SUSAN KLOS

ALSO ON SITE

1. What is your screenplay about?

VOICES is about a single mother, Rose Hamel, who is caught in a balancing act between her successful business, a new romance, and family life when Zoey, her teenaged daughter, develops increasingly strange behavior that is eventually diagnosed as schizophrenia. Ultimately, Rose must choose between the love of her life or the life of her child.

2. Why did you decide to write this screenplay?

VOICES is inspired by a true story...my story. When my daughter started to develop the symptoms of schizophrenia, my life turned into a frenzy of survival and hard choices. Once the dust settled, I had not only lost my daughter to mental illness, but also the man I loved. Writing this script was cathartic for me and a way to try to understand what happened and why.

3. How long have you been writing screenplays?

VOICES is my first screenplay. I've spent about five years on it, on and off.

4. What is you all-time favorite film? (name only one)

FRIDA. It is a heartfelt love story of a strong and influential woman, beautifully told.

5. What artist in the film industry would you love to work with?

Hugh Laurie in the role of Tom, Rose's love interest. He is very talented; an exceptional actor with a great comic sense and also a musician, with some first hand insight into the world of mental illness. I find him very sexy as well.

6. How many screenplays have you written?

Just this one, but I have two other screenplay ideas I'd like to develop; JUSTIN AND JOE GO TO MEXICO, a coming-of-age story of two rebellious teenaged runaways who take an eventful trip to Mexico, and VIAGRAMAN, a young man's quest to pursue his musical aspirations by financing his cross-country journey with pharmaceutical company sponsorship while playing classical piano in old folk's homes.

7. Ideally, where would you like to be in 5 years?

In a small town, perhaps in a foreign country, where I can be a part of a small, vibrant community and work/help children and people in need. I'd also like to have another script completed, maybe two.

8. Describe your process; do you have a set routine, method for writing?

Obsessive compulsive.

9. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?

Social issues such as mental health, homelessness, children's needs, etc. and trying to do my small part to make the world a better place.

10. What influenced you to enter the WILDsound Script Contest?

The prospect of hearing my words come to life on a stage with talented actors. It makes real what I see in my mind, hear in my brain and feel in my heart. I also crave feedback, good and bad, because this is how I am inspired to improve my script.

11. Any advice or tips you’d like to pass on to other writers?

Tell your story. Put it to the page. Don't worry about the technicalities. There is always time to go back to polish and rework the details, but if there is no story, there is no script. Do not take criticism personally. You cannot learn and grow with the script if you are close-minded. Take risks. It's okay to break the rules.

Susan Klos

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