Get guided through the process of bringing your own content from page → production → post → platform.
From Chaplin to Issa Rae, the best way to kick off and sustain your acting career is to produce your own work. Don’t wait for the f*cking phone to ring or that special email to parachute into your inbox. Take control of your career and help break your own stereotype by producing your own content.
Class size: Limited to 6 students
Prerequisites: Open to all
Location: Online
$400
*Full payment due upon registration. For a payment plan, look for "Pay in 4" on the PayPal checkout page.
This class is an important bridge for building knowledge on how to move a from development to production!
*Note: You do NOT need to have a finished script before joining this class.
CLASS 1: BRING YOUR PROJECT TO REALITY
In the first class, you’ll talk about what you want to get out of your project. Your foot will constantly be on the pedal, so you’ll want to know exactly why you care about bringing your project to reality. Hone in on your goals and get the lowdown on the pros and cons of festivals.
Stephanie will guide you through breaking down a script in order to create a budget from it as well as creating a timeline for financing. Get tricks for how to work on a limited indie budget and tips on which tools to use for organizing production workflow.
CLASS 2: SOLIDIFY YOUR PITCH & PRE-PRODUCTION
Here’s where you’ll cover the massively important pre-production phase. Stephanie will show you what steps to take so that your project is strong and ready for the shoot dates. Learn what makes an effective logline and tagline. Find out what steps are needed to finance your project, and dive into the responsibilities (and fun!) of hiring your cast and crew.
Stephanie will also illuminate all those tricky things that can catch you off guard:
copyright and protecting your IP,
how to navigate using original artwork/music in productions,
how to rent equipment,
figuring out payroll,
working with union vs. nonunion talent,
and more!
Come away with a clearer understanding of how pre-production should flow to set you up for successful filming days.
CLASS 3: PRODUCTION
The class will focus on how to keep advancing your project forward through production. You’ll see how all the pre-production work is connected to the actual days of shooting. Stephanie will advise you on practical matters like
rehearsals,
how to deal with curveballs (like last-minute cast/crew cancellations),
feeding your team,
how to collect information from cast/crew, asking for donations,
IP law,
storyboarding and thorough shot lists,
on-set safety,
scheduling, and finally,
how you can be fully prepared in actor mode while all of this is swirling around you!
CLASS 4: POST
Post-production! Stephanie will walk the class through everything that’s involved in post workflow. Once you’ve got your footage, now what? Time to make decisions about music, licensing, color, sound design, and final delivery. Learn why hard drives are so important—how many you’ll need, and who will be in charge of them.
Stephanie will cover
creating trailers,
distribution and timing,
NDAs,
how to trust your vision while also managing expectations, and finally,
marketing and social media.
You’ll also get a chance to ask questions, and you’ll leave the last class with a date to shoot your project. (!!!)
Who is this class good for?
Actors who want to take charge of their creative careers!
Actors who have ideas churning in their imaginations or scripts in their computers!
Actors who want something more than waiting for the business to find them!
Want to take control of your career, or help break your own stereotype by producing your own content? Have an idea for a short film, sizzle, presentation, pilot, web series, music video, feature etc. and want to shoot it? If so, this class is designed just for you.
Any actor can join.
Since the class focus is on the nuts & bolts of producing your own work, you do not need to have a script written to join this class. You don’t even need to have an idea! (It will likely start coming to you anyway!) You can learn about producing your own work wherever you are at with your vision of becoming an actor-creator.
Learning about production will guide you into confidence to start writing, continue writing, finish a script, or just hustle into making it!
What you get
Stephanie will discuss the process of producing your own content from page to production to post to platform. Class will include:
Finding the right team/collaborators/crew
Non-union vs. union talent
Protecting your IP
Setting realistic goals
Your endgame
Festivals
Table reads
Managing expectations
Insurance
…and more!
BONUS: Free 30-day membership with Core Access to our Acting Collective!
The Acting Collective welcomes inspired actors seeking a community committed to the journey of being an artist. Actors who register for this class will be invited to enjoy a free 30-day membership of Core Access ($59 value) if you are not already a member. Get added support throughout class! Members get access to weekly group coachings with Heidi, additional opportunities to learn and discuss with Stephanie, community forums, a learning library of video clips and resources, and more.
About Stephanie
Stephanie Little
At seventeen, Philadelphia native Stephanie Little moved to Los Angeles, where she studied at The Groundlings Theater, with Howard Fine, Anthony Meindl, and Lesley Kahn, and then in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art’s summer immersion program. Stephanie currently resides in New York, where she continues to write, produce and direct projects—all of which have all taken her on the busy festival circuit. The web series she created and co-wrote, KILLING THE apologetic GIRL, won Best Pilot at the 2016 Dances with Films Festival in Los Angeles; this was followed up by shooting her indie pilot, THE SMALL, and the web series, OTHER PLANS, starring Tig Nataro and Annette Bening. In 2020, Little’s project COACH VON PIDGEON sold to Funny or Die, where she served as the co-writer, co-EP, show-runner and director for the eight-episode show. Currently, she’s developing FBI-centered content for Anne Beagan Productions, making another round of Oscar-qualifying festivals with her own dark comedic project, TARA MESSENGER OF DEATH, starring Margaret Cho and advancing her US/UK crossover romcom which, most recently, has taken Little to London where’s she’s been pitching at BFI’s PFM.
Stephanie is a powerhouse of talent and has a joyful passion for actors creating their own work…because she IS one. Her contagious enthusiasm and deep empathy creates confidence for any artist who is wondering if they can do it. She listens intently and gives amazing, sage advice. I know this to be true because she has guided ME on several projects that I have created.
Watch
As Mark Duplass so brilliantly points out in this SXSW speech, “The cavalry is NOT coming.”
Conversations with Stephanie
What was a difficult challenge for you as an actor?
Figuring out my “type” but not allowing it to box me in…
What was a crazy or silly moment on set?
When acting alongside Oscar-winning Melissa Leo, and she told me not to listen to the director.
What is the most important quality or skill for an actor in the audition room?
To have fun.
What is the main thing you wish you knew then but that you only understand now?
To have fun.
What frustrates you as an actor in the current climate of filmmaking or of the business at large? How has this affected you directly?
How studios and networks toggle between trends for the sake of “optics” and not what’s best for the project.
What moment or experience as an artist do you feel most proud of?
Screen testing with Robert De Niro and holding my own with him.
Who do you really look up to in your field and why?
Any artist who really “puts the work in” (reading plays/scripts in their downtime, watching projects to grow/learn, keeping up with classes, writing or both etc.)…
We are all a WIP and have to continue to expand our creative horizons.
Why did you choose this class to teach?
I very much align with the “if your ship doesn’t come in, swim out to it”…mentality. While living in Los Angeles, I was in a dues paying film “co-op” group where each of the ten members paid $50 a month so after three months, we’d have $1,500. to shoot a short film (from a script one of us wrote)…it was this creative democracy and we would take turns in production roles – everything from holding the boom, to crafty to directing/producing. After our third film, we actually hired out and over the course of eight or so years, we shot about sixteen short films (thirteen/fourteen of which are unbearable but we GREW)…and soon went on to festivals etc. When I booked my first network role, the studio asked to see tape on me (ANY experience beyond my audition)…all I had were my clips from these self-produced projects and I was Ok’d by ABC. That’s just one of the upsides but this DIY filmmaking for actors is crucial so one can know how sets are run and the value of crew members and their contributions. It’s not easy but it’s opened my world and skillset exponentially and I’d love to share what I’ve learn these last few decades. Plus, it’s fucking fun and rewarding.
I LOVED this class!! Just the whole aspect of “just do it!” will stick with me. I feel so empowered to make my own work and Stephanie was a dream to learn from. The class was clear and gave a wonderful overview of how to produce and she also gave individual attention to our scripts and different processes which of course was so valuable. Stephanie really did go above and beyond and I am just HYPED.
The class really felt like a community and that I believe all came from Stephanie’s energy. We are all going to help out on each other’s projects and have been sharing contacts and connections and it ABSOLUTELY came at the right time for me. I jumped into this class sort of on a whim and it was such a valuable way to spend July. It has shifted what I believed myself capable of and I am so grateful!
I just had to reach out with some news! I wrapped on my first project. I cannot believe it. It’s a 10 min short film that I collaboratively devised with another actor. We grabbed a cinematographer, one other actor, rented equipment and headed to a location upstate NYC for the weekend to shoot.
It would have been un-doable without your class!
We “set a date” after our second conversation, the calendar you shared was one of the most useful tools, we got some of our funding through an IndieGoGo campaign! I won’t waste time listing every other fantastic detail that I picked up from you here, but we have our three hard drives of footage and can’t wait to move on to editing!
2023:
Also – quick update – thanks to your producing class my creative collaborator and I are about a month to two months out from completing post-production on our first ever short film! We’re working on festival submissions now! Eternally grateful to you as always!
This was an amazing class. I was thinking about making a short film for a year, and now because of this class, I have a date set for filming, and have cast all the roles. Stephanie taught me what I needed to know to finally get my short done. She gave so much great advice! I’m so happy to have received examples of contracts and other paper work. That area blocked me from getting started, but she explained all the paper work I needed. She also gave great advice on fundraising, and marketing. She taught how to think outside the box, and be just as creative with producing as acting or directing.
The course was very exciting. The assignments were fascinating and I was filled with energy by engaging with new materials and ideas. Stephanie is so generous both in spirit and with the content she shares. I was amazed how comprehensively she taught us the steps of producing.
Stephanie’s openness to all members of this class (we were all at different levels of experience, with different goals) was most encouraging. She is honest about her own experiences – the wins, the challenges, and lessons she’s learned. I will recommend this course any time I have the opportunity to do so.
It clarified a lot of elements that I had awareness of but didn’t know how to plan for or execute on. Particularly related to crew relationships and IP. And as an actor, Stephanie gave me significant insights as to what I should reasonably expect in negotiation and on set, particularly as it relates to safety. Immensely valuable!
Stephanie is so knowledgeable, passionate and a rockstar in the way she passes on her knowledge to you and supports you. She went above and beyond for all of us!!
Seeing actual pre-production calendars, pitch documents, mood boards gave me ideas for next steps.
… I feel so much more momentum (and I finished my screenplay!) because of the class.
Studio guarantee
Full disclosure — please note that we do not guarantee that actors in these classes or workshops will be hired for any project that we might direct, produce, or cast. We teach and coach because we enjoy supporting and nurturing actors as you develop your personal process for auditioning, working and creating your own work.
At seventeen, Philadelphia native Stephanie Little moved to Los Angeles, where she studied at The Groundlings Theater, with Howard Fine, Anthony Meindl, and Lesley Kahn, and then in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art’s summer immersion program. Stephanie currently resides in New York, where she continues to write, produce and direct projects—all of which have all taken her on the busy festival circuit. The web series she created and co-wrote, KILLING THE apologetic GIRL, won Best Pilot at the 2016 Dances with Films Festival in Los Angeles; this was followed up by shooting her indie pilot, THE SMALL, and the web series, OTHER PLANS, starring Tig Nataro and Annette Bening. In 2020, Little’s project COACH VON PIDGEON sold to Funny or Die, where she served as the co-writer, co-EP, show-runner and director for the eight-episode show. Currently, she’s developing FBI-centered content for Anne Beagan Productions, making another round of Oscar-qualifying festivals with her own dark comedic project, TARA MESSENGER OF DEATH, starring Margaret Cho and advancing her US/UK crossover romcom which, most recently, has taken Little to London where’s she’s been pitching at BFI’s PFM.