Writer and Filmmaker ZACK MORRISON (Canusa Street, Everything's Fine: A Panic Attack in D Major) joins Alyssa to talk about his time with his hometown’s public works department. Zack tells us what it is like turning an Eagle Scout project into a summer job painting fire hydrants, spending downtime writing song parodies for radio contests, and how he used film to cope with panic attacks.

Note: Alyssa’s microphone is still causing issues but should sound slightly better about five minutes into the episode! Luckily it will be fixed in the next episode. Sorry again for the low sound quality!

Music:

https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/music.html

Vibing over venus

"Vibing Over Venus" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Comedy and animation writer NICK HARRON joins Alyssa to talk about his time as a cyber warfare officer in the US Air Force. Nick tells us about the weird process of applying for the Air Force Academy, making parody videos for football games against the Army, living in South Korea and Italy, and the power of LinkedIn messaging.

NOTE: Alyssa’s microphone somehow malfunctioned during the recording of this episode, and she doesn’t know enough about sound editing to fix it. Apologies for the low sound quality! 

Music:

https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/music.html

Vibing over venus

"Vibing Over Venus" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Stand up comedian KATE SISK (Comedy Central Presents) joins Alyssa to share what it was like to play professional soccer with the Puerto Rico Women’s National Team. Kate tells us what it felt  like to represent Puerto Rico, how soccer players spend their time when not training (spoiler alert: it sometimes involves working a whole other job) and what improv teams and soccer teams have in common.

Music:

https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/music.html

Vibing over venus

"Vibing Over Venus" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Comedy and late night writer ROMEN BORSELLINO (Kal Penn Approves This Message, The Daily Show with Kal Penn, A Little Late With Lilly Singh) chats with Alyssa about his time as a Youth Coordinator on Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign and his time working for the Department of the Interior under the Obama administration. Romen tells us about the politics around the Iowa State Fair, how he tried to blend in with university students as a career, working with his good friend Kal Penn, and what the Department of Interior actually does. Also… Romen and Alyssa discover they went to the same middle school?!?

Music:

https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/music.html

Vibing over venus

"Vibing Over Venus" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Animation writer MARK FUJITA (Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart, Young Justice, Justice League Action Shorts, Hello Kitty And Friends Supercute Adventures) joins Alyssa to talk about his time as a pro wrestler and writing for the WWE. Mark tells us about getting multiple concussions, learning how to fall like a professional, and how reading manga inspired his wrestling and writing career.

Music:

https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/music.html

Vibing over venus

"Vibing Over Venus" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Emmy nominated writer JONTERRI GADSON joins Alyssa to chat about her time as a college creative writing and poetry professor. Jonterri tells us why she left a tenured track (!!!) position to pursue being an animation, sketch, and variety writer for shows like A Black Lady Sketch Show, Everybody Still Hates Chris, Making It with Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman, The Upshaws, and The Kelly Clarkson Show. She also tells us about being a published poet, balancing writing and teaching, dealing with rebellious students, and how TV writing fellowships and contests shaped her career.

Music:

https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/music.html

Vibing over venus

"Vibing Over Venus" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Animation preschool and children’s writer PATRICK RIEGER (Frog and Toad, Batwheels, Thunderbirds Are Go) chats with Alyssa about his time as Plasma Pat, a “mad scientist” who performed fun and educational science experiments at schools and parties. Patrick tells us what happens when you reply to a Craigslist ad telling you to report to a warehouse in Van Nuys, what it’s like to clean dozens of broken eggs out of lab beakers, and why bounce houses are the mortal enemies of all birthday party performers.

Music:

https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/music.html

Vibing over venus

"Vibing Over Venus" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Preschool animation writer DAVE CAIN joins Alyssa to talk about his brief time as a camera guy for a traveling Little Person wrestling league. Dave tells us what it's like to be on the road, how he accidently got confused for a member of a British rock band, and what happens when 80s wrestling superstars and alcohol mix.

Music:

https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/music.html

Vibing over venus

"Vibing Over Venus" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

It seems like 99% (note: estimate possibly entirely made up) of working film and TV writers in the entertainment industry didn’t get a screenwriting degree. In fact, many started out in entirely different careers before transitioning over to the world of screenwriting. And many more writers worked several odd jobs before they sold their first script or got staffed on their first show. Almost every writer has a weird, crazy, or just utterly insane backstory. But along the way, these odd jobs shaped who the writers were as people, the content they write, and the random jokes and references they would later know way too much about 

In this podcast, TV writer Alyssa Feller interviews television, feature, comedy, drama, sci-fi, horror, animation, children’s, and late night writers to ask… what was that one weird job you had before you “made it”?