Today we’d like to introduce you to Angie Gaffney.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Angie. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’m a Chicago-based entrepreneur and producer. I grew up in Boulder, Colorado and spent most of my youth acting for the theater and playing competitive softball. In 2009, I re-located to Chicago to attend DePaul University. It was there that I found my love for film and for creating businesses that support artistic community.
In 2010, I formed Black Apple Media, an independent production and artist management company, which is still active today. After seven years of freelancing and 1.5 years as Executive Producer at The Onion, I founded Stage 18 Chicago with Alex Pissios, President of Cinespace.
Stage 18 is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing spaces, education, programming and community to the independent filmmakers and artists here in the Midwest. We currently occupy a 4000-sq. ft. shared office space on the lot of Cinespace Film Studios and have a 7000-sq. ft. sound stage that’s available for rental by our members and the community at large.
We provide a place for community members to have a dialogue – work, thrive, create and play, and arm our members with opportunities and tools to make their films.
Personally, I love creating businesses and systems that help elevate creatives and the work that they do – it’s why I love film so much. Each story is a new adventure.
You can learn more about me and my adventures at www.angiegaffney.com.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has been anything but smooth. I know enough about myself to know that I learn best by doing: which usually means leading myself and teaching myself along the way. It also means that there have been plenty of mistakes that I’ve made while in leadership positions – I do my best to learn from them and be transparent about them with my team and those I’m working with. I’m always working on perfecting the art of failing but I can confidently say that I don’t fear it anymore. I trust myself to know that I’ll get back up again and likely be stronger because of it.
The hardest challenge has been finding a balance between my personal life and my professional life, and ensuring that my own perception of my self-worth is not based on one or the other. As an entrepreneur, I love what I do (most of the time), which means that I’m driven to work long after 5PM. This lifestyle requires you to be incredibly self-aware and be able to give yourself feedback without judgement. I’m fortunate to be surrounded by many loving friends, family and supportive colleagues who’ve helped me along the way.
Naturally, as a young female in a male-dominated industry, I’ve had my fair share of challenges, inappropriate comments and uncomfortable situations. I had to work harder in my earlier career to prove myself because of my age and my gender. Whether or not that’s fair, it’s been part of my journey and I’ve learned how to deal with it and push right through. I’m always available for feedback but I will not let someone else make me feel small because of the mind and the body that I’m blessed to have.
Please tell us about Stage 18 Chicago.
As I mentioned earlier, Stage 18 Chicago was formed to create a community for independent content creators here in Chicago, while working to develop the local infrastructure to support those artists. While we were founded in 2015, we’ve been fully operational since the end of 2016 and it’s incredible to see the progress that we’ve made and the support we’ve gotten from the community.
I love our members and I love working with them to help them develop the stories they want to tell. I’m proud of the ecosystem and office community we’ve built. We have a long way to go to achieve the goals I want for the organization but we’re getting there.
As a producer myself, I’m always looking to learn more from my fellow members at Stage 18 and the programming and workshops that we do. I think the fun of it all is that, we’re growing together – there’s a new generation of independent filmmakers and visual artists popping up in Chicago and I can’t wait to see where we’re at in five years.
I’m continuing to produce content through Black Apple Media and I’m fortunate enough to continue to work with up and coming filmmakers. I teach at DePaul University and The Harold Ramis Film School.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Apple trees. My first memory as a kid was on our apple orchard in Lyons, Colorado. I’d ride the tractor with my dad, pick fresh apples and make fresh apple cider. It’s part of the inspiration behind “Black Apple Media” – and the time I spent with my family in that first house are some of my fondest memories.
Pricing:
- Consultation Rate: $80-100/hour – reach out at www.angiegaffney.com
Contact Info:
- Address: Stage 18 Offices
2558 W 16th St.
Chicago, IL 60608 - Website: www.angiegaffney.com
- Instagram: realangiegaffney
- Facebook: AngieGaffney
- Twitter: angie_gaffney
- Other: www.stage18chicago.com
Image Credit:
Stage 18 Chicago, Courtesy of Angie Gaffney
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