Ladyproducer Life: A Memorium

Or How Finding an Obituary Through Google Search Actually Got Me to Start Blogging

This post began as a simple introduction to my blog.  As my work in entertainment and beyond expands (especially since garnering a Tony Nomination), I'm asked out a lot by young hopefuls who want to "pick my brain".  And while I'm not able to take in every meeting in which someone wants to "pick my brain", I could at least put my brain on the internet. 

As with all journeys, mine is comprised of a million tiny steps.  The ones that took me the furthest were the steps I took with guidance.  In preparing to tell my own story, I looked back on some of those guides.  

While in the throes of a personal, professional, and creative rut, I hired an executive coach named Debbie Robins.  She had an impressive history both as a film producer and as a coach to the top executives at movie studios.  So I gave her a call.  I googled her name while starting to write this article, and found that she had passed away.  

Learning of the death of a loved one via Google search is a muted, numbing experience.  I had stopped hearing from her a few months before her death, though I chalked it up to a move I knew she was preparing for.  Drinking in her absence all day compelled me to continue writing this post.  She would have smiled and said something absurdly positive in response. 

She was warm, she was daffy, and she was ballsy-- all qualities I wanted more of.  She helped me put together a plan so baldly ambitious I burst out laughing repeatedly during out sessions together.  And she gave me more simple steps to take that would put me on the road towards those paths-- the most important step being to find my support system. 

"Find your tribe," she urged me repeatedly.  "They are out there, waiting for you. They don't know that they are missing you."  

This brings me back to what was supposed to be the original point of this article-- my tribe.  Today I am surrounded by a rock solid circle of badass women: my fellow #ladyproducers. 

These are the women who take on those absurdly ambitious projects and bring them into creation.  The women who keep communities bonded, growing, creating, and evolving.  Who know how to manage a budget, raise capital, spot a good idea and move on from a bad one.   There are not a ton of us in the Broadway community, and very few of us who are up and comers like myself. 

Many column inches are given towards pointing out the appalling gender inequality of creative positions on Broadway (I don't even need to include a link here, just Google "Gender inequality on Broadway" and weep), but less time is dedicated towards evaluating who is doing the hiring. Part of the reason for this is that no one hires producers-- we are a self-selecting group. Another reason is that to get into the Broadway producing game you need have a few bucks to throw around or learn how to raise money, and a lot of it, whether your goal is as a co-producer or as lead.  And currently women are investing 45% less than men, and generally in properties less risky than Broadway. 

We are a rare breed, and I would be utterly lost without mine. 

So here, in this blog, I wanted to focus on not just about forging a life in entertainment producing, and how to perhaps not lose your mind and your bank account while you do it, but also what issues face women specifically in this industry.  And how sometimes engaging a daffy, ballsy broad who encourages you to laugh out loud at your own ambition can transform your life in ways you never expected. 

I've worked with coaches a few times since then (many of you may have seen me promoting the work I did with Ken Davenport), but Debbie's words come back to me over and over again.  

Find your tribe.  Thank you for that Debbie.  Thank you for everything.