We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Susan Thornton a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Susan, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
My resilience has been a product of adversity. Growing up in a military family made it difficult to have any long-term childhood relationships or connections, we moved every three years. Constantly having to leave your friends behind and be the new kid on the block was a difficult life for children. But it taught us to pick up the pieces of our displaced lives, brush ourselves off, and keep putting one foot in front of the other.
I credit that early foundation in resilience for getting me through all the difficulties and profound losses I’ve faced in my life. One of the worst came when I was 24, my best friend, my brother, Tim, was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The two-and-a-half year journey was a brutal decline for him and crushing sorrow for the rest of us, as we watched a strong and beautiful young man deteriorate to skin and bones. Tim’s strength and resilience in facing his disease was a powerful example in how we all needed to deal with the inevitable. His fortitude, coupled with the lessons we’d learned as kids, prepared us to endure the unthinkable and move forward with grace and acceptance after Tim’s passing. Those powerful lessons have continued to serve me well throughout my life, each trial has only made me stronger.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
As a writer/director, I spent the bulk of my career in non-profit educational television, producing a variety of different programming, including talk shows, public forums, a news magazine program, and several behind-the-scenes-documentaries. In my job, I had the privilege of telling other people’s stories, and it was incredibly rewarding, especially when the features were about student achievement. I met some amazing kids, who bolstered my faith in humanity and the future.
I currently work as an independent writer/director and during COVID, although there was no work available, I had a unique opportunity that turned out to be a game-changer. A director friend called me with an interesting request after she found out, Governor Hogan, of Maryland, declared a quarantine throughout the state, shutting down non-essential businesses and allowing no more than ten people to gather at a time. She had been directing a group of 20 high school students in a musical for six months, and they were heading into production week, only to find out their opening had to be canceled. She asked if there was anything we could do to bring their performance to family and friends. I drove two hours from PA to watch a rehearsal, and the performers were so good it would have been a crime to just capture the play to an empty house, so I suggested we turn it into a movie. Several parents lobbied the governor and we got a reprieve of six days to make it happen. It was nothing short of a miracle, I bought a Canon Vixia, borrowed a second one, and in six days we turned a two-and-a-half hour musical into a movie. I edited over the winter and by spring, when the quarantine had been lifted, we screened it to a packed house. It was a triumph for the kids, and represented new possibilities for me.
The same question kept coming back to me for the last several years, if I could get that much done, in that short a time frame, why couldn’t I do it with my own writing? Having been the president of the board for two arts organizations, including a musical theatre group, I knew a long list of actors who would want to be involved in a film project, so I started reaching out. Additionally, I contacted film & video production friends who might be interested, and before I knew it, everything fell into place; I’m directing my first feature film, TIME APART, in July of 24. I make the 800 mile round trip from North Carolina to Maryland once a month to rehearse and prepare the actors. Their work is phenomenal, I’m beyond excited to produce this family drama and couldn’t be more grateful to all the artisans who have joined me in this effort. On a micro budget, we’ll produced a two-hour feature film in ten days. I’m finally telling my own story!
I’m also the wife of an incredibly talented writer and musician, mom to three wildly successful kids, and the grandmother of two of the coolest kids you’d ever want to meet, they’re truly magical.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Gaining production knowledge was probably the single most important factor in me becoming a filmmaker. Pre-production, production, and post-production skills are invaluable in the entertainment industry, especially if you’re an independent artist. I gained that knowledge taking production classes at my local public access television station, and usually, the cost is only a minimal fee to cover the insurance needed to handle their equipment.
My BFA from a professional actor training program at Wright State University has been invaluable in helping me become a director. Being an actor first, has given me perspective from both sides of the camera. It’s super helpful when you’re directing someone if you’ve stood in the their shoes. It’s not necessary to get a college education though, the community theatre groups I’ve been involved with have fostered quite a few career actors.
Honing my skills as a writer came from picking up any writing jobs I could get my hands on, everything from blogging for a fence company, to writing medical malpractice stories for a law office. My husband, who’s a career writer, has always told me, if you want to be a good writer, you have to write. In addition to paid work, I created a website that houses short stories, blogs, and poetry. Over the years, I turned my attention to screenplays, and all that writing practice paid off.
Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
My parents changed the course of my life, they recognized where I belonged and put me on the path.
Straight out of high school, I attended Ohio State as an art major; had designs on being a sculptor. Tuition was on me, Mom & Dad took care of rent and groceries. Having a job was a necessity, and the downfall of my matriculation. Being offered an assistant manager’s job, with a sizable jump in income, at 18 years old, readily lured me away from school and into the rat race. From there, I bummed around from job to job, with zero direction in my life.
At 21, while I was home visiting one weekend, my parents sat me down to have a “talk.” They wanted me to go back to college, but they wanted me to do what they had in mind. My curiosity was peaked, to say the least, so I pressed forward. They told me they wanted me to go to school for theatre, and would pay to send me anywhere I wanted to go. Literally, it was as if an incandescent bulb popped on in my head, and the passion for being a storyteller was ignited.
There is no question, I would not be the writer/director I am today without my Mom & Dad.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lasooze.org/427710482
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lasooze/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LaSoozeThornton/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/soozethornton/
- Other: Threads, I’m a Twitter/X refugee. https://www.threads.net/@lasooze
And, my Crowdfundr page: https://crowdfundr.com/72JC29?ref=ab_cCz2v1_ab_4eZkWYYeCRY4eZkWYYeCRY
Image Credits
Laura Wonsala – Read-through Susan Thornton – the rest
