After 35 years as a writer, director, producer and teacher, during which time he has run prime time TV series,
non-profit theaters and writing classes, Joe is kicking off the second decade of this latest century by offering private writing consultation sessions for the first time.
This site provides the information you’ll need to determine if working with Joe on the development of your own script would be beneficial to you.It includes a video interview he was asked to do following a weekend seminar with the Write to Act Workshop in Denver that covers related topics of the business, as well as Joe's feelings about writers and writing.
BIO
Joe Cacaci... co-created the CBS prime time series The Trials of Rosie O’Neill, starring Sharon Gless and has been the Executive Producer (Show Runner) of two prime time series, SHOWTIME ‘s The Hoop Life, starring Mykelti Williamson, Dorian Harwood, Dan Lauria and Gregory Hines (Cacaci wrote and directed the final episode, starring Charles Durning, Edward Asner and Roger Robinson) and CBS’ The Education of Max Bickford, starring Richard Dreyfuss and Marcia Gay Harden. He wrote the episodes that brought Eli Wallach and Peter O’Toole to the show. He was an Executive Producer with David Black and Mr. Dreyfuss of Mr. Black’s series Copshop, for PBS, and directed the pilot episode, which starred Mr. Dreyfuss, Blair Brown and Jay Thomas. He has written and produced numerous movies for all the major networks, starring actors like Helen Hunt, Brian Dennehy, Meredith Baxter, Joanna Kerns and Adam Arkin. He directed the indie feature Stranger in My House, that starred Lindsay Crouse, and which now plays repeatedly on LIFETIME.
Joe recently wrote Invisible Men, a screenplay about the Negro Leagues, for Lightworks Pictures and just completed post production as director of the National Lampoon indie feature Snatched, starring Andrew McCarthy, Jonathan Silverman, and Ernest Borginine.
He produced the award winning Boston premiere of David Mamet’s American Buffalo (directed by Tom Bloom, starring Paul Guilfoyle) and was Producing Director of NY’s Provincetown Playhouse, where he co-produced Mr. Mamet’s OBIE winning play Edmond. He was the founding Artistic Director of East Coast Arts where he produced twenty world premiere plays over seven seasons, including work by Shel Silverstein (which Cacaci directed) and Jack Gelber (starring Mandy Patinkin). He was Producing Director of The Playwrights Kitchen Ensemble in Los Angeles (with founding Artistic Director, Dan Lauria), where over 500 new plays were given staged readings in the Monday Night Reading Series. He has directed plays for The NY Shakespeare Festival at The Public Theater (for Joseph Papp), The Westport Playhouse, Coconut Grove Theatre and commercially in NY and LA, starring actors like Joe Silver, Alan Rosenberg, and Harold Gould. He directed the world premiere of Victor Bumbalo'sQuesta, which was produced by David Milch, featuring Wendie Malick, Mr. Harwood and Mr. Lauria. Most recently, he directed and co-produced the world premiere of Against the Rising Sea, by Kelly Masterson (screenwriter of Before the Devil Knows You're Dead) at Queens Theater in the Park. It starred Elizabeth Franz and Patricia Connelly.
Mr. Cacaci’s own plays have been produced at The Public, The Long Wharf and at The Alley Theatre in Houston as well as commercially in NY and LA. His latest play, Keeping Time, featured Larry Bryggman and Joanna Rhinehart in a world premiere workshop this past summer at The Berkshire Playwrights Lab, where Joe is a founding co-Artistic Director with Jim Frangione, Bob Jaffe and Matthew Penn. A new summer theater in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, BPL was created to develop and present new plays by established and emerging writers.
Who are these consulting services for?
They are only for writers who have completed a FINISHED draft of a screenplay, play or TV pilot (hour or half hour, network or cable). Not all applicants will be accepted. A twenty page sample (from the script you want to work on) must be submitted for evaluation.
What will I get from this private consultation?
A meticulous reading of your script and at least four hours of detailed feedback and specific notes. You have six months to revise your script to be entitled to a follow-up read and second full critique session at a substantially discounted rate. These sessions will provide you with one on one, precise criticism and analysis of your work. And hopefully... inspiration. The emphasis will be on clarity. We will concentrate on structure, plotting, character, dialogue and... the thing most writing workshops seem to leave out... how to write a scene. The work WILL be intense and is only for those who are serious about writing and have the time to devote to it.
What won't I get from this consultation?
You won't get Joe’s ideas as to how to rewrite a different script from the one you intended. The purpose of this endeavor is to help you realize the script YOU want to write. All criticism is toward that end, with the intent being to assist you in pulling out the story you want, in a professional and well executed manner.
You also won’t get any sort of "insider tips" or "seven step" process as to how to write a successful script.
These types of claims are merely sales tools and not actually possible. There is no "guaranteed" method of writing a "commercial" piece that will "sell." NO ONE KNOWS HOW TO DO THAT. If they did, they would not be providing writing consultations. They would be retired to a balmy island, sipping cool beverages and collecting copious royalties from all their many commercial blockbusters.
In fact... the work that ultimately sells... is the work that is written with passion and precision... followed by a carefully orchestrated marketing strategy... followed by a lot of luck.
Why should I consider this service over others?
If you look online or anywhere else, you will find that no one with this level of experience is offering anywhere near this kind of personal attention and certainly not for this amount of money.
Speaking of which... what is the cost of this script consultation service?
$1,500.00 for the first read, and $500.00 for the second, provided it is submitted within six months of the first consultation.
So, Joe… why do you charge less than everyone else?
Because making something affordable to people who can benefit from it doesn’t seem like a bad idea.
Joe recently wrote Invisible Men, a screenplay about the Negro Leagues, for Lightworks Pictures and just completed post production as director of the National Lampoon indie feature Snatched, starring Andrew McCarthy, Jonathan Silverman, and Ernest Borginine.