vanlyfe · The Writer's Forge

vanlyfe

Hi there, I’m Elliot (they/them)! I’m a multi-hyphenate writer and actor, and a whole bunch of other busy things. I’ve had a somewhat unique journey as a professional artist, and I wanted to yap a little bit about the adventure of it all.

A few summers ago, I wrote, directed, produced, and starred-in (like I said, very busy) the most- nominated play at the 2024 Hollywood Fringe Festival—vanlyfe. By far, producing my own material was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. And while it opened up a lot of funhouse doors in an external sense (producer meetings, an option agreement, the glory), it was the resulting inner transformation as an artist that has been the most impactful and enduring.

Before I shifted my focus to writing, I was a professional actor for 15 years. This gives me somewhat of an edge, because I habitually understand story through the perspective of an actor playing a role, which has been invaluable to writing characters that feel grounded, spontaneous, and fully-embodied. It also means that I read hundreds and hundreds of scripts before I ever sat down to write one. For these reasons, I cannot recommend acting training enough (that said, beware of cults, but that’s for another thread).

While I did have some success as an actor, I rarely auditioned for characters that I resonated with. This is in part because of my own freaky life experience, but it’s also because I was trying to squeeze myself into pre-made boxes instead of building my own box (or getting outside my own box?). I went out for hundreds and hundreds of projects in the years I was auditioning in LA, but it was when I found my own voice and told the story that made me feel the most alive, with no lust of result or expectation of success, that everything I was chasing for 15 years literally fell into my lap.

The second you decide to step foot in the entertainment industry, everyone dog-piles on you about how impossible it is and how much you have to sacrifice in order to succeed. Which is totally true, but I honestly believe that the secret to good writing is a life well-lived—and no one else has or ever will live your life but you. You don’t have to have lived a batshit crazy life—and I can’t honestly recommend it—you just have to be present enough in your own life to feel the magic. And then sit down and trust yourself to actually write the damn thing.

I cannot stress this enough: write what’s in your heart and your throat and put your shit out there. At the basest level, I now have everything I need to package a project—media, press, proof of concept, impact—but beyond and above that, I feel so much more confident having receieved positive external validation. Which was a huge blow to my ego, who low-key revels in pretending to be too cool to care. After talking to several of my extremely talented yet hopelessly bashful peers, I’m convinced that recieving this kind of validation is a critical step to leveling up as an artist. Feedback is vital when it comes to learning discernment and building resilience, cause no matter how talented you are, you’re going to fail a lot before you succeed.

This is an amazing group, and if you get the opportunity to have your work read (or better yet, read aloud) by other people, take it. It’s ironic that authenticity seems to be the unspoken social currency in arguably the most transactional industry on the planet, but a little vulnerability and a willingness to fail (and fail again, and again, and again) goes a long way. So, get used to doing it scared, because if you’re lucky, the stakes will only get higher.

For those wondering, the first option for vanlyfe fell through due to powers outside of my control, and a good dose of high strangeness. I am currently in the process of finishing up the pitch deck—which I’ll share once it’s complete—and timidly writing query letters and stalking IMDB Pro for comparable producers. I will keep this group updated on any happenings, and I’m psyched to see how much this community has grown since it was started. Thanks for facilitating this space, David!

If anyone has any questions about my experience (or answers, because I have no fucking idea what I’m doing—I just know that I can do it), I’m always happy to chat 🎈

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