Speed Dating...for Writers?
/Some of you may have seen my post on Instagram or Facebook this past week saying that I attended a Writer-Producer Speed Dating event this past Sunday evening.
(If not, make sure to follow me on FB, and follow me @radimichael and the blog @glamorouslifeblog both on the Instagrams!)
This event was insane. In a good way. But insane.
11 producers, 11 trailing producers, 22 writers, 2 sessions each over 2 hours, plus a reception. And that was just the night itself, which doesn’t include the week of intensive preparation of the pitch and accompanying materials!
And throughout the entire week leading up to it - I was scared out of my mind.
I rarely get myself worked up in anxious anticipation of things, but sometimes I cannot control it, and this was one of those times.
“So what the heck was this thing and why was it so daunting?”
Excellent questions, dear reader.
About The Event
The basics of the event itself are described on the TRU (Theater Resources Unlimited) website as:
“ABOUT SPEED DATING. How does it work? 11 writers will arrive at 5:30, and we have three coaches coming who will coach the writers on their presentations. Then at 6:30, they go into the Pitch Room to meet the producers - one at each of the stations. We ring a bell, writers have two minutes to pitch. We ring a second bell, producers have two minutes to respond and ask questions, or give feedback. Writers bring a packet with a synopsis, bio, cast breakdown and production requirements to leave with each of the producers. If the project interests the producer, he may request that you send a full script.”
Subtract the masculine-only pronouns and substitute the bell for a whistle, and the above information is pretty much how it goes.
First we were broken into 3 groups of 3-4 teams to spend an hour in a room with an assigned coach, working on our individual pitches (we’ll get to those soon).
During these sessions, we pitched to the group one at a time and our coach gave us feedback. Then we went around again. And then, we all had to pitch at the same time. Thrice.
Why?
Well, here’s an interesting little flow:
You know what’s hard? Talking about your show.
You what’s harder? Talking about your show succinctly.
You what’s harder than that? Marketing your show succinctly to people who may be able to help you.
And even harder than that? Doing it at the exact same time as 10 other writers, all in the same confined space.
Woof.
And that’s pretty much what the second hour was.
We entered a large room with a circle of tables - 2 producers per table (plus 2 extra chairs for the trailing producers) with chairs directly opposite for the 2 pitching writers. Super close proximity.
At the first whistle, we had 2 minutes to introduce ourselves, give them our materials, and pitch the show. At the second whistle, the producers had 2 minutes to respond, ask questions, show interest, give feedback on the pitch, or say anything else of relevance.
On the third whistle, we rotated.
As anxious as I was leading up to the event, the speed of the pitching room was so intense that - luckily for me - there just wasn’t enough time to continue being nervous. You just…gotta go!
About The Pitch
“So what exactly is this pitch?”
Another excellent question, dear reader!
A pitch can come in all sort of formats, from a 1-2 sentence thematic tagline to a full 5-6 page informational packet. The idea for this event’s pitch was basically an extended version of the classic “elevator pitch.”
“What’s an elevator pitch?”
The idea behind the "elevator pitch” is that - if you happened to get on an elevator with someone to whom you would like to pitch your idea and you only have until the elevator reaches the floor they’re going to - you would have a succinct way to describe the idea of your show (story/product/company/etc.) so that it piques their interest without interrupting their day. So, like in 30 seconds.
For the TRU Pitch, they provided a slightly different format that allows for more information to be given (basically as much as you can squeeze in) within a full 2 minutes.
They break this down into 6 sections:
Attention Grabber
Theme
Synopsis (1-2 sentence max)
Potential Benefits
Recap
Next Steps
Out of respect for the TRU program, I won’t go into details about their specific format here in a public forum - although, my final pitch didn’t really follow this structure anyway.
After trying to write this thing - which was incredibly difficult - we were to get feedback via email with our coach and the other program heads. And that feedback basically began remolding the pitch until it looked nothing like the above format, though it contained much of the same information.
And then of course, the pitch changed again during the in-person coaching session, as well as on the fly during each actual pitch.
By the last few producers of the evening, my pitch had changed so much that it only resembled about 50% of what I had originally written four days earlier. And it still needs some tweaking, but I’ve got a great base to build from!
Why?
“What was the purpose of this event? Why do it at all?”
Well, there were many possible benefits to doing this event, not the least of which was meeting 11 producers and 11 producers-in-training who might have an interest in the show I was pitching.
Other benefits include:
Actually creating a pitch
Feedback on the pitch from many varied people
Getting to practice pitching
Creating supplemental pitch documents to use in the future
Meeting new people: producers, writers, and other creatives
Doing something that scared me
Leaving the comfort zone as a writer
Getting better at a host of skills I will need as a writer and creative moving forward
They told us we should consider it a particularly successful evening if 2 producers ask us to follow up with a script and demos - which means that I had a particularly successful evening!
Next Steps
Was it a tough event to prepare for in a short period of time? Yes.
Was it a tough event to do well at? Heavens, yes.
But it was also a fun and invigorating evening, a highly educational experience, and a possible step in the right direction.
Who knows what exactly will come of it, but I’m glad that I followed my own advice and did the scary thing. It was certainly worth it!
