers. That's why I created Stage 32. Since our launch in September of 2011, the community has grown to 1,000,000+ members representing every country on the planet making Stage 32 the social network uniquely populated with the most creative people on Earth.

This is a network for you, built by you. Like most things in life, the more you participate, the greater the rewards. We ask all new members to pay it forward by inviting 5 fellow creatives to the network and by spreading the word of Stage 32 through other social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. The more creatives, the stronger the network. The stronger the network, the more opportunities.

Thanks for joining the movement and for being a part of this most talented and inspiring community. I very much look forward to your contributions.

Thanks, and have a creative day!

RB

Helpful information:

• To send invites to your fellow creatives, please click here.
• For any questions on how to utilize the site, please check our HELP and GETTING STARTED sections.
• Also, I host a FREE webinar every month where I go over site features and answer user questions. You can view them here.

Please take a moment to follow and like our other social media accounts.

• My personal Twitter account - @rbwalksintoabar
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Hello Derek -

Welcome to the community! I'm Amanda Toney, the Managing Director at Stage 32. Since 2013 I've been proud to oversee Stage 32's Next Level Education, which provides you the most up-to-date tools necessary to become a better creative.

Over the years Stage 32 has worked with over 500 industry executives and professionals to teach online webinars, classes and intensive labs exclusively for you - our Stage 32 community. We bring you instructors who have worked directly on some of your favorite films, TV shows or theater productions to teach you in-the-trenches information that you won't find anywhere else on producing, directing, financing, writing, packaging, acting and more.

Our Next Level Education has a 97% satisfaction rate and averages 4.5 out of 5 stars. Plus, we've had the honor to be called "LinkedIn meets Lynda.com for film, television and theater creatives" by Forbes Magazine.

I encourage you to take the next step to continue learning and expanding your career by clicking here, or clicking "education" on your top menu bar.

I'm grateful you've joined the Stage 32 community. Please let me know if you have any questions!

Amanda