I know you have two careers. Let’s talk about your career in the entertainment industry first.
I have been in the entertainment industry for nearly twenty-five years, and I have worked my way up the ladder to become a line producer. Right now, my work is mostly in producing commercials, but I also work on promos and occasionally film and television. I oversee the entire production which entails hiring, securing locations, and managing the production budget. I also serve as the “go-between” for the advertising agency and the director. I have to make sure everyone is happy which requires a lot of negotiating.
My work is freelance, which means I am not permanently employed by a production company. I work with a variety of different production companies and directors from all over the world, which is great. Last year I traveled to Barcelona, Arizona, North Carolina, Texas, Pennsylvania and other places I can’t recall at the moment. A few years ago, I shot in Kiev right before Russia invaded Ukraine, so my work has taken me all around the world.
What I enjoy most about my job is taking a concept and turning it into what is basically a short film.
You have another career that is dear to your heart because you get to help women. Can you tell me about that?
A couple of years ago I started my own business as a certified divorce coach. My ex-husband and I separated in 2018 which was a challenging time. My friends and family were supportive, but none of them had ever been divorced, so there was no one in my life who could tell me what to expect. When the divorce was final in 2020, I kept thinking about how great it would have been to be part of a support group with other moms who understood what I was going through when I was in the mud. I live in this great community outside of Chicago full of nuclear families living in cute houses with white picket fences, and I felt like there was a black cloud over my house because I felt like I was the only one who was divorced. I often worried my kids felt alone too since none of their friends had parents who were divorced.
In 2022, I decided to do a very vulnerable thing and reached out to some moms in the neighborhood letting them know I was starting a local divorce support group to give moms the support I wish I had. They weren’t divorced, but I figured they might have friends going through divorce. The response was overwhelming and very positive. One by one people started reaching out to me and now I have close to thirty people on the meeting invite list. It’s been really wonderful.
Starting the support group made me realize how many women were suffering or were in situations where they were forced to figure out a lot of things in a short amount of time without much guidance. These women were still in the midst of their divorce and experiencing so much conflict. I felt a bigger calling to do more to help, which is why I decided to take coaching courses.
Eventually, I became a Master Certified Professional Coach, and then I took it a step further and became a CDC® Certified Divorce Coach. It was challenging being a single mom, holding down a demanding job, and committing to an intensive divorce coaching program at the same time. In the end, it was worth it because the work is so rewarding.
I enjoy helping women make smarter decisions that can better lead to the outcomes they want. No one gets everything they want in a divorce, but a divorce coach can help you minimize losses and arm you with tools for dealing with a high-conflict spouse. I help people develop a parenting plan that will not just support them today but also years from now, and that is important because divorce is not the end of your relationship with your spouse. You will be tied to them for a long time because of your children, and it’s important to figure out how you want that to look and what will be best for your kids.
People often ask, “What is the difference between coaching and therapy?” Therapy examines how you got to where you are and processes your feelings, which is important. Coaching is about creating action steps that will help you move forward. It promotes clarity and focus so you can build the life you want and uncovers ways you might be unknowingly sabotaging yourself.
The name of my coaching business is A Life Reimagined (www.alrcoach.com). That’s what my clients must do when they get divorced. They must reimagine their life because it is no longer what they thought it was going to be.
How did you become a line producer?
I always knew I wanted to be in the entertainment industry, but I didn’t know how to go about it. I went to college for broadcast journalism because I loved writing and wanted to learn how to use cameras and edit film. My last two years in college, I was a newsroom assistant at an ABC station in Flint, Michigan and eventually realized that hard news was not for me. I thought about the “six degrees of separation” theory and decided to tell everyone I knew that I wanted to get into the entertainment industry in hopes somebody would have a connection.
As luck would have it, my dentist knew someone whose daughter worked in television. He connected us, and she helped me get a temp job on the lot at Warner Brothers in LA. She was working on The Drew Carey Show and eventually got me an interview there when a position on the show opened up. I got the job and worked as a production assistant for their final two seasons.
After The Drew Carey Show ended, I was looking for work and a friend of mine working on commercials told me she could hook me up. The flexibility of the commercial business interested me, and it paid better than television, so I took her up on it. I fell in love with the variety of work and meeting and working with lots of interesting and talented people on shoots. I traveled to different cities and countries for productions, and while it was hard work, it was fun, exciting, and kept life interesting.
You’re in a leadership position with many people working under you. What advice would you give to other women taking on a leadership role in their career?
Always remember the person at the top sets the tone for everybody below them, and if you are stressed or angry, then that is going to trickle down and affect the entire crew. Let people know you appreciate them and invite them to talk with you if they want to share ideas or raise an issue. I make sure the director and assistant director know they need to set the right tone as well since they are also in a leadership position. It is a big responsibility, and your attitude makes a difference.
What advice do you have for West Virginia women who are interested in the film industry?
My advice to everyone is to talk to people. Let everyone know you want help breaking into production.
There are also a lot of jobs in this industry that people may not know about. For example, maybe you like to feed people. Well, the entertainment industry has something called craft service, and that role is dedicated to feeding the crew between meals. We’re usually on tight schedules working long hours, and yummy snacks throughout the day help with morale. I consider craft service an important part of production.
Maybe you love clothing. We have stylists who go shopping for clothes and have wardrobe fittings with our talent. We have the actors try the clothes on before deciding which outfits will be used, and then all the rest of the clothes are returned. We’re always looking for wardrobe assistants to make that happen. There are also plenty of jobs in hair and makeup.
There is also a demand for people interested in electrical work because we use lighting on productions. We have grips and camera teams if you enjoy that type of work. We use location scouts who go through homes, businesses and numerous places in and out of town to find the right shooting locations, and art department teams who bring the sets to life with furniture and props. There are a wide variety of jobs within the film industry.
It’s important to point out that most of the roles in the entertainment industry are freelance which means you can have the flexibility to work when you want, but the flipside is that you don’t have a guaranteed paycheck.
What if someone wants to work in entertainment but finds they are unable to move to a major metropolitan area like Los Angeles?
I had a job in Pittsburgh last year, and we had some West Virginians on the crew. They travelled in. I know there’s filming in West Virginia because the location scout I hired in Pittsburgh was also filming a movie in West Virginia at the same time. So, you might think there isn’t a production community in your area, but if it’s not in your specific town, it’s based in the closest big city. Production travels everywhere. Do some research and you’ll find people. That’s what I do when I’m planning a shoot in a small town.
Also, every state has a film office that usually lists local production companies, film-related vendors, and crew. Try contacting them and getting some advice. They might even let you shadow them on an upcoming production.
Now, production may not be something you can afford to do full-time if there isn’t a lot of work in your area, but maybe that fits your needs. Maybe you do a construction job part of the time, and then you’re called to work on a feature film for two months. It can be great for someone with that type of flexibility. The possibilities are endless.
What advice do you have for women who want to do freelance work?
Prioritize building a reputation as someone who is likable and hard-working. I get 100% of my line producer jobs through word of mouth. That’s how the production business works. Some people might be surprised to hear I am rarely asked for my resumé, and I have even gone years without updating it simply because this industry is all about referrals.
In terms of the divorce coaching business, you must invest a lot of time in marketing yourself and educating clients on the value of your services. Most of my clients come from referrals, or they find me on Google. I recommend offering services for free when you first start so you can build experience and hopefully get some great referrals.
How can a nonprofit like WV Women Work help women break into the entertainment industry?
Well, there are construction houses that build sets and props for productions. For example, I hired someone whose job I can only describe as a “master balancer.” He would create art by stacking objects in a way that looks impossible from a gravity perspective. Our commercial involved him balancing all sorts of crazy objects on top of each other. Some were prop pieces we fabricated, and some were everyday items you’d find on a store shelf. Everything was then secured firmly in place for filming. Building specialized props like that or even special effects is a fantastic job for anyone who is handy and inventive. It goes to show there are always other sides to construction besides just the obvious.
Referencing what I said earlier, electricians are a huge part of the entertainment industry. There is always a demand for someone who understands power and lighting.
We have drivers to transport crew and equipment around, and in some states like California, they’re under the Teamsters union.
Just decide what your strengths and goals are, find the training or education to hone those skills, and go do it!
Do you have any other advice?
Experiment a little before you decide on your career.
If you want to become a divorce coach, consider getting coached yourself first to figure out if it’s something you really want to do before investing thousands of dollars in training.
For a career in the entertainment industry, I recommend job shadowing to determine if that type of career is right for you. Production management is a great job for someone who enjoys coordinating, planning, negotiating, and leading. So, if you’re the planner in your friend group, it could be a great fit.
Interview conducted, transcribed, and written by Marlynda Arnett, Program Innovation Leader for West Virginia Women Work.
