Professor Profile: Mark Steensland

Reaching for the Stars

For communication professor and filmmaker Mark Steensland, meeting some of America’s favorite Hollywood stars is all part of a day’s work. Since the age of 16, Steensland has made a living out of interviewing moviemakers and movie stars for various magazines, learning from experts what he now teaches to students.

“My passion for talking to people who make films came about because I wanted to take what they knew and use it in my own filmmaking,” says Steensland who knows the importance of learning his art from people immersed in it. “The best teachers were the ones who could tell me first hand what I wanted to know.”

Steensland now teaches a variety of video production and scriptwriting classes, and advises many students on their own film projects. He also serves as the faculty advisor for the university’s student newspaper, which recently won its first national award from the Associated Collegiate Press.

“Teaching is a very active process,” says Steensland, who enjoys sharing his passion with others. Last semester he taught a special topic class on the acclaimed director of ‘The Insider’ and ‘Ali’, Michael Mann, whom he met two years ago. Steensland’s research has included interviews with Mann, Tom Cruise and James Caan, as well as visits to the set of Mann’s newest film, ‘Collateral.’

His career as a writer started while he was still in high school, when he began conducting phone interviews with various directors and cinematographers. Over the phone, they knew him only as a reporter and not a teenager who was publishing his own magazine from his home.

At the age of 18, he convinced American Cinematographer to send him to Arizona to visit the set for the science fiction film, ‘Starman,’ starring Jeff Bridges. The following year he spent a week in England for a story on the Ridley Scott film, ‘Legend,’ starring a young Tom Cruise.

Steensland is adamant about applying what he learns. He’s produced a feature film and a documentary, as well as numerous short films. He is currently completing his second master’s degree in screenwriting, complementing his first master’s in English with a concentration in creative writing. Steensland recognizes the importance of continuing to pursue his own projects while teaching. “If you ever stop doing it, you’re going to find yourself completely irrelevant.”

Note: Mark Steensland is no longer an active professor of Vanguard University as of June 2005 and is now working at Penn State