Barter theatre alumn Will Bigham won FOX's reality show, "On the Lot."
*** Reprinted by permission from Barter Theatre's Esprit newsletter, Summer 2008. ***
On August 21, 2007, Barter alum Will Bigham won FOX's reality show On the Lot and walked away with a $1 million development deal from Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks Pictures. This two-year deal gives Will an office on the Universal lot and access to some of the most important creative minds in Hollywood.
Since winning, he has been busy setting up his office, making connections and looking for material to pitch to producers.
When asked for the biggest changes to come out of winning On the Lot, Will replies, "Well, my family has moved 9 times in the last 10 years, and the last move is the first time we moved into a bigger space; it's great to have steady work doing what I'm passionate about; and the access that I have to a bunch of new people and some of the best ears in the business."
Will can't wait to find that first project and get back to directing, "I'm not quite living my dream yet ? it's not as much fun working in the office and pitching. The real fun is in doing the work behind the camera, shooting a movie."
Fellow Barter alum and wife Catherine Gray has also been excelling. In addition to her continued love of performing, Cat has found a new passion: producing! "After producing a series of pilates videos for teens with Will, which can be found at www.empoweringpilates.com," she said in her best marketing voice, "I found I really loved it. I produced two of Will's shorts for On the Lot: 'Lucky Penny' and 'Glass Eye.' Now that Will has his job at DreamWorks, I'm looking forward to spending more time with our kids and pursuing new opportunities."
Both Will and Cat attribute their time at Barter Theatre as a major factor in their success. Cat says, "Our five years at Barter and Will's time at Florida State University getting his film degree were great proving grounds. The time spent at Barter and FSU are the reasons why Will won the competition."
Will, Cat and daughters, Khara and Lily, wish to thank the entire Barter family for their amazing support!
