Daily Inspiration: Meet Leah Welch

Today we’d like to introduce you to Leah Welch.

Hi Leah, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I started as a poet, but really you want the story, so here’s the story. I was on a film set in Pittsburgh back in 2009 and the stunt guy there invited everyone down to train with him. I was the only one who said yes. So, with $200 in my pocket I loaded up my Honda Civic and drove down to Galax, Virginia. I lived with him and his family and trained stunts, karate, and worked out for the better part of a year. Then I went back home to help my family and got in a massive car accident (broken knees, neck, etc.) that left me non-weight bearing for a year. I thought, if I can’t lift anything–so can’t work–but my mind is sharp and so is my focus, then I’ll go back to school. So, I applied and got into a master’s program in journalism.

I worked as an investigative journalist helping exonerate wrongfully convicted individuals from prison. I knew I wanted to write and had been on film sets and worked as a movie theatre manager and 35mm projectionist but I wasn’t sure how that all tied together until I discovered Ben Hecht. He was a journalist turned screenwriter and I thought, well I like his writing and his life and his style, so I’ll just copy that. Got my MA in journalism then headed to LA to make a claim as a screenwriter. That was almost a decade ago. Since then, I’ve worked hard and it’s paid off because I sold a feature film I wrote and directed to Lionsgate and sold another feature film to a streaming platform. I’m not there yet but I’m climbing, I’m sure a lot of your readers can identify with that.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Whenever you ask this to a creative person the answer is always no; art is never easy. That’s why there’s maxims like “bleeding on the page,” “starving artist,” and just the word hungry that resonates so well with this chosen lifestyle. I think there’s a modicum of doubt that comes from a myriad of places for artists. Your family doubts the dreams you have so you have to fight them to earn their belief in you. Poverty is a big one too; not just money but in time. I sacrificed a lot for my art, I leave parties early so I can write, I say “no” a lot to friends on the phone so I can focus on a new play, a poem, a character in a script whose dialogue I just haven’t quite cracked yet. My parents used to question my choices but after I turned thirty and was still gunning for this “life as an artist in L.A.”, they started to accept me and my goals. If this question is to dig for a more specific answer of some kind, then the best I can give to you and your readers is that ultimately the only person who says no to you, is you. Start saying yes. Just know that yes comes with sacrifice, hard work, and owns your time like a mistress.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I pitch myself like this: I’m a former investigative journalist turned screenwriter. I once helped get a man off of a life sentence in prison now I write screenplays. I used to work for National Geographic in their archive and images department, now I’m a film director. And if that doesn’t pique your curiosity, well, I could go on about training film stunts, studying Muay Thai in Thailand (not that I’m any good at either of these) but let’s focus up. I love that when someone is a director and a writer, the writer part comes first. I’m a writer/director. I focus on indie dramas, thrillers, art house horror, and I recently finished writing a screwball comedy play I’m directing for the Hollywood Fringe Festival this year called Love/Kill (think “The Odd Couple” meets “Young Frankenstein” with a potential female Jewish serial killer). I don’t think I’m known for anything. No one knows me. I’m small time. I don’t even have an agent to complain to about how small time I am. That’s not me being humble, that’s just facts. If I could be known for something, I’d like to be known as being kind. I think in the film industry there’s a lot of error in having a big ego (which is just code for asshole, and no one EVER brags about the size of their asshole), so I just want to work with good people and make art. I hope I get to do that for the rest of my life.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
If you’re debating on whether or not to write that thing you’ve always wanted to write or direct that short film you haven’t gotten around to, nothing is stopping you. You have a phone and you have friends, and if you don’t have friends you have YOU, and your friend are super cheap (it’s the only reason I’m in some of my work because I’m cheap). Pick up your phone and do it. If you can’t write, listen to John August and Craig Mazin’s, Scriptnotes podcast (I didn’t go to film school so I leaned on this podcast to help me with learning screenwriting craft, and the most recent episodes are free). If you don’t think you can direct, take a look at your Instagram profile because I guarantee it’s full of photos, and you chose the subject, the angle, the filter, the composition, etc. That’s all you being a director. Also–and I don’t think this is said enough in filmmaking–make mistakes! You’re not going to perfect in anything you do, especially if it’s the first time. Don’t let fear of failure or fear of nailing it the first time stop you from doing what in your gut you know you want to do. If you need help with directing, YouTube has some great channels for that; “Every Frame a Painting” is a good one, Judith Weston’s book “Directing Actors” is a great place to start, Benjamin Percy’s book “Thrill Me” will help you with knowing how to put tension in every scene and delve into character behavior. If you need more advice, I’m on Twitter @leahwelch19

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5511952/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/leahwelch19

Image Credits:
This is just a lot of photos of me on my film sets directing with my lovely cast and talented crew. Films include, “In the Light of the Moon,” “Good Girl,” and “Six Questions”