Life & Work with Emily Steele of Hendersonville

Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Steele

Emily, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was a high school English teacher for nearly 15 years, but as much as I loved my students, I always had a yearning to be a part of the entertainment industry. It started when I first moved to Nashville in 2004 in the hopes of pursuing a career as a country singer. I was even signed to a small indie label for a brief moment. But that didn’t pan out.

I did, however, fall in with a local theater group and eventually started writing some of my own short comedy skits for it. Through that I discovered that I had a real knack for comedy writing. After a few successful live shows, I teamed up with my friend and my now-husband to form a sketch comedy troupe called Common Sense for Dummys. In addition to our live shows, we got the idea that we could reach a bigger audience if we filmed our sketches and put them online.

The problem was, none of us had any experience with film production! It was the definition of baptism by fire. We learned everything as we went and I’m sure it showed! But I fell in love with the entire process. I not only loved performing and writing, but I loved putting it all together behind the scenes.

Eventually I started finding other productions to work on. At first I would volunteer to be a production assistant on anything I could when I had a break from school just to get experience working on a set. Then I started getting jobs that paid! And at some point I realized this was what I wanted to do.

Unfortunately, full time production work was hard to come by in Nashville for someone just starting out. And with half a dozen film programs in the area churning out production assistants every semester, competition for entry level positions that were available was steep. It seemed like I would never have have the chance to make the leap from the classroom to the set.

Then one day, someone said to me “you know you’re a teacher. Have you ever considered being a set teacher?” I told her I hadn’t, mostly because I had no idea what that was. Once she told me it was a teacher hired to tutor child actors on set and be responsible for monitoring their well being while there, my eyes nearly popped out of my head. “That’s a job?!?” I exclaimed. I immediately put the word out that I was available for hire as one and within a year, I had a full time job working on a show.

I used that experience as a launching pad to make connections and get on as many other sets as a could. I’ve learned as many other positions as possible. You’ll most often find me working as a coordinator or production manager as I love handling logistics. I am working my way up to a producer.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been an easy road at all! I’ve been in the industry full time for about 8 years now and I still find I have to prove myself all the time. My set teaching background was great because it got me out of the classroom and onto set but I’ve also found it can be my achilles heel. People who have worked with me in that role tend to get tunnel vision and don’t consider me for other jobs.

Also, with the labor strikes and work shortages of the past 2 years, I have had to take steps back rather than forward. I’ve had to work jobs that I am overqualified for at rates much lower than I would have 2 years ago just to stay in the game at all.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I guess the answer to this is 2-fold. I specialize in comedy writing. And as a writer I am known for character development and natural dialogue. You will not find conversation that sounds like exposition in my scripts, even if it IS exposition. My specialty is writing the way people speak. The key to this is listening to people in real life. It’s also about willing to be vulnerable and exposing those pieces of yourself that you don’t want to admit exist but in fact, likely exist in everybody. I’m willing to go there in my writing and I think that’s what sets me apart.

But what sets me apart in my professional life as a coordinator and producer, the thing that I am most proud of, is my integrity. I believe in doing right by people, even when it might be easier not to. I think that’s something that’s lacking in this business, although I DO think Nashville has much more of it than other places. But I try to help others out and I take up for my people. I once pulled a supervisor (who outranked me quite a bit) aside and told him his behavior was unacceptable and I expected it to stop when I found out he was speaking badly about a former colleague of mine. I knew I could possibly be fired for it (I wasn’t) but I believed it was the right thing to do.

Another time I was working on a show and by chance met one of the executive producers. We got talking about another show I had worked on and a producer started saying some disparaging things about the cast of that show. I could have gone along with it or at least kept my mouth shut. No one would’ve ever known. But again, I believe in doing right by people. So knowing I might very well offend this producer and jeopardize future jobs on his projects, I told him I did not share his opinions on my former show and I thought it best we change the subject.

They say to surround yourself with people who fight for you in rooms you’re not in. I say be the one who fights.

If you did a good job on one of my projects, I’m going to remember you and I’m going to use you again. I’m also going to refer you out to as many other people as I can. If you’ve helped me out, I’m certainly going to do the same for you. And if I’ve messed up on the job and you were affected by it, I am going to try to do whatever I can to make up for that. Or at the very least, own up to it and give you an apology. I treat people the way I’d want to be treated. I believe the universe is paying attention. Even if it doesn’t always feel that way!

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Integrity for sure! Sometimes it seems like it doesn’t pay to do the right thing but I truly believe the universe is paying attention.

Coordinators have lot of different job duties depending on the project. There’s no one set job definition for it, which is both a blessing and a curse. But some qualities I have that are relatively universal across the board (in case anyone out there is reading and looking to hire!) are document preparation, securing locations and permits for shooting, and detailed note taking. I am also organized almost to the point of compulsion. I work well in fast-paced environments. I can self-manage and pay close attention to detail. I can both take direction and be a self starter. But my superpower is working well under pressure. I don’t get cranky at hour 16 and I can adjust easily when the schedule changes on a moment’s notice.

But most of all, I have fun on the job! I live by the motto of, I take my work seriously but not myself. I vowed when I got into this business that I would never allow myself to become jaded by it and so far, I’ve been able to keep that promise. I’m not saying I don’t have days where I am frustrated. But I still love what I do and am grateful to be a part of it. The day I stop being excited to come to work is the day it’s time for me to get out. Until then, expect to have a good time on any set you’re working on with me! (And expect things to run as efficiently as I can possibly make them!)

Pricing:

• Production Coordinator/Manager – negotiable depending on demanding of the project
• Producer – negotiable depending on demands of the project
• Screenwriter – negotiable depending on demands of the project
• Set teacher – $400/ 8-hour day (baseline)
• Script consultation – see https://emilysteele.com/sample-consults/

Contact Info:

• Website: https://emilysteele.com
• Instagram: therealsteele19
• Facebook: missemilysteele
• Twitter: theemilysteele