Tuesday, April 21, 1998
San Francisco marijuana club reluctantly, peacefully closed
THEATER: Celebrities act as counselors on real life in
Hollywood
By Emi Kojima
Daily Bruin Contributor
"If you ever work for Disney, hire an attorney," said Susan
Egan, UCLA alumna and the original Belle in the Broadway production
of "Beauty and the Beast."
"It was the best thing that I had ever done," she said.
This is the kind of advice you’ll get during the School of
Theater, Film and Television’s (STFT) Career Week, a series of
panels that helps students make the transition to entertainment
employees.
"It was to give kids an idea of what to expect when they leave
school," said Joyce Thompson, event coordinator of the STFT.
"Basically, (it’s) career counseling by celebrities," she
said.
Monday’s panel included successful UCLA alumni, actors Lisa
Carroll, Egan, Marco Sanchez and Maury Sterling.
"Each success story is going to be completely different," Egan
said.
"Listen to your instinct. Don’t be loyal to other people at your
expense."
The public is welcome to attend all events of the week,
including seminars and panels by professionals.
"I’d like to see the whole campus come to Career Week," said
Gary Gardner, vice chair of the theater division of the school and
host of Monday’s panel.
"Some people think that the theater people are just the crazy
people on the north end of campus," he said.
Each day focuses on a different aspect of the industry, ranging
from acting to writing and directing.
On Wednesday, UCLA alumna Nancy Cartwright will speak at the
week’s climax. Cartwright, the voice of Bart Simpson, will give a
seminar titled "My Life as a 10-year old Boy."
Students, faculty and successful alumni gathered in the lobby of
the Freud Playhouse on Monday, where all the events were held.
Students asked questions of the panelists for general and
personal advice.
"Hi, I’m a graduating senior, and I’m scared," one audience
member said to the panelists.
Egan made an analogy – UCLA is like the professional Hollywood
industry – to demonstrate how real jobs are not as menacing as they
seem.
Students found the advice the professional actors offered
useful.
"It’s been good to see that a lot of actors use strategies to
further their careers," said Dawn Suggs, a fifth-year directing
film student.
"This information is very hard to get in the environment outside
of school. It’s hard to know who to turn to," she said.
Career Week began in the early 1990s as the brainchild of the
student counselors for the school. It began as a career day when
agents and local theaters would have tables and students would ask
questions.
Since then, it has changed to focus on one or two panels per day
for a week with more practical information. Thompson is in charge
of organizing the event.
"Every year it’s like pulling teeth to get different
celebrities’ schedules together at the same time. It’s quite
terrifying," Thompson said.
Famous alumni, however, have been more willing to share their
advice with students.
"Now they’re calling and saying ‘I want to talk at Career
Week,’" Gardner said.