Today we’d like to introduce you to Corey Marshall.
Hi Corey, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I don’t think I was different from any other child in the aspect of using my imagination to pass time. I would create worlds, characters, scenarios and costumes out of anything I found in the house. I read comic books and watched cartoons and movies. I wanted to be the characters, I wanted to live in their worlds. And as far my imagination was involved, I did. I soon connected writing to be a way to journal the different paths my imagination would take. The things I wrote were funny, adventurous, mysterious, used misdirection and could hold an adult’s attention. I fell in love with creative writing. But as a child, I wasn’t aware that writing could be a profession… so I told my parents and family, I wanted my higher education to be clown school. They encouraged me to be whatever I wanted to be… Except a clown. My Father even purchased a drum set “You should be a drummer.” One week later, he hid the drumsticks.
Fast forward to my Adulthood, after a heartbreaking divorce, I battled depression and, in an attempt, to lift my spirits, I decided to put on a comedy show. I rented a theatre and sold over 200 tickets. I was the only performer and kept the crowd entertained for over two hours with humorous original stories. I knew nothing about how to do a comedy show, but it worked. Someone in the crowd introduced me to the local comedy scene and that’s what got me hooked. I started doing stand-up comedy. It wasn’t clown school, but it felt more natural. While doing stand-up I met a lot of talent and was asked to punch up (make funnier) a friend of mine’s screenplay. From there I got into writing screenplays and that’s when I realized the many ways that I could make a career out of writing. I did speculative screenplays and eventually wrote an original series. Being in the industry I knew that getting things produced would take much time and plenty of blackmail. I didn’t have the time nor binoculars. But I wanted to have the stories completed in some kind of visual format… Comic books.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The journey has not been a smooth road. It has been a lot of off-road travel. So much to the point that I wasn’t sure If I would ever see any type of pavement again. It is a lot of detours and much pave-your-own-way kind of travel. It’s also a journey that led me to discover that I am my biggest struggle. Impostor syndrome, achievemephobia and possibly even a touch of atychiphobia. one thing about stand-up, it can help a lot with building tough skin. But, for me most of the struggles was under the skin. In fact being truly comfortable in my own skin took some time. Embracing the freedom to tell a story the way that I want it to be told… and not the way the audience wants me to tell it could be a struggle. Trust that creative flow.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Right now, I’m trusting my creative flow. Creative writing and storytelling is my specialty. I’m completing a comic-book series called “A MadMan Tale.” It’s an anthology series that dabbles in the genres of Horror, Sci-fi, comedy, thriller and of course some misdirection. Very much in the style of an old Alfred Hitchcock or twilight zone story, but from the lens of a black experience. So, the stories deal with social issues and even a few conspiracy theories. What makes it different, is that each tale is more plot-driven and not character driven. It allows me to touch on topics and use character’s perspectives long enough for that particular part of the story to be told. It also makes misdirection much easier and rewarding. The endings are unexpected and very calculated. I’m not scared to tell the story to a different beat. Sure, I know the traditional beats to a story… but so does the audience. How many times has someone seen a movie and said “I knew that was gonna happen, I guessed it. I called it.. I’m smart.” Blah. And usually when the movie ends in a way that is unexpected “Oh, that was dumb. They should have ate the blue pill. I would have wrote a better ending.” Blah Blah.
What were you like growing up?
(Much of this was touched on earlier, but I would say…) I was the class clown. I had impeccable comedic timing, and my physical antics were Hollywood-level. Now I’m very quiet and very comfortable sitting in one spot for hours.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.coreymarshall.com
- Instagram: @coreymarshallpro
- Twitter: @coreymarshallx
