Today we’d like to introduce you to Stacey K. Black
Stacey K., we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Since I was a child, I’ve been a dreamer and a storyteller. I’ve always loved books. Books, movies, TV, music, poetry, art. But how was I to know that telling stories could be a job? A job that I could do? When I realized that, I chased it. Hard.
I worked on a tv series in Orlando, Florida, as a production assistant, called “The Adventures of Supercuts.” The first time I stepped onto the sound stage, I was hooked.
Knowing that I wanted to be the one to tell the stories, I realized I had to become a writer, director, or both. Somehow in my infinite wisdom, I thought telling stories through hair styling was my path. It is not a path that anyone had taken previously, but you can’t keep a dreamer down. So I became a hairstylist and worked on movies and tv shows for about 17 years before I got my first real job directing television on The Closer, thanks to my mentor Michael M. Robin, James Duff, Kyra Sedgwick, Rick Wallace and Greer Shephard watching my two short films, and giving me the chance.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Transitioning from hair to directing was not smooth sailing. There was a lot of doubt from studios and execs who didn’t understand how I managed to get there. I just had to work doubly hard to prove myself.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
As a director, I have tried not to become pigeon-holed into one genre. I believe that now – 14 years after I began directing – I have managed to build a diverse cv. I shoot action, drama, supernatural, procedurals, and anything else that is thrown at me.
I believe if asked, most of my colleagues and contemporaries would say I’m know for big set pieces, character relationships, and running a positive, friendly, fun set.
Any director who comes from crew first, I believe, has a leg up over someone who first stepped onto a set as a director. We know how the sausage gets made. We know how each crew job affects the others. We know from personal experience how talented and skilled each artist on that floor is. And we automatically have the respect of the crew. I’m still crew. I always will be.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
My favorite childhood memory has to be swimming with my mother in the summer, at Lakeside Beach in Port Huron, Michigan. My hometown. She always wore loads of coconut suntan lotion. Whenever I smell that, it takes me right back.
