Meet Seanie Sugrue of Locked in the Attic Productions in Silverlake

Today we’d like to introduce you to Seanie Sugrue.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Seanie. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I grew up in Co. Kerry, Ireland, and for as long as I can remember have had an obsession with Irish playwrights. Ireland is a tiny rock west of Europe and the size of Indiana but somehow we have produced a staggering amount of renowned dramatists. I moved to New York City in 2005 to pursue a career in theater. I worked on my first film in 2014 and after directing my first feature in 2018 I decided to move to Los Angeles to focus more on film. Despite that, I’m actually back in New York right now directing a play for the next six weeks. This is the first I have written that is set in Ireland is part of the 1st Irish Theater Festival.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I can’t imagine many artists would say they have had a smooth road. Mine certainly has been the furthest thing from smooth. I suffered from writer’s block for thirteen years, tortured by self-doubt, uncertainty, and the iconic and oftentimes troublesome white blank page. I can’t think of anything more torturous for an artist than having a concept but lacking the discipline and self-worth to execute the idea. I made some life changes in my late twenties that helped me a lot with the creative side but that is just the beginning of a long and challenging road.

Starting out you have to be prepared to work on low budget productions. I think examples of playwright’s first plays going straight to Broadway or screenwriters first scripts being bought by studios are getting rarer by the day. Independent filmmaking is not a glamorous job. It’s hard work, it’s demoralizing and humbling and every day on set you’ll question why the hell you didn’t just get a degree in accounting and live that 9-5 job you once feared and loathed. The feature I directed last year, Misty Button was 125 pages long and we shot the entire film in nine chaotic days. I joke that the shoot took six months off the lives of everyone involved. They say the truth comes out in jest.

As for theater, now that’s the business that will make you go grey real quick. Anxiety, anxiety, anxiety. That’s what I think of when I think of theater. The side effects of producing theater for me is dismal and pathetic anxiety that no strawberry milkshake, sugar binge or hug from a loved one could cure. That said I couldn’t imagine doing anything else with my life.

Locked in the Attic Productions – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
In 2013, I pitched an idea for a screenplay to an old friend of mine, Josh Folan. We had been working at a bar together in NYC called Bar 12 and I’d long admired Josh for his “getting s**t done mentality. Josh had just shot a feature called” All God’s Creatures” and was in the middle of writing a book. He talked to me about the writer’s block which I immediately identified with. I told him about an idea I had for a screenplay and he took notes as I ranted. In the end, he said he loved the idea and wanted to work with me in developing it into a screenplay. I jokingly said at the end “if you ever write it call it based on the unwritten story by Seanie Sugrue”. He did. Catch 22, based on the unwritten story by Seanie Sugrue, the film is actually available on Amazon Prime today. It took two years of work to fund it and the shoot was mayhem. I wrote a play during pre-production and by the time the film was in post-production, I had already booked a theater for the play.

I co-founded Locked in the Attic Productions with Amanda Martin and immediately got an old friend Patrick Scherrer involved. Together the three of our have produced two feature films, a music video, short films and mounted seven plays in New York City, all this since our inception in 2015.

I take care of the writing and directing, Amanda is the office manager and she also does all our artwork, whereas Pat is the tech guy and editor. We focus solely on producing dark comedy and never stray away from the darker subject matter.

The two moments that stand our since we started would have to be putting up our first play Black Me Out! and last year shooting Misty Button. Misty went on to screen at a dozen film festivals all over the world last year and has won three awards. It will be released worldwide this March.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
That’s something I ask myself often. How much is enough, how much will be enough? You hear all the time about how people get everything they want, win all the awards and get all the admiration, yet they’re still miserable. I made a deal with myself years ago that as long as I make a living doing what I love then that’s enough. The most successful thing I have done in my career was the day I first shared something I wrote with another human being. That was the beginning of my career.

In December 2018, I released a novel called Cardboard Coffins that is the darkest thing I’ve ever written. The content was so gross that none of the bigger publishing companies would touch it. So the book probably won’t ever make it onto the New York Times Best Sellers List, but I am proud of it and proud of the discipline I had in finishing it. Cardboard Coffins is also available on Amazon, Goodreads, and kindle. Be warned it’s not for the faint of heart.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lockedintheatticproductions.com
• Phone: 9175446244
• Instagram: Seanie Sugrue
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lockedintheatticproductions/

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