Dallas theater company Upstart Productions launches its Upstart Cinema series this evening with a screening of Frank Mosley’s Hold. I asked Upstart artistic director Josh Glover about the series and what they hope to start up with the new film-theater collaboration.

So, tell me about the idea behind the series?

This was one of those ideas that evolved collaboratively.  As I recall, the inspiration for Upstart Cinema came from a fundraising idea that Artistic Team Member Barrett Nash came up with last summer.  We kind of swished the idea around in our board meetings, and our President David Miller wanted to look into hosting all-day screenings of foreign and indie films.  He’s been a big proponent of Upstart hosting any activity that introduces new audiences to our company.  Along the way, we came to the conclusion that Dallas’s emerging film industry could provide the perfect framework for this kind of event, so our board re-shaped the idea to become a platform for up-and-coming local filmmakers to showcase their work.

Can you tell us some of the other films that you are going to screen?

We’ve been talking to several local filmmakers, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive so far.  Unfortunately, I’m sworn to secrecy on our next title. You’ll have to attend Friday night’s screening or keep up with Upstart Productions on Facebook to find out.

It’s generally public screening, but are you hoping to create some internation between the filmmaking community with the event?

At the moment, Upstart has no plans to involve itself directly in the process of filmmaking.  However, David and the rest of the board are big believers in the synergy that can occur when artists from different media reach out to each other, and supporting up-and-coming artists of any kind makes perfect sense for Upstart given our mission statement.  Our hope is that we can introduce some really talented people from the local theater community to DFW’s filmmaking industry and vice versa.

How involved is Upstart and members of Upstart in the local filmmaking community? How much interaction is there in general between local theater and film folk?

Several of our Artistic Team members are or have been involved in the local film industry.  Marc Rouse, who produces Upstart’s video trailers, is an Emmy-winning film producer, and I actually do sales & marketing for him and his partners at Film Conspiracy Group.  Scott Payne, one of our crack shot lighting designers, has been a professional grip and gaffer for several years.  David Jeremiah and Chris Piper, as well as Upstart A-Team alum Adam Dietrich, are all gifted film actors.  So there’s quite a bit of overlap.  That seems to be true across the board in Dallas, especially for actors.  I think the talent agencies are fond of actors with classical stage training, and there are some good opportunities in the realms of commercial, industrial, and professional film for local acting talent.

If you had to choose between movies and theater – being a success at one, but having to give up the other, which would it be?

Producing theater is an incredibly difficult and complex job.  I’m in awe of the producers, production managers, and directors of the film world, because there are so many more individuals, materials, and locations that need to be coordinated in order for a film to be successful.  I won’t lie…I’ve considered segueing into a career in film before, but at the moment, my artistic focus is on theater.  More than anything, Upstart Cinema is about us showing support for local filmmakers and encouraging the people who patronize local film to come check out the shows Upstart is putting on at the Green Zone.