Today we’d like to introduce you to Billy Watson
Hi Billy, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
“When I was a teenager, I sought out artists to spend time with and found that growing up in Denver, CO, offered a wealth of opportunities to do it. I took every art class I could, learning everything from painting, pottery, and stained glass to writing. I found myself spending the afternoon with Jean-Michel Basquiat at the photography studio of Mark Sink and meeting Robert Mapplethorpe, Hunter S. Thompson, William S. Burroughs, and Allen Ginsberg. While hanging out with Allen and William, I got some invaluable writing advice from Burroughs: ‘If you want to be a writer, you need some life experience. If you want to know what it’s like to be a truck driver, get a job truck driving, do weird and strange jobs, find out what makes people tick, and hear it from their own mouths. At thirty, you’ll have something to write about.’
Upon hearing that, I got my work permit and worked a myriad of part-time, temporary, and interesting gigs. I got my first taste of Hollywood meeting Robert Benevides, who got me a job running set orders for the Perry Mason TV movie filming in Denver. Meeting them was also my first time around a long-term gay couple. The normalcy and affection they had for each other were a great example of what kind of future I could have outside of the mayhem of what the community was experiencing during the AIDS crisis.
Other jobs, odd as they were, included working as an organ donation screener, a truck driver for an ice house, and a translator for a hospital that had a maximum-security ward. That continues to this day—I gig work around Hollywood to get a feel for people and the endless resilience and unbound love for Los Angeles.
I’ve always believed that storytelling is about transformation—not just for the audience, but for the storyteller. We’ve had an unbelievable shift in the way stories are told—from film and television to YouTube web series and TikTok episodic novellas. Scripted podcasts have revived old radio shows for the digital age, and the fine arts have also moved into social media, virtual reality, and augmented reality. I’ve been currently exploring how artists are creating movements through core sub-genres and establishing their own schools, like Warhol’s Factory, such as City Reliquary in Brooklyn and Jr High School in Los Angeles,” begins Bill Lee Watson, a multi-hyphenate talent whose journey through the entertainment industry has been in tandem with these extraordinary changes.
Starting in acting and set design at the Arvada Center for the Performing Arts, Watson’s path took an unexpected turn when he moved to NYC, only to return to Colorado to refine his craft at the Colorado Film School. Armed with new skills in visual effects, digital production, and post-production, and a hunger for opportunity, he made the leap to Los Angeles.
“Those early days in LA were a crash course in everything from directing to surviving commercial shoots,” Watson recalls with a grin. This versatility led him to DME Dalaklis, McKeown Entertainment, where he assisted Theresa McKeown, an executive producer, as well as Bob Asher, the Executive in Charge of Production, who at that time oversaw 30+ shows in production. His ability to adapt quickly opened doors at EARS XXI Studios with Christopher Coppola, where he spearheaded the digital arts and film festival PAH-FEST (Project Accessible Hollywood), blending marketing savvy with a flair for production. Bill also consulted and worked with Sheila Mitchell, the producer of various projects for fine artist Richard Grossman, on Carillon and other projects.
Watson’s career took a detour into the adrenaline-fueled world of reality TV, story and series producing celebrity reality and competition dating shows for major networks. “Reality TV was a whirlwind,” he admits. “I started as the first Web Producer for NBC/Uni on Tori Spelling’s reality series, and the laundry list of multi-platform deliverables was insane! Reality TV was truly unreal, but I have to admit, it was the best training ground for mastering story structure and human drama on the fly.” Continuing to work in reality TV developing his own show and consulting, He swiftly moved from Story Producer to Series Producer, and started his own company consulting on the development of reality series while managing Eric Raptosh Photography in Venice beach this led him to then floated from desk to desk at Universal Pictures in the story and marketing departments.
“It was an invaluable peek behind the curtain at how the film industry had changed since my first gig at Miramax. Filmmaking still had the excitement of working with the best-in-class talent, but the decision-making had been spread out to the point that marketing and shareholder influence were there to dilute risk, and everything seemed to pivot solely to reboot trilogies and adaptations.” A family emergency prompted a pause and a reevaluation. “I realized I wanted to workshop a concept on stage,” he says. “When I returned to LA, that’s exactly what I did.”
I started out my theatre career by volunteering with WordTheatre under the direction of the brilliant Cedering Fox. I also participated in their annual writers’ retreat in Edale, hosted by producer and actress Kirsty Peart. Being able to work with some of the world’s best writers was an invaluable opportunity. Those experiences grew into co-producing a number of productions with WordTheatre in Los Angeles, most notably In the Cosmos at the Ford Amphitheater and The John Edgar Wideman Experience. While with them, I was able to work with their program WordTheatre in the Schools, which presented performed readings of literature with extraordinary actors like J.K. Simmons, Emma Hamilton, and Harriet Walter.
On a lark, I took two classes on puppeteering and building with Roberto Ferreira and then built and performed my first puppet in the web series The Pembrook Brothers, created by Anna Garcia and Gabrielle DeCaro. The Los Angeles puppeteer community is wonderful! I attended and joined the LA Guild of Puppetry and got a chance to see some of their showcases, which inspired me to return to live storytelling and the creation of Plan P Live, a company that brought the Creature Feature Series—a musical puppet show—to life.
The series, featuring screenings of old B-movies, debuted Plan P From Outer Space, a live puppet commentary with songs that played while the puppet cast hashed out their time on the films. Plan P from Outer Space debuted to sold-out audiences at the California Institute of Abnormal Arts and later kicked off Attack of the Giant Leeches at The Complex Theatre in Hollywood. Despite the pandemic putting the series on hold and shelving Knight of the Living Dead, the pilot, Monster Video, created by Bill and Adam Pineless, who also wrote the songs and music, remains very much alive, with plans to expand it into a staged musical in the future.”The pandemic pause, like most artists, gave Bill some time to focus on writing. I wrote two pilots which I submitted to various contests. Wild Forensics, a wild life forensics show I co-wrote with Emma Hamilton and Lila, a Venice Beach psychic comedy both making semi-finalist in various screenplay competitions and Wild Forensics making top 10.
His latest venture, Praxis Craft, co-founded with Artistic Director and producer Anelia Coveleski, is a testament to his commitment to elevating new voices. Their bi-annual 10-minute play competition, Love LA, has quickly become a staple in the local theater scene.
“We’re thrilled to have had our first Award Show at The Actors Company and present the winner Lauren Holiday for her play Cougar Town, a love letter to Hollywood’s Cat P-22. Our amazing director Gabriel Romero staged the performance and directed our readings. We are grateful to have had such an exciting cast and crew and are looking forward to new submissions,” Watson shares enthusiastically.
Looking ahead, Praxis Craft is kicking off production on a documentary exploring the fine arts in the digital age and is in talks to partner with actor, director Billy Kay on a series of film and television projects. “It’s about finding new ways to tell timeless stories,” Watson reflects. “The medium may change, but the heart of storytelling remains the same.”
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Obstacles and challenges are many in Hollywood. I left DME because things weren’t happening quick enough and landing at assistant job for Christopher Coppola seemed like a fast track to a dream after he put me in charge of PAH fest and crowned me Director of Marketing and Development. Needless to say I was out of my depth. I knew lots about reality television production but this was film and scripted television. The call that may have ended it all was one that preceded IMDB. A famous producer and writer was on the phone for a general call and I was running in after lunch to pick up the phone, my assistant sounding all the alarms that he was on the line. I picked up greeted him and my first question after pleasantries was, “So what have you done lately?” The response was a dial tone and rightfully so, it was Dick Wolf. The moral of the story is pace yourself and be prepared to know everything about everyone on all calls, meetings and lunches.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Creative work is hard to stay in when you’re good at wrangling the circus. If you find yourself producing more than creating, you should always keep your hand in personal artistic and creative practice, even if it’s just painting a portrait annually.. It’s always a better read of who you are and where you’re at outside of accolades and milestones.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
The most important thing I’ve learned in all of these years is that never let anyone define or diminish your creative work. You’re the artist, say what you’ve got to say and move on. It also helped me to categorize the people in my life in Los Angeles. Friends, colleagues and fans. If you’re friends with someone in entertainment sometimes they’re not a fan of your work and that’s okay. Don’t ruin a friendship by throwing your work in their face constantly, especially if it’s not in their wheelhouse. Colleagues are sometimes not friends and have no interest in your personal life or work outside of a collaboration, act accordingly. Fans are people who love and want to support your work. They may not necessarily want to be part of your process or even want to be friends with you personally and we all know it’s good to have fans. Some people in entertainment are one, two, or even three of these but don’t confuse them.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.praxiscraft.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovelafest
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2393229/
Image Credits
Bill Watson Portrait Jeff Fazano, Love, LA show @picsby.jaypeg
