Today we’d like to introduce you to Sylvia Batey Alcala.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I grew up all over the United States, but Los Angeles is the hometown I never had. My mother is a native Angeleno, and I spent every summer here as a kid. Once I was on my own, it only made sense to settle here, and I’ve been in Los Angeles for a decade now.
My writing career developed as a progression of my acting career. I found that the opportunity cost associated with auditioning did not interest me, so I started writing in order to create roles for myself. In so doing, I discovered a passion for creating original stories, rather than interpreting someone else’s ideas. More importantly, I found that writing provided a means for me to understand the world around me, and hopefully provide new ways of thinking to those who engage with my work.
The first major foray into creating original material was my web series, FAME DOGS. The project is a meditation on the cultural obsession with fame, through the eyes of an awkward millennial. I wrote the primary role for myself with the intention of hiring a director. When I failed to find a female director whose comedy sensibilities aligned with mine (who I could also afford), I decided, “f*** it, I’ll do it.”
Directing FAME DOGS was the most formative experience of my career. The full series premiered in the feature category at the LA Independent Filmmakers Showcase, where it won Best Comedy. The show went live online in December 2016, and in 2017 it won Best Comedy Series and Best Comedy Ensemble at the Indie Series Awards. I also found myself on the 2017 Emmy Nominations ballot for Best Short Form Actress for my portrayal of the lead character, Polly White.
My follow-up, The Spectacular Summer of Weredog and Amy, debuted at Cinequest in 2018. The short film is about a recently-divorced woman whose new dog is a reverse werewolf — every full moon, the dog turns into a man. Like FAME DOGS, I wrote, directed, and acted in the film. It’s played a number of festivals, securing several Best Comedy nominations, and a Best Actor win for an outstanding performance by Eric Aragon.
When I’m not working, I’m happy to spend my spare time in Eagle Rock with my husband and our two dogs, Tesla and Indiana Bones.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I wouldn’t say it’s been a smooth road, but roughness is endemic to independent film. My primary fight is largely borne of what I think of as, “the gap.” When I talk to writers, actors, and filmmakers who have achieved some measure of success, I notice a trend in their experiences: there’s a gap between when they started doing great work, and when others started to notice.
While suspended in the gap, it’s incumbent on us as creators to keep doing great work, irrespective of who’s watching. This is where my primary struggle comes from. While I love writing, and taking projects to the screen, I’m not a professional filmmaker just yet. I’ve maintained full-time employment, mostly in film-adjacent administrative support, throughout each project.
To my mind, until I am working as a full-time creative professional, I am still in the gap. It’s a process everyone on this career path goes through, but the struggle is to maintain patience and drive throughout. So comes the need for the big Why. Why wake up in the middle of the night to write and edit, before going to an office for 12 hours? Why go for another networking drinks rather than going home to crash?
I think any person making a career of the impossible must have a Why as their guiding star. It’s different for everyone. Heck, for me, it’s different day to day. Ultimately, though, it comes down to the type of person I want to be, and the type of impact I hope to leave on the world. I want to be a person who does the work even when no one’s looking, and who builds opportunities for others.
I want to be a person who creates stories that serve as a mirror for those who don’t typically see themselves onscreen. More than anything, though, I look back to my younger self. I was always out of place as a kid and spent a lot of time wondering what was wrong with me. Movies were my refuge. So I want to impact the world by making space for others who have no place to be and see their truest selves, however uncommon and odd they may be.
Hopefully, they’ll then go on to make space for the next generation of weirdos. Failing all that, I hope to give someone a chuckle. But in the meantime, when I look forward to the future I want to achieve, the gap doesn’t seem so bad.
We’d love to hear more about what you do.
As a writer, my signature tends to be a dark comedy. My favorite stories are about funny people in terrible situations. While this shade of storytelling isn’t new, what sets my films apart is the emphasis on female characters. FAME DOGS won the Indie Series Award for Best Comedy Ensemble, for a cast that was 80% women. The exploration of the capacity for darkness and bad behavior in women is absolutely the joy of my work.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
My short film, The Spectacular Summer of Weredog and Amy, is going to premiere online once the festival circuit is complete. The film is a magical realism riff on modern relationships, and I can’t wait to share it with the world.
I also have a feature film in development, an indie sports drama called Suicide Run. It’s the story of a professional distance runner who uses the sport to cope with debilitating mental illness. When she sustains a potentially career-ending injury, she must learn to deal with her demons before they consume her. I’m thrilled to collaborate on this project with director Lorne Hiltser. Lorne won a BAFTA for his AFI thesis, and Suicide Run will be his feature debut. The passion and perspective he brings to this script are extraordinary.
As for the day job, I’ve spent the past few months on the writer’s room support staff of the CW series, Legacies. I’m in love with the show, which of course features a female protagonist with a capacity for some dark stuff. My hope is to stay with this series and move up while maintaining my own projects on the side.
As for change, the biggest one for me is working to have more of a life outside of my career. I’ve always had a passing interest in astrophysics, and I’ve begun studying some of the mathematics required to better engage with the subject — no better place to study space, than the City of Stars itself.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @madebysba
- Facebook: facebook.com/famedogs
- Twitter: @madebysba
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3425029/?ref_=nmawd_awd_nm
Image Credit:
Still Image, The Spectacular Summer of Weredog and Amy, DP Sara Garth , Still Image, FAME DOGS, DP Sara Garth, Indie Series Awards
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