Stop Drop & Roll press release

For Immediate Release

Stop, Drop & Roll

A screening of short films created by members of

PROfessional ACTors collectIVE

Press Contact:

Don Downie

(917) 687-5650

scenepartners@verizon.net

DESCRIPTION:

On Monday, February 27th, the Brass Monkey Bar in Manhattan’s ultra cool Meatpacking District was transformed into a screening room for some truly unique short films. Stop, Drop, & Roll was a screening of eleven inventive, entertaining, and fun short films, featuring performances by 26 of New York’s most PROACTIVE actors. The films were created on a single day of each calendar month in 2005 (with November off for good behavior), as part of the PROACTIVE Monthly Film program.

The event, sponsored by Newcastle Brown Ale, was attended by over 150 people, packing out the bar and far exceeding the expectations of the producers. Attendees included many actors, filmmakers, and VIP’s from New York’s entertainment industry. Companies that sent representatives to the screening included NBC, CBS, The Weinstein Company, Binder Casting, and Beth Melsky Casting.

Stop, Drop, & Roll was not only the world premiere for each of the shorts, but also represents a convergence of the city’s acting and filmmaking communities. The shorts screened were written, produced, directed, and shot by members of New York’s prestigious PROfessional ACTors collectIVE, as part of an experiment in giving actors creative control over film projects. The actors quite literally called the shots, collaborating with filmmakers who were willing to take direction from actors, instead of vice-versa.

The PROACTIVE Monthly Film program was an initiative of PROfessional ACTors collectIVE, in which the group resolved to shoot a different short film on a single day of each calendar month of 2005. Members pooled resources and contacts to help one another to produce these films.

The goal of the program was to empower and equip member actors to use the tools of low-cost digital filmmaking to create actor-driven projects. The resulting films are unique in that they showcase the actors’ skills in roles of their own creation. In making the shorts, members gained significant filmmaking experience and expanded their contacts into NYC’s vibrant film community.

As a result of the PROACTIVE Monthly Film program, not only were eleven films created, but also three new film production companies were brought into existence, and relationships were forged that have contributed to many other projects.