NYWIFT Blog

By Shayna Cartledge 

Welcome to NYWIFT, Shannon Denise Evans!

Shannon Denise Evans is a multidisciplinary creator and Founder of Storycraft Eleven, focused on character-driven stories where the supernatural is hiding in plain sight. 
 
She is an award-winning writer/director/actor with over 65 awards associated with her various original works in film, television, theatre, and publishing. 
 
Shannon is a member of WGA, SAG-AFTRA, Dramatists Guild, American Federation of Musicians, Society of Composers and Lyricists, and Actors’ Equity Association.

Could you give our readers a brief introduction to yourself?

Sure! I’m a writer, director, filmmaker, and the founder of Storycraft Eleven. I’m a restless creature and driven to create to a fault—stories are how I process the world around me. 

I grew up on an island outside Seattle and moved to NYC to attend school and never left. I love the woods, my super pup, Sir William Wallace, Twin Peaks, and a roaring fire. I recently learned to make jumbo marshmallows at home, and my life will never be the same. 

What brought you to NYWIFT?

Women are my ministry—I’ve always had a heart for supporting women. When I had the chance to join NYWIFT, I was thrilled to be a part of such a wonderful organization.

What in your life has influenced your decision to have a career in entertainment?

I was a theatre nerd as a kid. It’s the only place I felt a sense of home—it’s where I found my tribe. 

Being a creative is in my blood, and after trying to straddle multiple careers for a decade, I burned out…hard. After a forced rest, I sat down and wrote out what I wanted my next decade to look like, and it was at that moment I decided to go all in as a writer/director/filmmaker.

There’s a lot of noise internally when you put all your eggs in one basket and go for it, but it’s also made the most sense to me. If your whole soul lights up when you’re orbiting a form of expression, that expression needs to be your center of gravity. 

It sounds corny…but I followed my heart.

What elements do you love most about creating and the creative process in general?

The possibilities. 

On the page, you can do anything. You can be anything, and anyone. It’s the greatest form of exorcism there is—everything you have been through unearths and funnels into the story you’re telling. Being a creative demands all of you, and it stretches you to the edges of your talent with every project. 

In terms of creative process, I’m a deep diver. I have an idea and free-dive as deep as I can go until I run out of air. Full tilt. There’s a panic that sets in during that phase, ‘Can I actually get this project done?’ or ‘Can I land this plane?’ and that’s the best part of creating…when you DO land the plane, you are changed.

How does your creative process differ across artistic mediums (i.e. producing vs acting)?

The deep dive is always part of my process, but the approach to story and character is different. One is architecture and vision, the other is embodiment and expression. In one role, you’re setting a vision, shaping, and laying foundation. In the other, you’re stepping inside that vision and building on top of an already laid foundation. In both roles, at least for me, the story starts to have a consciousness all its own—and if you learn to listen, it informs process, depth and direction. 

Sounds ‘woo woo,’ I realize, but it’s been my experience that projects take on a life of their own and pull into them the elements they need to thrive. The hardest part is letting go of preconceived ideas and allowing the layers of discovery to enrich the original material.

What is the hardest but most valuable lesson you’ve learned so far in your career?

Choose your collaborators wisely. 

Listen to your gut and know who is truly for you, and the stories you’re driven to tell. 

Alignment is a slipstream; misalignment is a glue trap. 

It’s not always possible to be perfectly aligned, but know your limits and set boundaries like your life depends on it (because it does).

Unclear creative and emotional boundaries will kill even the best of stories — communicating your needs and expectations up front will save you a barrel of trouble later.

What projects do you have upcoming that our readers should be on the lookout for?

My short film Signal is in post-production and headed for festivals this fall. It’s the story of a grieving mother who picks up a mysterious teenage hitchhiker, and their encounter becomes a battle for her fate. 

My first two shorts, The Black Door and All Cats Are Grey in the Dark, are still making their way around the circuit. I’m developing a feature from my screenplay Better Angels, along with my television pilot \Killer_Dorothy. Under SAVARRE, my singer/songwriter EP Blood will be released in October 2026.

Connect with Shannon Denise Evans on LinkedIn, Instagram at @officialshannondeniseevans, or on her website www.shannondeniseevans.com.

(All Photos Courtesy of Shannon Denise Evans)