Today we meet Sharon Werner who will share with us the story of her fascinating career pivot from New York thespian to Senior Vice President at Home Box Office. Sharon begins her narrative as an undergrad at Bryn Mawr.  She initially thought she would study medicine, but after experiencing some related classes, she changed her major to English and turned her focus to studying the rich literature of both the Renaissance and Medieval periods. 

 

By graduation, she had not found her career direction yet, so she took a job as a “gofer” at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. The job paid very little, but it gave her more time to explore and think about her future.  With a great interest in theater, she signed up for a scene study class at the Herbert Berghof Studio but felt she should pursue something more conventional as well.  Thus she sent out applications to graduate schools where she hoped to continue her English literature studies.  Just as she was accepted at Princeton, she landed a plum part in a musical she had auditioned for.  The production was the Fantasticks and she was cast as The Girl (Luisa), a leading role.  This posed a career dilemma for sure, but in the end, the road less traveled led off-Broadway.

 

Sharon learned quickly that you need to know a thing or two about business if you’re going to live on actor’s wages.  She was young and inexperienced but learning quickly.  She left the Fantasticks role after almost 2 years, and did summer stock and small parts in other off-Broadway productions.  A series of theater gigs, and jobs like being a gift wrapper or a salesperson at B. Altman, followed.  Where was she going?

 

A friend suggested to her that she possessed skills that might make her a good attorney.  Sharon scoffed and thought being an attorney was “one step up from being an accountant.”  But since nothing else was coming her way, she decided she had nothing to lose by taking the LSAT. She was sure she wouldn’t do well, and she could chalk off that occupation from the list of possibilities.  Fortunately, she was very wrong and she received a high score. Still reluctant, friends encouraged her to apply to top law schools with her stellar test performance.  She again mailed out applications, while she continued to keep her theater options open. 

 

While her applications were out to various law schools, she received a last minute call to back up a singer in a musical revue. (The actress who had the role was not feeling well, but she thought she’d still be able to go on.) And though the music didn’t match Sharon’s style or range, she took the job since the production was in a pinch, and she was available. Again, fate stepped in and she actually had to perform as the original actress could not.  Sharon did well and was hired to understudy all the female parts for the show.

 

Sharon intended to stay with the revue through its run, but again there were other plans afoot for her in the universe.  With only 2 weeks left for the show, Sharon received an acceptance letter from Harvard Law School. And this would not be the only acceptance letter she received.  She had come once more to a fork in the road. Should she take the route towards the more conventional law school choice or stick with the ever quixotic theater work?

 

She decided to give law school a try. Harvard was not offering the scholarship money she needed, so she chose to attend Columbia which proved more generous. Amazingly, she loved law school.  She found the coursework engaging and stimulating. She made law review and Law Revue!  Keeping her love of theater alive, she and some of her fellow students put together fun sketches and parodies about life at law school.  Her time at Columbia was greatly successful, and when her studies were completed, she was hired as a clerk for the Honorable James Oakes of the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.   She was in the clerkship for a year when another opportunity came her way.

 

Sharon was hired for a position in the entertainment department at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. This prestigious firm had the reputation of being the best in entertainment law in New York City. Although her friends assumed this was exactly what Sharon should do, Sharon reserved judgment as to whether this was really the right course for her.  She began tentatively but found out she was well-suited.  She truly enjoyed her work and learned a lot in the 3 years she was there. 

 

She next moved on to a position at MTV but was there for just a year when she was recruited by HBO.  It was at HBO where the rest of her career awaited her. The work was immensely fun, challenging and gratifying, and Sharon retired from HBO recently as a Senior Vice President.  Listen to her recount the growth and changes that took place at the media giant while she was there. She describes for us what it was like to work at HBO and we catch a glimpse of some programs and stars she encountered. 

 

Amy asks if she is happy she made the pivot from theater to law.  Sharon tells her she enjoyed both occupations, but law “is the kind of career that makes sense.”  She also discusses how she’s handling her recent retirement as after a merger, HBO offered many employees near retirement age the opportunity for a buy-out.  Sharon describes how coming to terms with a new lifestyle has unfolded, especially during the pandemic.  She says she was surprised at how the pivot from work to retirement was emotionally more difficult than she anticipated, and how the first year of retirement was a struggle.  You will enjoy hearing about Sharon’s unique career pivot.  If you’re like me, you’ll find yourself wishing you could hear some more of the fun anecdotes she surely could tell about her times as both an actress and an entertainment attorney.

 

Sharon offers some advice and some takeaways today in her interview:

• When you are just starting, if you lack confidence, listen to the advice of those who know you. They will send you in directions you might not dare to go without a push
• Keep an open mind to all possibilities, even those that seem unlikely
• You don’t have to rush with your career choice. It’s okay to have some life experience first
• Find joy in whatever work you are doing
• There are transferable skills in all types of work