About
A graduate of Northwestern University, he worked in the advertising industry as a writer, producer and creative director. Simultaneously, he performed in plays at Chicago theaters, including The Goodman, Pheasant Run, Shakespeare Repertory, and Victory Gardens, where he played Danny in the Chicago premiere of "Danny and The Deep Blue Sea." He also appeared on television and in commercials and did voiceovers on commercials and corporate films.
As a director/cameraman, he shot over a hundred commercials in Chicago and LA for such companies as McDonald's, Pizza Hut and the Chicago White Sox, winning One Show, Mobius, New York International TV & Radio Festival, Telly, and Addy Gold awards.
He wrote and directed Jesus In Cowboy Boots, starring Alicia Silverstone, AJ Michalka and Billy Burke, inspired by his novel of the same name. His memoir, "How NOT To Make A Movie: An Independent Filmmaker In Hollywood Hell,” was published by McFarland Books. His play about the relationship between a parent and transgender child, DANIEL/DANIELLE, won the Scribe Playwriting Competition Award For Achievement in Playwriting and was excerpted in the Smith & Kraus anthology “WE/US Monologues for THE GENDER MINORITY,” Venus Theatre's "Frozen Women Flowing Thoughts," and Choeofpleirn Press' literary magazine "Rushing Through the Dark: Autumn 2023.” He is also the author of IDOL MINDS, a black comedy (produced by Stages/OC), FAIRY TALE, a 1-act comedy (Sundog Theatre, NY), and SHE CAME BACK, a 1-act drama (T. Schreiber Studio, NY).
He taught Radio and Film Production at Columbia College Chicago and acting at The Ted Liss Studio.
He is a member of the DGA, SAG, AFTRA, AEA & WGA, and a citizen of the U.S. and Ireland.
As a director/cameraman, he shot over a hundred commercials in Chicago and LA for such companies as McDonald's, Pizza Hut and the Chicago White Sox, winning One Show, Mobius, New York International TV & Radio Festival, Telly, and Addy Gold awards.
He wrote and directed Jesus In Cowboy Boots, starring Alicia Silverstone, AJ Michalka and Billy Burke, inspired by his novel of the same name. His memoir, "How NOT To Make A Movie: An Independent Filmmaker In Hollywood Hell,” was published by McFarland Books. His play about the relationship between a parent and transgender child, DANIEL/DANIELLE, won the Scribe Playwriting Competition Award For Achievement in Playwriting and was excerpted in the Smith & Kraus anthology “WE/US Monologues for THE GENDER MINORITY,” Venus Theatre's "Frozen Women Flowing Thoughts," and Choeofpleirn Press' literary magazine "Rushing Through the Dark: Autumn 2023.” He is also the author of IDOL MINDS, a black comedy (produced by Stages/OC), FAIRY TALE, a 1-act comedy (Sundog Theatre, NY), and SHE CAME BACK, a 1-act drama (T. Schreiber Studio, NY).
He taught Radio and Film Production at Columbia College Chicago and acting at The Ted Liss Studio.
He is a member of the DGA, SAG, AFTRA, AEA & WGA, and a citizen of the U.S. and Ireland.
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Carey dishes stories about producers, agents, managers, hustlers, wannabes, and dozens of famous celebrities.
Part memoir, part primer, part candid cautionary tale, it’s the story of Carey's 12-year odyssey through the Hollywood film business, culminating in the making of "Jesus In Cowboy Boots" (aka "Angels In Stardust" barf) starring Alicia Silverstone, AJ Michulka and Billy Burke. Humorous and confessional, it describes the deceit, blunders, and bluster that swirl around a multi-optioned script, illustrating why it takes a minor miracle to get a film made, plus a cabinet of liquor, ludes, and Pepto-Bismol. There's nothing like it that describes the obstacles and opportunities encountered by a writer/director trying to make a film in LA. A must-read for aspiring and new filmmakers. AVAILABLE EVERYWHERE |
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An eccentric coming-of-age novel about an imaginative teenager growing up in a dirty, dusty backwater community along the Texas/Oklahoma border.
At times intense and serious, yet charming and humorous, it’s the story of a teenage girl's self-realization and her struggle for deliverance from the world she was born into.
Inspired the motion picture of the same name, starring Alicia Silverstone, AJ Michalka, and Billy Burke.
AVAILABLE EVERYWHERE
At times intense and serious, yet charming and humorous, it’s the story of a teenage girl's self-realization and her struggle for deliverance from the world she was born into.
Inspired the motion picture of the same name, starring Alicia Silverstone, AJ Michalka, and Billy Burke.
AVAILABLE EVERYWHERE
Inspired by an incident with Charlie Chaplin's remains, IDOL MINDS is a two-act play about three Hollywood wannabes who steal a celebrity’s remains and try to ransom them back to his widow.
It's a screwball comedy with substance, sitting at the intersection of fame, faith, ambition and greed.
"The play affords Carey comedic commentary toward movies, the entertainment world and the troika of talent, fame and riches – the implication being that celebrity and wealth are now ends in themselves, pursued by those those with zero talent, yet delusional enough to believe they have something to offer.”
-- The Orange County Register
It's a screwball comedy with substance, sitting at the intersection of fame, faith, ambition and greed.
"The play affords Carey comedic commentary toward movies, the entertainment world and the troika of talent, fame and riches – the implication being that celebrity and wealth are now ends in themselves, pursued by those those with zero talent, yet delusional enough to believe they have something to offer.”
-- The Orange County Register
DANIEL/DANIELLE
An expressionistic 2-act play about the relationship between a parent and transgender child and a family grappling with their choices, expectations, and values.
The play won the Scribe Play Competition Martha A. Croyle Award for Playwriting Excellence.
It has been excerpted in Smith and Kraus' "WE/US Monologues for THE GENDER MINORITY" and Venus Theatre's "Frozen Women/Flowing Thoughts." Both books are available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and elsewhere.
An expressionistic 2-act play about the relationship between a parent and transgender child and a family grappling with their choices, expectations, and values.
The play won the Scribe Play Competition Martha A. Croyle Award for Playwriting Excellence.
It has been excerpted in Smith and Kraus' "WE/US Monologues for THE GENDER MINORITY" and Venus Theatre's "Frozen Women/Flowing Thoughts." Both books are available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and elsewhere.
FAIRY TALE
A 1-act comedy about a young man,
an accountant, and a young woman,
a costume performer, who meet on the Staten Island Ferry and try to help each other deal with a problem.
A 1-act comedy about a young man,
an accountant, and a young woman,
a costume performer, who meet on the Staten Island Ferry and try to help each other deal with a problem.
DANIEL LAID TO REST
Published by Choeofpleirn Press in the literary magazine "Rushing Through the Dark: Autumn 2023,” DANIEL LAID TO REST is a one-act play about a corrupt judge’s relationship with his transgender child. The entire drama takes place in a funeral parlor. The only mourners at the disgraced judge’s wake are his mistress and their son until his estranged transgender child, Danielle, arrives. She tells them where she’s been, why she left and, with her newly discovered family, comes to terms with her turbulent relationship with her father.
Though humorous, the play illuminates the fluid nature of identity, contrasting the duality of Danielle with the duplicity of her father. It's about people’s unseen selves, the weight of old wounds, and a transgender woman triumphing over bigotry and suppression to become her true self.
Get in touch with William Robert Carey
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