Michael T. Starks

Category: Storytelling

  • Working with People

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    One of my talents is leading others. It’s also something I enjoy. I like getting a group of people together to do something amazing. There are two specific contexts that immediately come to mind. I’ve led students in a classroom (mostly teaching physics), and I’ve directed actors in the process of making movies. I LOVE…

  • Mira Nair

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    Mira Nair is another one of my heroes. As a director, she’s made several great movies, unlike any that I’ve seen previously. Here are my favorites. She’s worked with many impressive actors. Denzel Washington gave a rich and tender performance in Mississippi Masala. Marisa Tomei gave a delightful performance in The Perez Family. I look…

  • The Magic of Live Theatre

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    While I love that musicals and plays can be adapted to the screen, live theatre holds a special place in my heart. There is something magical about an audience gathering in person to watch a production in real-time. Happy mistakes and accidents lend an ephemeral quality to live theatre. Each performance is unique. Each audience…

  • Ayn Rand

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    The reason Ayn Rand is one of my heroes has nothing to do with her personal philosophy, Objectivism. While I agree that an objective reality exists, I do not think this implies that we should selfishly act exclusively in our self-interest. My life has taught me otherwise. I like Ayn Rand’s novels because she is…

  • Death Today

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    For most of human history, there were constant reminders that death was coming. Many babies and mothers died during childbirth. Many warriors died during battles. Many people died of disease without much warning. Today, death appears less frequently in our lives. Our great grandparents die of old age. We can survive more diseases more often.…

  • Online Courses

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    I love to learn! When I let myself play, I sometimes take online courses. I’ve even produced an online course, Create Your Acting Business. Here are three of my favorite platforms for taking online courses. So many online classes are available now that I think the market is saturated. It’s hard to stand out. Having…

  • Stephen Spielberg

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    I don’t think much needs to be said about Stephen Spielberg, given that his work is so well known. It should come as no surprise that he’s one of my heroes. The Indiana Jones movies impacted me most as I was growing up. While I’m not a huge fan of shark movies, Jaws remains a…

  • Counting Crows

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    My sister got me interested in Counting Crows. While I don’t know much about the band, I still love their debut album, August and Everything After, which includes the following songs. One day last week, I found myself thinking about them, so I listened to each of these songs again. I also listened to a…

  • Small Change?

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    Conceptually, it seemed like a small change. Just move several scenes around in a screenplay to improve the overall structure. It wasn’t a small change. When I moved the scenes, parts of the story began to unravel. I started a ripple effect. Ideas that made sense with the original ordering suddenly became clouded. Characters no…

  • An Overheard Conversation

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    While picking up our dinner from a nice restaurant, I overheard a conversation between two women, Jan and Vera (made-up names), probably in their fifties. I’m not inclined to believe the story Jan was telling. It went something like this. She had been married and divorced a few times. Jan was currently single. She wanted…