Mark Anthony Smith
Mark Anthony Smith-
After the Storm was an original screenplay that reached the 2012 Academy Nicholl Fellowship Quarterfinals. After the Storm is also based off a short film produced by Caffeine High Productions by the title of The Tragedy of Petey Pompeii. Mark has also produced the first stage production of T.I.T.S. Thanksgiving Is Tradition of Sin-- a farce in Rhyming couplets. The production would also rebooted or reboobed for the 2016 Hollywood Fringe Festival. Mark also wrote and directed The Hip and the Sternum, a 2016 Web Series produced by RoxxiStudios. As a Theater graduate of Cal Poly Pomona, and Screenwriting Master's graduate of CSUN, Mark continues to work on original stage productions and writing screenplays in hopes to make the big screen!
After the Storm was an original screenplay that reached the 2012 Academy Nicholl Fellowship Quarterfinals. After the Storm is also based off a short film produced by Caffeine High Productions by the title of The Tragedy of Petey Pompeii. Mark has also produced the first stage production of T.I.T.S. Thanksgiving Is Tradition of Sin-- a farce in Rhyming couplets. The production would also rebooted or reboobed for the 2016 Hollywood Fringe Festival. Mark also wrote and directed The Hip and the Sternum, a 2016 Web Series produced by RoxxiStudios. As a Theater graduate of Cal Poly Pomona, and Screenwriting Master's graduate of CSUN, Mark continues to work on original stage productions and writing screenplays in hopes to make the big screen!
My life from childhood to artist
My childhood was chaotic! I am a twin, which made things even more challenging. My siblings and I took care of each other and we did the best we could. I tell everyone that Boogie Nights reminds me of my childhood. And that's pretty much where the core of my writing is inspired from. Some how we all survived. And in a way, it's what I write about. Survival! Survival is one thing every hero must try do in just about every good story.. At four years old I was mainly raised by T.V. I watched the greats like Cheech and Chong, Monty Python, and I was the only four year old that can recite Eddie Murphy's Delirious. Yes, I was a four year old who screamed "Mother Fucker!" all the time. Thanks, Eddie. You were my hero! I was held back in Kindergarten. I almost flunked out of high school. I failed every junior college course I showed up to. But eventually things changed.
I started off in Theater at Citrus College. I got my feet wet in my first ever full length production of Thornton Wilder's Classic The Skin of Our Teeth-- Quite the task, but during that exact show I learned that theatre was my new love. And the actors and crew were my new family. I had found my calling and moved onto screenwriting. Taught by Neil Weiss, who always encouraged me to continue writing. The first script I ever wrote, he thrashed. But still was very supportive of me. As a screenwriter I learned not only about structure but also found some of the most inspiring films that would encourage me to challenge my audiences. At Citrus College I wrote my first full length Screenplay The Daniels Family which would later become a One Act play that premiered at the Norm Johnson Little Theater. The play was filled with laugh track sound cues and dirty four letter words that led college student's parents, grandmas and grandpas running out the theater. Junior College was a trying time where I would juggle the arts and being a idiotic twenty something year old. Some days I wanted to write, some days I wanted to sit on my butt, and some days I wanted to get trashed. But after many nights of watching friends battle addiction and demons, I decided to turn away from the negative life style around me and focus on my craft. After failing Math for my last time I would finally transfer to Cal Poly Pomona. Known for Engineering, Architecture and farming. Who knew they had a Theatre Department? Cal Poly is where my artistic voice finally found it's place. I also became an interesting character actor, performing on many main stage shows. I even wrote and directed two original works... Natural Disaster and Columbus Day The Play. |
Cal Poly would also direct me into a new craft. Film making! Now when I was 17 years old I saw the film Boogie Nights. And I knew that Boogie Nights was proof that I could write about my life and make a great film. I was destined to make movies. And Cal Poly allowed me to step into the world of film making. After a few film classes I would write and direct Skittles, Suc It Ivel and Beware! The White Monster! This would also become the creation of Caffeine High Productions. Thanks to a few film making friends and lots of time on my hands, I showed an interesting take on films. I was also given the great privilege of producing and directing a full length feature for my senior thesis. The film- Poison To The Brain.
After graduating with a B.A. in theatre I spent two years struggling to find work. In two years I worked at Applebees', Knotts Barry Farm, Panera, Cutco, ClearWire, Best Buy, BevMo, Target, and even as an assistant Para Legal. Once I decided to apply at Cal State Northridge for a Master's in Screenwriting, things came back into place. This move would save my life! It was here I found a new family, a great teacher in Eric Edson, and I would learn to be a "professional Screenwriter!" I worked my butt off. Went from being a lost cause to a focused screenwriter. Even though I almost didn't graduate for writing jokes about Latin Americans giving great head-- I graduated and I just can't explain how much I learned. My full length screenplay After The Storm, which started at Cal State Northridge made the quarter finals for the Nichols Fellowship. It was in the top 2 percent of 7,500 scripts. This screenplay would change everything. Agents and Producers started contacting me and the rejections would begin! My confidence as a writer would change from then on. 
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My Education
CITRUS COLLEGE is where it all started for me. Even ten years after, I still keep in touch with the students and the staff. I make new friends and re-establish old relationships as well. Cherie Brown, Neil Weiss, and Laurie Woolery broke me out of my shell and changed my life forever. I was never that good at acting or writing when I was here. But it's where it all started. And to this day I still work with the actors who came from the same school as I did.
Cal Poly Pomona is where I finally understood the work it takes to be an actor, writer and director. I did my best to learn everything. Although, I received my B.A. in Theatre, with emphasis in acting, I learned so much about play writing, screenwriting, film production and editing. I hated editing. But, CPP helped me put one foot into film making.
Cal State Northridge is where I took my screenwriting craft to a new level and it all started with Eric Edson, who challenged me every day. I went from one of his worst students, to almost becoming one of his most improved. Every day I got the chance, I went into his office and argued about film with him. CSUN is also where I made a whole new family. The friends I made at CSUN would be the most rewarding part of school. We all went through weight gain, sleepless nights, cussing out Printers, drinking lots of coffee, eating lots of junk food and gaining more weight, drinking at Chilis', and it was the most fun I had.