Eliott Lilly gets personal. 1. What was your first job? I’ve had a lot of first jobs over the years. When I was 13 years old I started a cleaning service in my neighborhood. That job grew into a much larger business and by the time I stopped working on it (4 years later to focus on school and my …
Do You Have A Digital Strategy for Your Arts Career?
You’re a young artist (or dancer, actor, musician, animator) and you have a Facebook page, a Twitter account, you’re on Instagram and blog sporadically on Tumblr, maybe you’ve even shot a few You Tube videos. You don’t always remember to update your website and you feel kind of conflicted about “marketing” yourself, but you know you have to have one …
CSSSA People – Pablo Lopez
“Being an artist is such a lucky thing to be.” Meet Pablo! Pablo Lopez attended the California State Summer School for the Arts (CSSSA) Theater program in 2012. As a high school student, he didn’t know what to expect from the experience, but he was open to whatever was going to happen that summer. He admits, “Little did I know …
How To Survive Publishing Your First Novel
The book is in progress. The contract between you, your agent and your editor is signed. You can now lay back and finally relax now, right? NOPE! As a first time author, your first novel may be roughest challenge yet. You might have to revise a draft of your novel at the last minute or find yourself canceling a very …
5 Things to Do Before You Shop Your Screenplay
So you wanna write a screenplay. We’re not going to tell you to rewrite it and make it the best story you can. We’re assuming you already know that and will do it. These are practical points from story analysts who have read thousands of scripts . . . each. Story analysts (casually called “readers”) are employed by studios and …
Want to be a Children’s Book Illustrator? Part II
Award-winning Children’s Book Illustrator LeUyen Pham shares her musings and advice to young artists. PART II “…you just have to listen to that inner voice, that inner compass that’s pointing you in the right direction.” Although she never took an art class until college, children’s book illustrator LeUyen (la-win) Pham has illustrated over 80 published books in a variety of …
Secrets of a Reality TV Producer
Erin Zelle shares her insights into the world of “unscripted” documentaries, reality TV and lifestyle shows. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB IN THE BUSINESS? I got into it by accident. I was working for a non-profit, researching extremist groups, and it was very depressing. I spent my days reading and writing about all kinds of skinheads, militias and white supremacists. …
Want to be a Children’s Book Illustrator? Part I
Meet Award-Winning Children’s Book Illustrator LeUyen Pham. PART I tales of education and her early career “One of the nicest things about the field that I’m in is that it allows me to constantly grow and change and develop and learn.” Although she never took an art class until college, children’s book illustrator LeUyen (la-win) Pham has illustrated over 80 …
FROM “BAD” TO “BETTER”: Television writer Peter Gould
Peter Gould exclaims, “I was a bad speller. I had terrible handwriting. Doing papers in school was agonizing for me.” And yet today Peter Gould is an Emmy-award winning writer and co-creator with Vince Gilligan of AMC’s “Better Call Saul”, the highly lauded and hugely entertaining spin-off series of “Breaking Bad”. When asked to talk about his career path in …









