When students at Santa Monica College log onto the business communication classes taught by Stephen Soucy, they’re learning from an expert whose career spans publishing, filmmaking and theatrical producing. After earning his master’s in screenwriting at USC, he began working at what is now the academic publisher Pearson. That led him to SMC, as some of Pearson’s authors worked at the college and the Business department chair asked Soucy to teach a business communications course.
He has taught that course, Business 32, for 20 years and counting, mentoring students in the skills needed to get their messages across for success in the fast-paced world of commerce. Topics covered include writing effective résumés and reports, crafting business plans for investors, and more.
“The way Professor Soucy teaches really prepares students for the corporate world,” student Rob Ross says. “This class is one of a kind.”
Modernist Take on Merchant Ivory
Soucy also draws from his own experiences for his classes. “Every so often I’ll throw out an example from business in the film or theatrical world,” he adds that students are enthusiastic about these stories.
His extensive background includes heading the company Modernist Film, through which he produced, directed and co-wrote the documentary Merchant Ivory. The film chronicles the longtime partnership of producer Ismail Merchant and director James Ivory, whose award-winning movies — including Howard’s End and The Remains of the Day — turned great literature into compelling cinema.
Creating the documentary was a daunting process of conducting nearly 60 interviews and clearing the rights to film clips, archival footage, and music (the film features interviews with Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, Helena Bonham Carter, Vanessa Redgrave and other notable talents who worked on Merchant Ivory films). For Soucy, the project was a labor of love.
While growing up in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Soucy recalls “watching films over and over and over again in the early days of HBO.” Two movies with an especially profound effect on Soucy as he came of age were Merchant Ivory’s A Room with a View and Maurice. Their works helped inspire his own career. Years later, having become friends with novelist Peter Cameron, whose novel The City of Your Final Destination became the famed duo’s last film, Soucy got to know James Ivory himself.
Merchant Ivory premiered to applause at DOC NYC, the nation’s largest documentary festival, and was screened at the 2024 Palm Springs International Film Festival. It has also earned critical acclaim from publications including The Hollywood Reporter.
Soucy made a worldwide distribution deal for the film with Cohen Media Group. He had cultivated a relationship with the company while making the documentary, since it owns the rights to many Merchant Ivory films. Soucy’s upcoming endeavors include raising financing to direct his feature-length screenplay “Orientation,” a coming-of-age story set during the AIDS crisis.
From Movie to Musical With Romy and Michele
Soucy also produces theater, helping shepherd plays and musicals to Broadway and London’s West End. “I got involved in theater by serving on the board of the Celebration Theater in Los Angeles,” he recalls. His work with Celebration, one of the nation’s oldest theaters devoted to LGBTQ+ plays and musicals, includes co-producing an Ovation Award-winning version of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Meanwhile, he invested in a Tony-winning revival of The Boys in the Band and the stage adaptation of Life of Pi.
Recently, Soucy traveled to London as co-lead producer for a musical take on the 1997 movie Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion. With a book by Robin Schiff, who also wrote the film, and direction by Tony winner Kristin Hanggi, the musical is on a long odyssey to Broadway that began with a production in Seattle in 2017. London is Romy and Michele’s latest step in that journey, as the show continues being refined to reach its potential. Romy and Michele was workshopped in London in January as part of MTFestUK, an annual festival dedicated to developing new musicals.
Benefits Back to the Classroom
To maximize the effectiveness of the SMC Business Communication course’s online format, Soucy created video presentations to support the textbook. These videos are now used by business communication instructors across the nation.
To ensure that the course stays up to date with evolving trends, he keeps on the lookout for the latest case studies. His students play an integral part in the process as well. “I’m always asking my students to bring in real-world examples,” Soucy says.
The course’s popularity has also led Soucy to broaden his teaching to include a course on international business communication, preparing students for cultural differences in the global marketplace.
With a career encompassing the arts, business and education — and crossing the Atlantic Ocean — to paraphrase a lyric from the song “New York, New York”, he’s making it everywhere.
Article courtesy of the SMC Public Information Office