Zoom: HOW TO PITCH YOUR PROJECT: 2-Week Online Class with Marilyn R. Atlas, Talent & Literary Manager / Film Producer, Atlas Management

Thursday, May 8, 2025, 7pm ET / 4pm PT

Do you have a project or idea that you want to pitch?

Do you know the difference between a logline, an elevator pitch, a treatment, and a 10–15 minute pitch?

Do you know how to distill the essence of your story into short, sharp, easily digestible bite-size parts?

The pitch is not a tease or a trailer, it is a way of leading your audience through the major beats of the story, with attention paid to how the protagonist changes along the way.

In our new 2 week online class with Marilyn R. Atlas, producer/manager/co-author of "Dating Your Character", you'll learn the importance of adapting your pitch depending on who you're pitching to. You'll also learn how to strike the right balance between brevity, colorful detail, and cliffhanging suspense plus effective buzzwords to use in a pitch. 

Marilyn will work with brave volunteers to tighten and reveal the idiosyncratic narrative thrust of your story… assuming there is one!

You'll learn:

1)    What to include and not include in your pitch

2)    Adapting your pitch to the audience you’re pitching to

3)    Mistakes that writers make when pitching

4)    Understanding the market and projects worthy of pitching

5)    Importance of the hook

6)    Refining your pitch

Don't miss this class!

Testimonials:

"This is just a quick note to express my deep appreciation for all that you brought to your Actors Connection pitch class the previous couple of weeks. It was so informative, fun, and so full of rich advice and information that only someone with your experience and degree of love for this business can bring. You are an absolute joy to be in the room with!"  - John Austin Wiggins

"I want to thank you for teaching the pitch class at Actors Connection this month! I've taken many a class in my time, and in all sincerity, yours was one of the MOST helpful 2 nights I've experienced. Your information, experience, & rigor combined with your generosity are so appreciated. I have been working on Constance Cooks the series for a while now; the structure & feedback you gave me are invaluable & really lit me up! To that end, you gave me the conviction to submit the second-screen experience of our series (the cooking/interview unscripted segment) to the Daytime Emmys for short-form nonfiction. Thank you for the inspiration & for all of the concrete suggestions."
- Constance Zaytoun

"Marilyn, I am so glad I signed up for your pitch class at Actors Connection!  Not only did I gain invaluable insight about pitching (I have pages of notes but the one that really resonated was always start with WHY you're passionate about your project), but now I am more inspired than ever to develop my idea!"
- Rachel Errington

What to Prepare:

Students should bring in at least one pitch idea for a TV show or a feature film. Also, a small paragraph about their protagonist’s wants and what obstacle (people or situations) they will face in their journey.

Please follow the procedures listed below:

• Please update your headshot and fill out the MY INFO section of your AC account upon registration.

• Arrive at least 10 MINUTES before your event is slated to start. Your host will give important information about the event at this time.

• Instructions and the ZOOM link for access to this online event will be emailed to you in advance. If you have not received the link by 12pm (EST) the day-of the event, please reach out to registration@actorsconnection.com at least one hour PRIOR to the start of class.

**No recording of any kind is permitted by participants during class.**

**Please keep in mind that all programs at Actors Connection are for educational and professional development purposes. Participating in any class or event is not a promise of employment.**

Marilyn R. Atlas

Marilyn R. Atlas is a talent and literary manager and award-winning producer. Her clients have appeared in shows such as Star Trek, Fringe, Pretty Little Liars, How to Get Away with Murder, 90210, Revenge, Hart of Dixie, NCIS:LA, True Blood, Dexter, Chuck, Castle, and Criminal Minds. 

She was film producer on Real Women Have Curves for HBO (just optioned for Broadway), which won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival; A Certain Desire, starring Sam Waterston; and Echoes, which won the Gold Award at the Texas International Film Festival. She's currently a producer for The Trouble with Dreamers (in development) with NEO Studios.

In addition to producing a variety of programming for the cable/ pay TV market. In live theater, Marilyn co-produced the West Coast premiere of the musical God Bless You Mr. Rosewater by Ashman and Menken (the writers of Enchanted and Tangled).  She also co-produced the award-winning play “To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday.”

Marilyn herself has been in development on pilots for Showtime and ABC Family. In addition to Marilyn’s film/TV credits, she has sold (first time) novels Chasing the Jaguar to HarperCollins to Hachette Book Ave Maria Bed & Breakfast  to Grand Central Publishing, and the Hungry Woman in Paris, Group, and the Last Ride of Caleb O’Toole  to Sourcebooks.  Her Lifetime movie The Choking Game based on the YA book by Diana Lopez aired in summer 2014.  She is also featured in the book Write Now! from Penguin/Tarcher. She is the co-author of a relationship-based, screenwriting guide called Dating Your Character, about an organic approach to character creation for Stairway Press’s Summer 2016 catalog.