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A Day in the Life of Maya Jax
by Maya Jax
During the week, I wake up at 6am, eat three bowls of Cheerios, shower to my morning Broadway musical mix and squeeze two or three of hours of writing in before and after my ‘day job’, then on some weekends, I head to LA to pitch yet another screenplay.
I always schedule pitches in the morning, because if I had to survive a whole day with the anticipation, I wouldn’t be able to function by the time I actually sat down in front of the studio rep. And before leaving the hotel, I spend a little extra time getting ready. If I’m going down in flames, I at least want to know that I looked decent in the process.
A pitch fest is kind of like corralling cattle before slaughter. We’re fenced off into little groups and shoved into a series of waiting areas, moving forward once the group ahead is finished. By the time you get to the front, you can see all the young studio reps sitting at tables in an arena like space, waiting in exhausted boredom.
The bell rings signaling my turn. I sit down at the table, introduce myself and for five minutes try to convince them that Hollywood would be a much better place if they would just let me in. As I speak, I try not to be distracted by their facial expressions. Some are engaged (which makes the pitch a fun process), others look like they’ve fallen asleep with their eyes open. Moving from one rep to the next, I do as many pitches as my body can handle before my fatigue and wavering self-confidence start to show.
When it’s over, I drag myself back to my hotel room, call my mom and ask her to talk about anything but Hollywood. Then I spend a few hours in my room absorbing the quiet and regrouping, until dinner when meet I friend to celebrate my day.
You rarely hear stories of people selling a script through pitch fests, but the experience is invaluable, so I continue to put myself through them. And they’ve made for some great material for my book!
You can read more about Maya at www.mayajax.com.
