New hyper-local film and theater newsletter, Script & Screen, covering Minnesota & upper midwest
Delivering local and regional industry content by (digital) pen.
As someone who grew up in theater and remains enamored with the stage as an adult— I am now an aspiring playwright — I have deep respect and appreciation for the beauty of the industry and the artistic expression it allows. Equally, film has been and will always be central to my life and the lives of everyone, whether or not they believe that to be the case. With goals of becoming a filmmaker myself, I’m continuously in awe of artists’ ability to reinvent the art form.
Time spent in and on these crafts can seem like artists are facing an extremely steep, uphill battle with a singular focus—“making it”— that doesn’t include many milestones along the way. What’s more, access to the industries and opportunities within each are believed by some to only truly exist near the coasts.
While those spaces certainly offer great concentrations of industry opportunity, prosperous and fulfilling performance arts opportunities are bountiful right here in my (our) backyard, with every milestone in an artist’s journey celebrated.
ENTER Minnesota, and the surrounding upper midwest United States.
Did you know that Minnesota is now one of the few states to offer production rebates and transferrable tax credits?
Or that the state boasts multiple film festivals ever year?
Were you aware that theater is a staple of Minnesota culture?
Or that there are virtually countless renowned theater programs here and in surrounding states?
Films are being produced, plays are being written, contests are being created, indie projects are being directed, grants are being awarded, acting roles are being landed and performed… right here. In our towns. In our states. In our region!
In this corner of the world, our communities have a special knack for uplifting the arts. The upper midwest is brimming with talent and opportunity, and as someone intimately familiar with the realities described above I know a brighter spotlight on both is needed.
This is why I’m thrilled about the next project I’m embarking on: Script & Screen, a new hyper-local newsletter covering the area’s film and theater industries.
Minnesota-born and currently located, I’m bringing my life experiences, industry appreciations, on-the-ground insights, and learnings from other projects (I was the creator and host of 2018’s Cultivate Curiosity podcast) to this newsletter.
I do have some goals guiding this project that should resonate with anyone who is excited by it:
A one-stop-shop for hyper-local resources, events, and for honing and celebrating the craft of upper midwest film and theater artists alike.
Connection point for artists and local and state opportunities
Showcase the power of performing arts in the lives of local artists, their immediate communities, and the greater world
Illuminate how an artist’s commitment to doing what they love in these fields is a thing to behold itself
If Script & Screen opens— or creates — a door for just one person’s play to hit the stage, or someone’s short to secure funding, or for a reader to take the step to complete that project they’ve had in their Ideas folder for years, then all of this will have been worth it.
I hope you’ll join me, and that you’ll spread the word.
Script & Screen is a media company located in and hyper-focused on all things film and theater in the upper midwest United States, specifically Minnesota, with some coverage of Wisconsin, Iowa, and the Dakotas.
Morgan knocks it out of the park per usual with her beautiful writing style! I loved the point about the industry being so focused on “making it” and missing the milestones. I think that is so true, even in other industries or maybe American culture more broadly, with our abundance of opportunities for gratitude and celebration that we often miss. This first installment also made me reflect fondly on my own experiences with the theater industry in MN - fairy tales at the Old Log Theater with my cousins, To Kill A Mockingbird at the Orpheum with a dear old friend, and plays and musicals at my local high school which were impressive in their own right. MN rocks! I look forward to the next installment of S&S!