MFA, Dramatic Writing, 2013
Los Angeles, CA
What are you currently doing?
I am the Executive Assistant to the President of Production at New Wave Entertainment who produces many of the stand-up comedy specials you may have seen on Netflix, Hulu, etc. I just got the job after getting married and moving with my husband from New York to Los Angeles a few months ago. Lots of changes!
What aspects of your education, including internships and/or student projects, do you think best prepared you for your career?
My last semester at Tisch, I interned at NickJr in the development department, which helped me get referred to a job at Wallykazam! (a children's animated show on NickJr) as an executive assistant and then a script assistant. Prior to that, I interned in various film offices (during and before graduate school) to get more office experience. And before enrolling at Tisch, I spent three years teaching middle school, which I think contributed to me being hired for Wallykazam! since the show is very rooted in education and literacy curriculums. However, when I moved to LA, I felt like I had to start all over again because the industry here is so saturated that it makes it hard to get a job unless you know someone. To gain more experience and meet new people, I worked as a temp for a while, which included temping at New Wave Entertainment. Luckily, I am now on track to become a permanent employee there.
What would you tell your freshman self if you could do it all over again?
I would tell myself to meet as many people as possible and keep in touch with those people as much as possible. You never know who can help you succeed in your goals and you should try to help as many people as possible succeed in theirs because it is a tough business to work in alone. I would also tell myself to not believe the naysayers and do not put limits on my own expectations. I came into Tisch as a playwright and at first thought there was no way I could do anything else -- but then I enjoyed screenwriting a lot, so I worked hard, won some awards, and got a short produced! Then, I became more interested in TV, but didn't know how I would make that happen -- so I decided to intern at NickJr and worked on a show there! Then, I decided children's television wasn't the right fit for me, and I wanted to get into television dramas -- so I moved to LA and got a job working for the head of production at a respected company! I have not made it to dramas yet, but that is my goal and I am taking steps to achieve it. My point is that you can be any kind of writer you want to be -- so trust the journey and don't trust the people who try to tell you that it just isn't done that way. You're a writer! You can craft a story, so why can't you craft the story of your life?!