Ever wonder what it’s like to have a script read in front of the multitudes? Burleigh Smith was kind enough to share some thoughts on the triumphs, the heartbreaks and the feedback forms at PAC.

Burleigh Smith:

Screenplay reading last Wednesday evening went well. Some seventy or eighty people showed. All ages, from early teens to late seventies. Actors did a good job, audience responded well, I was happy. Only a couple of walkouts, including a new film student of mine. Looks like I have the task ahead of me to teach him good taste! And maybe some manners.

Feedback pages were quite positive. Some wanted more violence, others wanted less violence. Some wanted more profanity, others wanted less profanity. A local filmmaker took great delight in tearing the screenplay apart. His criticisms were largely trivial or poorly-considered. I suppose he didn’t appreciate my criticisms of his screenplay, which was read at an earlier Script Lab. Only difference was that my criticisms were tactfully-worded and well-thought out.

I could see some people were unsettled by the descriptions of the bullying. I imagine bullying is something that has affected most. One forty-nine-year-old gave a detailed account on the feedback form of his horrifying experiences at school. Not sure how to feel about this.

I really appreciate the opportunities these PAC Script Labs offer local writers. It’s the chance to get your writing in front of an audience before the trouble and expense of making the film. A big thank you to Annie Murtagh-Monks.

Burleigh Smith.