Hear ye, hear ye, one and all!

Level 1 is coming! Tuesday night, September 18th, from 7:30-9:30, Willy Gilly will be holding a NEW Acting Anyone Adult Level 1 class!

For all those interested, spaces are limited. Open registration will be tomorrow from 10am to 2pm at the Willy Gilly offices, 222 Greenwich Avenue in Goshen, New York. The registration is for any and all classes and to meet with Mr. Wilson, but we will be starting the Level 1 classes on Tuesday nights.

Level 1 teaches the basic technique of the Meisner Method of acting, and will assist anyone who deals with the public in forwarding their communications skills! Whether you are interested in a career in stage, screen or TV, increasing your retail sales or telecommunications skills, the tools you acquire in the first level will give you an edge, and will positively impact your efforts! If you are a public speaker, running for office, or just interested in dealing with your own personal shyness in a crowd, come and join us to see how you can open greater possibilities in whatever may be your chosen field...and life in general!

For our younger talents, we will be having Youth classes (ages 8-11) on Thursday afternoons from 5 to 6pm. The starting classes will be posted next week...stay tuned! Our young adult classes (ages 12-17) will commence a week from tomorrow; check in with us for your section. Classes run from 10am to 2pm on Saturdays.

Darn the torpedoes...full speed ahead!

Oops! We missed a great opportunity to exhibit at the Orange County Expo yesterday! Held at Anthony's Pier 9 in New Windsor, this year's show seems to have been a gigantic success! Yesterday afternoon, we attended as visitors and enjoyed a number of the booths, including K-Bear, a joint venture of Port Jervis businessman Joe Spina, Carl and Jackie Lentoni, and Chris Scibelli, owner of the Keller Williams franchise in Goshen, where we hold many of our workshops.

K-Bear is a new importer of eucalyptus-oil products that range from industrial cleaners to liniments and lotions. It looks like a really exciting opportunity for people to enjoy the benefits of working with truly organic products! Congratulations, guys! There were several hundred businesses represented at the Expo; we're sorry to say we weren't one of them...but we will be next year! Hats off to the Orange County Chamber of Commerce for putting on a great event!

On another front, things are charging forward on our new reality show, "Chasing G"! Based on a local businessman and his daily workaday life, it will be unlike any other "reality show" you've ever seen...this is one to watch!

Also, we will be attending tomorrow night's opening of "The Drowsy Chaperone" at the Muddy Waters Theatre as guests of producer Bruce Roman! We are looking to use the theatre, after his season ends in November, to stage a brand-new production, to be announced.

In regard to "36 Hours", we are in the process of closing name-above-the-line talent to secure our funding package and begin pre-production ASAP, which could be as early as next month! We are also awaiting word on the finalization of the major funding for the production of six films over the next three years. The work is here, the jobs are coming...stay tuned to this space!

Lights, camera, action 101!

Willy Gilly Productions swings into gear with its production training program! Next Thursday, September 20th from 2:30 to 4:30pm, all those interested in learning about, and training for, behind-the-camera or behind-the-scenes work is invited to come join us! The program will begin with seminar training about the different departments and jobs available within them. Additionally, you will learn the communications skills required to facilitate full participation in this "team" endeavour. The tools that you will acquire can be applied in virtually every walk of life. It is no accident that all major corporations in the US have been studying production paradigms for decades. It is a rare opportunity to gain training in America's number one growth industry!

Beyond the classroom, individuals enrolled in the coursework will be given the opportunity for on-the-job mentoring on a Willy Gilly production! We are currently completing funding for six films, two plays and two reality TV shows...all of which will be open for hiring later this year! The full course is twenty hours of classroom (two hours per week) and twelve hours on the job prior to placement.

For more information about enrollment, contact us at (845) 294-7500 or info@willygilly.com.

The Hudson Valley...really?

No, not really...reality! Willy Gilly Productions and local businessman Gary Corts have come to a preliminary agreement for developing and producing a brand new half-hour reality TV show, centered around Mr. Corts and his enterprise, to be shot entirely in the HV! Although we can't disclose the exact nature of the content at this time, rest assured it will NOT look like any other reality show out there!

Both Mr. Corts and the principals of Willy Gilly share a deep commitment to God and community, so you can count on seeing the truth in reality, perhaps for the first time on TV! The program, called "Chasing G", is in pre-production now; the cameras begin rolling later this month.

In the meantime, plans continue to develop around the production of a slate of films, on a much larger scale. A funding proposal for fifty millions dollars to finish production on six new films is in the hands of an international financing group. Things look very favorable going forward; we anticipate completing principal photography on at least two of these films before the end of the year!

Lou Grant's amazing grace!

Old friend Ed Asner returns to the New York stage this month, along with Paul Rudd, in "Grace", a new comedy about an evangelical who has a vision of a chain of "holy motels"! Sounds like it could be fun! Speaking with Ed yesterday, he expressed his trepidation about returning to Broadway after such a long stint away, but we know from having worked with Ed on "The Bronx Zoo", that he is a consummate professional and an American acting treasure. We are looking forward to getting together with him at the Cort Theatre later this month. Previews begin on the 13th of September...don't miss this one. We certainly won't!

On the "Collar" front, negotiations are underway to finish a soundtrack album. We are looking for a release to coincide with "Collar" the novel, and the re-launch of the film early next month. If you missed the premeire, you'll have a chance to see it again when it goes into broader release in October! Meanwhile, plans are moving ahead to get into production of the new film "Shadow's Serenade". This coming-of-age film is primed for a late fall startup, followed shortly by this winter's production of "A Hustler's Life", scheduled to resume filming early in 2013.

In the midst of all this filming activity, there are plans to set up a revival production of one of David Wilson's early successes. Willy-Gilly is looking for an appropriate venue to stage a revival of the play that launched David's career four decades ago!

Last evening's Acting Anyone workshop was well-attended. We are constantly pleased to find so many talented and committed individuals who step forward to participate in America's number one commodity: entertainment! We were recently told that America has an addiction to entertainment; if that's true, than the rest of the world is addicted, too! Even though recent reports show that summer box office was down four percent from 2011, first-run home viewing and on-line rentals of American film and TV product has jumped once again by double digits. The sky's the limit...America's wants movies, and we're making them!

Willy-Gilly's comin' to town!

Today Willy-Gilly scouted locations in the Middletown Business Improvement District for a potential home for the Acting Anyone Academy. Some locations discussed were the TD Bank Building, Mongomery Ward and the Thompson Building, all of which are under the control of the Middletown Common Council. Willy Gilly has a well-known commitment to bringing more production and media to the local environment. They would also very much like to include the Paramount Theatre sans current management.

Aside from the inept handling of much of the business surrounding the world premiere of "Collar" -- which was a resounding success -- the Paramount management has been derelict in filling the facility with quality events, having used it a total of 32 days so far in 2012. There remains also a major concern over the whereabouts of the alleged state-of-the-art digital projection and sound system, paid for out of the Orange County IDA treasury; it has failed to materialize in the six months since its authorization. (These are your tax dollars not at work, and we want to know why.) To paraphrase the Bard, something stinks in the city of Middletown. Willy-Gilly believes they can do much better in managing and utilizing this historic movie house.

A reminder: Willy Gilly is conducting a FREE workshop at Keller Williams, 2004 Route 17M (corner of South Street) in Goshen from 7:30 to 9pm tomorrow (Thursday). There will be refreshments and all kinds of information about what's coming, and how you can be prepared to take advantage of the opportunities which will abound! Mark our words!

New month, new look!

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