L.A. Trip Inspirational, Reality Check
27 January 2010 L.A. Trip Inspirational, Reality Check
When Glee won a Golden Globe Award last week, nearly 20 current students, recent graduates and faculty were able to look at their television sets and say, I met him, or I shook her hand! Many even have photographic evidence to prove it. The group returned from L.A. just a few days before the award ceremony, having met a number of HWS alums in the film and television industry, including Brad Falchuk 93, creator, co-producer and director for Glee. Falchuk gave the group a chance to watch some of the shows taping and meet with cast members.
The Los Angeles experience program was offered over winter break by the Salisbury Center for Career Services and the Media and Society Program and included a group of 12 current students, three recent graduates, and faculty Grant Holly, professor of English; Liz Lyon, associate professor of English; and Les Friedman, professor of media and society. They met with HWS alums and some of the media industrys most important figures, including Executive Producer Warren Littlefield 74 and H. Read Jackson 66, senior vice president for production for Fox Sports Net. Students spent two weeks prior to winter break researching the companies and executives with whom theyd meet.
I was tremendously impressed with the students preparation and participation, says Lyon. They consistently interacted with alums in informed, articulate and thoughtful discussions. For their part, the alums were incredibly generous with their time and in their willingness to share their work and experience with us. Every moment was memorable; even during the numerous van trips from one part of L.A. to another there was always an interesting conversation. Lyon particularly enjoyed visiting the set of Glee, as Falchuk is a former student.
The experience of students who went on the trip was invaluable, even if they eventually choose a career outside the entertainment field, says Friedman. Given this spectrum of media talent, the students learned how they need to be passionate about their career, work hard to fulfill their dreams, and network through a notoriously competitive industry. Hopefully, this trip both inspired them and brought home the realities of working in the entertainment industry.
This was the case for Christine Yankelunas 10, who says she benefitted from every meeting. Each person shared their struggles and triumphs and encouraged us to do our best and, despite rejection or defeat, to keep trying. Warren Littlefields words were especially inspiring, First be the best, then be first. I definitely will take these words into account as Ipursue my dreams.
Littlefield is former senior and executive vice president of entertainment for NBC, credited with being an architect of the stations winning Thursday lineup penned Must See TV. Littlefield was developer of award-winning shows, Cheers, The Cosby Show, and The Golden Girls. He is working on the pilot of a one-hour series and shared insights into the show development process.
The L.A. winter break program took place from Jan. 11 through 13. During dinner on the first evening, students had the chance to meet with Dave Pullano 84, a writer who has worked on shows such as Blind Date, and Chris Adelmann 77, executive vice president of business development for LiveNation, the live events company and concert promoter. Both men were part of a panel discussion later in the week as well. The dinner was held at Church and State Bistro, where William Smith alum Yassmin Sarmadi 91 is owner and general manager.
In other sessions, the students learned the inside scoop about working in the interactive and gaming industry, first at Disney Interactive Media in a visit arranged by Eric Mokover 73. Later in the trip, they met with the producers of the Guitar Hero and DJ Hero games at Activision Blizzard, thanks to a visit facilitated by Dan Rosensweig 83, CEO and president of the Guitar Hero division. At Moxie Pictures, they met with executive producer Lizzie Schwartz 86 and heard about making commercials. At Fox Sports, Jackson took students on a tour and talked about the intricacies of sports television production. Another highlight of the trip was attending the HWS Club of Los Angeles New Years Gathering hosted by Jackson and his wife Nancy Alspaugh Jackson at their home in Hidden Hills.
At the end of the trip, after three days of individual presentations and tours, students heard from a panel of experts from diverse positions within the industry: Christopher McDonald 77, actor, who has appeared in 85 films and numerous television and theater productions including Thelma & Louise, Quiz Show and Happy Gilmore; Eren Celeboglu 99, a writer and director with a Scrubs episode under his belt; Nick Holly, writer and creator and an executive producer of Sons & Daughters and son of Professor Grant Holly; Writer John (J.P.) Lavin 95 who has worked with Ryan Seacrest; and Pullano 84 and Adelmann 77 who theyd met at dinner at the beginning of the trip.
The trip completely surpassed all expectations. The alumni that were gracious enough to meet with us provided invaluable information and stories of their experiences within the entertainment business, which will undoubtedly help with any future endeavors- whether within the entertainment industry or not, says participant Michael Erickson 10.