The scene:  3 children sit in a classroom by themselves as their classmates exit.  It is the last day of school.  Grade 3 is done, onto grade 4.  But not for these 3 lonely children.   They do not know what is going on and why they are being held back, until the teacher takes them aside, together.  They are told that they will not be advancing to grade 4 and would have to repeat grade 3.  Tears are shed as the sobbing 3 wander aimlessly in the elementary school halls.  Life seems not so fair at the time.

One of those children was me.  The ironic thing about this scene is one of the main reasons I failed grade 3 was because of my reading and…wait for it….writing.  That’s right – the writer failed grade 3.  His grammar and spelling was atrocious (truth be told, he still struggles with it).    It was during this time (and slightly before) that I was making super 8 silent films with my brothers.  I always loved to act – perform in front of a camera or on the stage.  And I started to take a liking to writing stories.  When I eventually passed and went onto grade 4, I began writing more and more stories, which lead to church plays. By the time grade 8 arrived, my sister and I were voted valedictorians (yes, that’s right, we both got the same number of votes as chosen by our classmates).   Not bad for the kid who failed grade 3.

Writing became more of a passion throughout my high school days and every summer break I would write 2 plays, and then decide which one I would perform in the Ontario Drama Sears Festivals.  In grade 10, my play A Wasted Life was chosen as best play and I won most promising student while my sister picked up a best actress prize.

In grade 12, this grade 3 failure was awarded top marks in his graduating class (thanks, in part, to my high marks in music and drama).  It was onto York University(with a scholarship to boot) and this is when screenwriting became a passion.  Since my graduation from York until this day, I have written some odd 20 screenplays.   I say this only to make the point, that failure is not such a bad and dreaded thing.  It taught me to work harder, and that achievement was possible if one applied themselves.  Writing, like school work, was never easy for me.  Learning was hard work, never a natural thing for me.    So don’t let any failure define you but instead, face it square on.  I had to way back in grade 3…I still am today.

People always ask me if any of my feature film scripts have been made into films.  The short answer to that is, No.  Writing and making a career out of it is a tricky business.  I’m still learning and believe my day is coming.  Belief is an important thing.  Sometimes it is just as important as recognizing and embracing your failures.

Come see my latest endeavour, “a success in the making”.  I am working with a bunch of people I am proud to know.   Children of Light plays Dec 8 & 9.  Check out the trailer for the production here.