Who are we?

-LAURA KAMIN- (www.laurakamin.com)

-STEVE O'BRIEN- (www.steveobrienactor.com)

Hi! We're Laura Kamin and Steve O'Brien, the co-writers, co-producers and principal actors of the short film Spilt Milk. Inspired by The Monthly Short Film challenge at The Actor's Green Room in New York City, we decided to put our hat in the ring and write our first short film. Steve and I met back in January of 2015 in Seth Barrish's (Director, Sleepwalk With Me) Scene Study class at The Barrow Group. We developed a fast friendship and bonded over our mutual obsession with Six Feet Under. In August 2016, we participated in our first short film challenge through The Actor's Green Room. Steve wore a million hats (producer, co-director and actor) while I remained in my comfort zone as an actor. We had a lot of fun together and vowed to collaborate more. Cut to: November 2016 when our weekly meetings at Irving Coffee began, outlining and drafting what soon became Spilt Milk*  We've assembled a seriously talented cast and crew to help breathe life into our story and are very excited to share the film with you all!

*Fun fact: we opted for the British version of the idiom since "Spilled Milk" is the title of a book about a battered child. [insert horrified, tear-stained emoji here...]

So what's the inspiration?

Steve and I are impacted most by stories that can't be neatly categorized as "comedy" or "drama" because life is difficult to categorize. It's messy. The seedling for Spilt Milk derived from the Yiddish proverb "Man plans, God laughs." So often in life, we plan plan plan for something only to realize that planning is futile. Life happens. And all we can do is try and take everything in its stride as it comes, and we'll be all the better for it. Don't cry over spilled milk. 

Cool, but can you be a little more specific...?

We'll try! Ok so as if being an actor isn't enough, Steve also moonlights as a special education teacher in the New York City Public Schools. The inspiration for my character's story is two-fold and derives in part from Steve's teaching experiences in special-ed and partly from my incredible Aunt and Uncle who raised my awesome cousin Scott, who has Down Syndrome. The inspiration for Steve's character's storyline comes from Steve's own unique coming out story. 

Brass Tacks

Making films costs money. Steve's parents are generously housing everyone who needs to stay overnight and will take care of food for the cast & crew. Your munificent donations will help with:

• Paying our top-notch crew: (Director, Director of Photography, Assistant Director, Location Sound, Assistant Camera, Gaffer, etc.)
• Equipment rental
• Transportation costs to and from Long Island
• Post-production costs (editing, color correction, film scoring, etc.)

Thank you so much in advance! Seriously, every dollar counts! And if you can't afford to make a donation, please feel free to share this campaign all over social media!

WE LOVE YOUR LIVES!

Laura & Steve