When I was a little girl I knew what I wanted to be...an actress! I've always been both blessed and cursed with a kind of intuitive empathy which helps me relate to people and understand what they are going through. As the years went by, I honed my acting skills, bared my soul on stage and slowly over time came to the realization that what I was ultimately striving towards was the desire to tell a story - to share my slice of existence...and hear or help tell the stories of others, of their lives, the imperfect perfection that makes being alive so adventurous. Sometimes this passion of mine expressed itself through acting and yet other times it would express itself through writing or bringing a project to life through collaboration with other artists.
Always loving the movies as a kid, I began to see myself behind the scenes, helping bring stories to life. By the time I reached college it was clear that I would study the arts and I did...forever a renaissance soul and being taught by my mother that life was to be lived! Ultimately, I couldn't choose between my great loves of the theatre and film so I did what anyone who doesn't want to miss an opportunity does... I did both! I majored in theatre (with an emphasis on acting and directing) and minored in film.
After graduation I held down a few "day" jobs while doing summer stock theatre and it was there that I stumbled upon the opportunity to intern on a local film with the great Julia Reichert (Union Maids, Seeing Red, Lion in the House) in Dayton, OH. Julia was embarking upon her first narrative directorial endeavor and with the film being ultra low budget, they were in need of a few helping hands, aka interns.
I did the job, worked harder than I even thought possible and made a lot of friends along the way. My job was to book all the extras and all of the bit actor parts that were small enough they didn't need to cast them out of NY or LA and instead would find them locally. I had no help and of course no experience. I didn't even have a computer then. What I did have was a phone, a note pad and a lot of GUMPTION. I was scared out of my mind during that job - here it was my first foray into the filmmaking world, a world in which I thought I would now spend my professional career and I was caught like a deer in headlights. I remember standing on the street talking nervously into a pay phone early on during filming and crying to my mother on the phone, "I can't do this", "its too hard, I don't know what I'm doing, I'll never make it through this..." the litany of fears poured out. My mother did what she always did/does - she calmed my fears by just reassuring me that I could do anything I wanted to do, anything if I just put my mind to it and set about achieving it without making excuses or giving up and that I should just do the best I could and let that be that. Hanging up the phone that day, I set about my work with a newfound vigor. She wasn't going to let me off the hook so I had no choice - I would have to do this job! I would give them what they asked me for and help them make this movie!
I've never forgotten that day or the way I felt on that phone call, scared, crying, afraid to take the risk of looking like I was incompetent, even though what they asked of me was overwhelming and something a seasoned casting director with a staff of assistants would have a hard time pulling off!
I got busy. I found creative ways to fill extra roles. I went on radio shows, I put up fliers in popular parts of town, any opportunity I got to talk about the film - I took. The problem was that we weren't paying the extras, but yet it was a chance to be in a movie with famous actors and be directed by a local hero and hang out with a film crew. I had to book at least 50% over what we needed in order to still have enough extras at the end of the filming day to get the shots we needed and once we were there, I had to entertain the extras as best I could so they wouldn't leave. The few who understood my predicament always stuck around and helped me and to them I will forever be grateful.
The result of my being willing to charge full steam ahead through fear and uncertainty yielded great rewards: The last scene in the movie and the last scene we would be filming required filling up an entire theatre with extras - several hundred. They would get the chance to see a scene from the movie and meet Julia, but still (as filming always goes), the hours are long, the work is hard and eventually people need to leave. I had to pull out every stop to find them in this semi-small city. Without help, it was nearly impossible to do the follow up calls I normally did to make sure that people were going to show up. As the call time approached, I sat nervously behind the glass doors of the theatre. If this didn't go well they wouldn't be able to film the scene! Before I could wallow in my fears too long, someone opened the door and came into the theatre, then another came and another and another. Before long, the theatre was full of extras filling out their releases and ready to take their seats.
Right before filming was to start the Producer of the movie and the AD (Assistant Director) called me aside. My heart sank, I somehow felt I was going to be in trouble...they looked at me with rather wide eyes and told me that they were shocked with the turnout and that I had not only far exceeded their expectations, but I had managed to do what most professional casting directors they had worked with in NY and LA could not do, and what's more I did it for free as an intern! with no help! With volunteer extras!
I learned a valuable lesson during this entire experience, and no its not how to book extras on a movie! I learned that with determination, goals and a lot of elbow grease, there is nothing you cannot accomplish! This is a lesson I share often with my clients and to translate it to the consulting work that I do with them, if you've got a computer, access to the internet and a phone - you can launch any company you want to. I stand by that assertion because I know it can be done.
My career continued in the entertainment industry. I worked in many different capacities winding my way around the industry looking for my niche. I was an art department coordinator for Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen, Twilight), a Development Assistant for Jim Manos (Sopranos, Dexter), a Director's Assistant for the late, great acting coach guru Roy London, a Writer's Assistant for Ron Hutchinson. Eventually I settled into working as a Development Executive and a Segment/Associate Producer for the great June Beallor, the Academy Award-winning Producer who became not only my mentor, but one of my closest friends.
Working in this industry afor the last 20 years has helped to shape who I am today. I've had the experience of meeting fascinating and passionate people, contributed to both exciting and meaningful work and had the chance to fulfill lifelong dreams along the way. I've collaborated and contributed to projects as diverse as films, TV Shows, The Democratic National Convention, The Emmys, The Oscars, The Grammys, the Aspen Comedy Festival, The Shoah Foundation, just to name a few. A few highlights include interviewing Jerry Seinfeld at his home in the Hamptons, directing my idol Anthony Hopkins in a Voiceover session and spending the day with Joe Biden and his family at his home in Delaware the day after being named Barack Obama's VP running mate during the 2008 election.
In addition to all of this, to keep my acting dream alive, I also founded the Los Angeles based Theatre Company The Link which still allows me to keep pursing my great loves – acting and writing.
As exciting as all of this was, I always enjoyed coming up with creative solutions and helping people figure out how to turn their dreams into realities. Every time I ran across someone who wasn't on the path they really wanted to be on - I reached out to help them. I brought in articles about career paths in areas they were more attracted to. I sent them any/all information I could find on the internet and what's more important I listened to them and helped in any way I could. I couldn't tolerate the thought of anyone not pursuing their dreams.
Eventually, I began to realize myself that though I do love telling stories, what's also important to me is to be able to write the story of my own life, or as the opening of David Copperfield describes, be the hero of m own life. Entertainment is an exciting career, but it leaves very little time for pursuing anything else in life. Its all consuming, requires long hours, and asks for you to sacrifice everything that is important to you (holidays, time with loved ones, the simple things in life). Being a renaissance soul and having lots and lots of interests and natural curiosities - AND loving to spend time with family and friends, I needed time to be able to explore those other interests and to also pursue my passions of acting and writing.
I also began to develop over the years a strong passion surrounding new business ideas and the spirit of entrepreneurialism. Often times in entertainment I meet people who are burnt out or who have strived for years to realize their own dreams, but haven't. Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, are always full of vitality, passion and exuberance it was a mentality I grew more and more eager to be around and it inspired me in new ways.
The other thing that quickly became clear to me is that entertainment provides such a vast training ground for all things entrepreneurial. You have to commit yourself fully, be able to think on your feet and be a jack/jill of all trades, willing to jump into any situation and put out any fire that needs putting out. I began to awaken to the idea that I had gained so many skills, talents and abilities that would apply themselves nicely to running my own business and what's more, I loved helping people figure out authentic livelihood and the path that is right for them.
And lastly, entertainment did not lend itself to parenting. Many people I know do it, but its tough and I don't want to find myself having to choose between my child and my job. Somehow sleeping in an editing bay or taking a last minute red eye to interview someone doesn't compute with being a mommy to me. My husband and I are in the midst of an international adoption and when the time comes for us to bring our child into our home, I want to make sure that I am in charge of my own destiny as much as possible. One of the most rewarding benefits entrepreneurship brings with it is the ability to control your destiny and this is something that I love sharing with my clients.
As you can see, my professional life took many different paths, I pursued one thing only to find out that something else might be a better fit, I took chances, but most of all I kept going, kept marching as Thoreau says "confidently in the direction of my dreams" -- even when those dreams changed.
This is what I help my clients do. I help them figure out what it is that is calling to them and then how to move confidently in that direction, come up with monetization ideas surrounding the ideas and get going. I talk a lot with my clients about the idea of convergence -- the intersection of everything you've ever learned or knowledge you have acquired. Each of us has to be conscious of and take note of the areas in which our lives have converged to bring us to where we are now. We need to learn to utilize our life toolkit to be successful in our new entrepreneurial endeavors. I help clients take stock of areas of ability and how that can be applied to building their business. For me this works in many ways. I use skills I have acquired through entertainment (interviewing, building a story, making things happen) to continually evolve my business. And yes, just like my clients, I sometimes still straddle both worlds. If an interesting project comes up that I feel I must take, I do, always bringing back anything learned and applying it to my business.
Its been many years since I was that scared young girl on a downtown street in Dayton, OH crying on the phone crying to my mother, but the lessons of that day have not been forgotten. Today, I still face challenges all the time in my business, in life, in art, but I forge ahead because that young girl did and she succeeded! So can you.
Each and every one of us really does create our own destiny by the choices we make and the opportunities we either grasp or deny.
Let me help you hatch your own "Escape Plan". I promise it will be scary, but also life affirming and exhilarating!
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