We're officially one week into fall, which means it's time for a summer lookback.
Ok, that's not actually true. I could have written about the summer two months ago, but I was just too busy and/or lazy. So here we go now.
This summer I spent two months in LA interning with the Television Academy. It was an incredible experience where I got to work with people that make the Emmys and people that get the Emmys. But even more than that, it was a chance for me to get a taste for my very likely fate of moving to LA*.
I spent my first couple of weeks out west trying to figure out the best soundtrack for a summer in California. I would spend several hours in LA's wonderful public transportation system (cries in NYC w/o a license) and I would need a special score that would forever bring me back to my early days in my new career and I wanted to make it California specific.
I tried some Red Hod Chili Peppers and then some LaLa Land before I realized I couldn't get away from what I *wanted* to be listening to, which at the time was the very un-LA, very NYC original broadway cast recording of Merrily We Roll Along, after all, it was just a couple of weeks out from a Tony ceremony that made millennials very happy.
And so I started my morning commute – which sometimes consisted of an uber to the train station, then LA metro, then a bus, then a shared metro bike, then some walking – by listening to Groff, Radcliffe and Mendez singing about how incredible/shitty NYC is. Perhaps appropriately, the only reference to LA/Hollywood/California in all of the soundtrack is
And there I am in California
Talking deals and turning pink
Back in business and I mean just that
When I started film school two years ago, I heard from everyone that breaking into TV/film/entertainment is all about “who you know". Fresh out of corporate tech, I didn't quite understood what that meant. Until I landed in LA. I truly felt like everyone knew everyone. And it was exciting to start to get to know everyone too.
Towards the end of my time in LA, I was feeling comfortable getting around the city and understanding how the city – and industry – operate. I felt in a way that, maybe unsurprisingly, a musical about young artists trying to breakthrough in entertainment does a great job encapsulating.
That faraway shore's
Looking not too far
We're following every star—
There's not enough time!
I left LA feeling very optimistic about having an incredible experience in my past, and an even more incredible one ahead of me, the fall internship at The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
However, as the internship is only through December, I started looking to see what else is out there to be prepared should I not stay past the semester.
…
…
Again, perhaps unsurprisingly, the same Merrily song still resonates perfectly, just a few verses later.
It's less of a sail than a climb
That faraway shore's
Farther every day
We're learning to ricochet
We still have a lot to say...
Things are tough all around, but specially dreary in entertainment. Yet, I remain realistic and yet optimistic about what's to come.
Who wants to live in New York?
Who wants the worry, the noise, the dirt, the heat?
Who wants the garbage cans clanging in the street?
Suddenly I do...
*Pls someone hire me in NYC so I don't need get a license and move west
Ps: Today is my birthday, so if you made it all the way here, send me your favorite celebratory gif!