USC Year 2

Last year for me, my first in the MFA program, was a time of new beginnings - returning to school mid-career to try to shift from reality television to writing and directing for scripted tv - and loss. A month before I started at USC, one of my closest friends, Marquette, lost her battle with cancer. We met as directors and filmmakers, so that was a core component of our friendship. She had an MFA from NYU, as well as a law degree from UC Berkeley, and was a professor of film. We encouraged each other in applying for fellowships and grants, and had brainstorming calls to go over all of our various projects and encourage each other on our way. I tried to help her get her feature script off the ground, and in the year before she died, we wrote a pilot together. I wrote her recommendation letters as she was applying for teaching positions; she had a front row seat to my decision to apply to go back to school.  She is on my mind, and over my shoulder watching my progress almost every d...

 USC's fall semester started up this week, and I began my second year in the MFA program in Production, focusing on Writing and Directing. Fight On! * rolls eyes * Last year was so intense that I didn't have a moment to breathe, much less blog about my experience, but here are a few highlights: - My daughter started kindergarten at the same time I entered the MFA program - Although there are a few older students returning to school to try to make a career change, most of the people in my cohort are young enough that I could technically have been their parent. They're all incredibly talented and interesting, but they are having a completely different experience than I am, socializing around the clock, volunteering on films whenever they can, and falling in and out of love with each other at a rapid pace. We screened Mrs. Robinson in one of the group classes, which I felt pret-ty uncomfortable about, not that I have designs on any of these youngsters. Overall, I'm friendl...