We had the good fortune of connecting with Jennifer Clymer and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jennifer, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
Work life balance is very hard to achieve and almost impossible to maintain. But that is the secret. It should always be off kilter. In this industry there is no routine. So embrace the RollerCoaster ride. If one of your passions is your work, it is critical that you make other passions a priority in the moments that are available to you. While in the creative process though, building something from nothing but your imagination, your other passions must take a bow. I have the greatest gift that my future husband is also a creative. We respect when the other person is “in the zone”. We foster it for each other. The other passions need to get oxygen and support. So when a project is in a holding pattern, or you need a break, take it with gusto. There is one thing that matters above all of this for something close to balance. It is people. Your relationships. Your friendships. Your family. If you make sure that no matter where you are in your work, your heart and support are available to those that need you and love you and those that you love, you are doing it right.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My artistic expression has had so many evolutions in my lifetime. But I have learned invaluable lessons from each step along the way. Growing up on in the garden part of the Garden State, I began singing and acting as a child. In high school I started directing theater. In college I continued with those passions and added in radio and production. Immediately post college, I moved to Chicago and worked in theater, radio, advertising and started studying and performing improv. When I moved to LA it was on a mission to produce film that has an opportunity to lift up society. Stanley Kramer was an inspiration to me. To create films like Defiant Ones, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner and High Noon- where the focus is on the storytelling and the entertainment value and the ‘message’ of the film being secondary was my goal. I wanted to give back through my art and through story telling. As I began on my new path on a new coast, I got involved with one of the oldest entertainment related charities in LA, MPTF.

MPTF ended up not only being a constant touchstone for me over the past 20 years, it also became one of my clients and then the home to one of the projects nearest and dearest to my heart. The initial connections that I made through meeting people at MPTF got me on a path to working on feature films in the early 2000’s and then working at Sony Studios on some of the biggest films at the time. Through my coordinator role at the studio, I was working with incredible people like, Ian Bryce on ‘Spiderman’, Lucy Fisher and Douglas Wick, Spike Jonze and with Penny Marshall on ‘Riding in Cars with Boys’. As I was cutting my teeth on multiple films with a wide variety of budgets and production needs, I was also collaborating with friends on their passion projects. During the summer of 2000, I produced a Western short film, ‘Agua Dulce’ – Written and Directed by Edgar Pablos, We had meet on the Mike Figgis film, ‘Time Code’. The producer for that film, Annie Stewart mentioned my drive to Edgar and suggested that he bring my on board to help get the film pulled together. There were a lot of great lessons from that film, including – don’t film a Western in the desert in August. In 2002, I began researching how to form and sustain a creative platform for a unique community for MPTF. The charity was looking to create an internal TV station for entertainment industry retirees to have a place to still do what they have always been passionate about. After crafting a plan for the mechanics of that, I took an opportunity to work abroad on a movie shooting in Panama. In 2006, I returned to MPTF to implement the plan I had started for the MPTF retirement community. MPTF22 was in it’s infancy and needed a lot of support to take off. Over the past 14 years, this little project has evolved into MPTF Studios, thanks to the support of MPTF CEO Bob Beitcher. I have collaborated with hundreds of retirees to create over 3,000 programs ranging from Interviews to Short Films, Gameshows to Documentaries. It has been one of the most incredible experiences of my life and I am so proud of all it has become. It is Intergenerational and proves that creativity is ageless. In 2017 I added to a major intergenerational piece to the program by starting the INSTANT FILM FESTIVAL where volunteers from age 9 and up collaborate with the creative seniors on the campus in a one day race to make a short film.  It is a huge success and has been a great way to connect people from all ages and backgrounds.

Since the pandemic began, I created a live interactive variety show that airs three days a week. This was critical move to keep the seniors that we work with creatively engaged and living with purpose and dignity, yet safely physically distanced. The goal was to keep people’s emotional and mental health as important as keeping them physically well and safe from Covid-19. The variety show, called “Organized Chaos”, provides stability and the opportunity for interactivity and for the unexpected to happen. This project has been the cross-road of so much of my history. Not only am I producing over 20 hours of live content, I am also hosting and singing from the stage on the MPTF campus for each live show. Concurrently to starting up MPTF22, I was directing improv shows at Second City Hollywood and spaces on theater row and would assist in the production for up-in-coming filmmakers.

Then in 2014, I began raising funds for a documentary for a film that was relevant before the 2016 election and is even more relevant during the pandemic. In under 2 years, Be Prepared to Stop was funded and complete thanks in large part to my co-director/producer Marijane Miller and our producer/narrator Yvette Nicole Brown. The team we assembled is a group I will always be happy to work with. Shot by Ruben O’Malley, Be Prepared to Stop is a documentary about America’s highways, infrastructure and transportation industry. It is a passion project to give the average American a perspective on how critical the trucking industry and the roads we all share are to our way of life. It is available to free on YouTube now.

My love of theater remains strong and I was give the opportunity to direct, “The Gunfight at the Not-So-OK Saloon” for the Hollywood Fringe Festival. The incredible composer/writer Brooke deRosa tapped me to help bring her vision to the stage and our goal is to continue to evolve it from the Award Winning one act Operetta to a longer project for the screen. That project brought me so much joy. It was soul-satisfying to work with that highly talented creative team, from Brooke to all the cast, the choreographer and the producer (which was also Brooke). So many of my artist friends are turning to crowdfunding to give their art life. Two of my favorite projects that I have had the honor to be involved with are: Dear Mr. Watterson – A documentary about the impact of the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes. Down the Middle – A series of two strong women with very different approaches to life, having to discover a ways to work together. One of the creators of Down the Middle is a friend who also has strong ties to theater and is a gifted writer/actor. Keep your eyes on Heather Dowling. There have always be challenges. My way to approach them are to either lean in to them hard, or to use the energy of that obstacle to my advantage. Like one would do in karate, don’t try to stop the energy… redirect it to your advantage if possible. What I hope to do with my art is to remind people of their importance and to lift our collective consciousness to being a more kind and positive society.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love the Hollywood Bowl and the Chandler Bike Path. I find both to be restorative and good places to create and to be inspired. There is a GREAT dive bar in the Valley called The Fox Fire. It is a portal back in time and the pours are generous, not fancy. The antithesis of that is this lovely wine bar just a couple of blocks away called Miribelle. They serve a delightful yet modest menu and the atmosphere is very welcoming. Some dear friends and I spent HOURS tucked in a corner catching up, laughing and so absorbed in our conversation that we went from having late morning brunch to early evening dinner. Not once did we feel like we needed to pay up and leave. My other go to spot in the valley is Lake Balboa. I was in a running group that would meet there in the mornings and get several miles in on Saturday mornings. The water fowl remind me of many places I loved while I was growing up. There are so many shady spots to either set up laptop and work, or spread out a picnic and watch people on paddle boats. One of the places that I cannot wait to see re-open is Tramp Stamp Granny’s. It’s the only piano bar in LA since Don’t Tell Momma’s closed. It is not as “Broadway” driven as Marie’s Crisis in NYC, which I miss dearly, but it runs a very close second. Will Rogers Park has a great parking lot to settle in and watch the sunset from. The New Beverly Cinema and Musso n Frank are both must visits for my out of town friends. New Beverly is a place that my fiancé and I visit at least once a month. 

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

There are so many people that make my journey special. MPTF – where I have been able to craft an incredible department to serve a unique community and foster the creativity of others. Bob Beitcher, Susan and Gary Martin, Marie Urquidi, Amy Wieseneck, Marcus Murrietta, Allegra Leedom, Paige Thompson and so many other star, freelancers and donors who continue to help shape and mold MPTF Studios.

Brooke deRosa – She is supremely talented and unstoppable in her creative vision. Marijane Miller – A writer, a producer and a documentarian whose opinions I value and partnership I cherish. Dustin Bernard – the first producer I worked for in Los Angeles. He put me on a great path.

Joe Sutton and Ken Scherer from MPTF – they were instrumental in funding and supporting a vision that would take years to come to its full potential. Edgar Pablos – We worked together early in our careers and have a friendship that only continues to strengthen. He is my future and we are each other’s strength. Of course my parents and my family have been incredibly supportive throughout my journey.  I am so grateful for all they have done. Margaret Selser – She has been my cheerleader for what feels like decades. Mark Henderson and Doug Diefenbach friends from Chicago who supported my creative nature and my leap of faith to move to Los Angeles. Heather Dowling – Her drive, talent and authenticity are life goals of mine. She is extraordinary. Yvette Nicole Brown – This gifted actor/singer/writer/producer is SO smart and has an ability to see the big picture. And she knows how to motivate people to play their part to bring everyone into harmony. Her spirit and kindness inspires me everyday.

Hawk Koch – One of the most fortunate turns for me is that I got to know and work with this incredible producer through his philanthropic work at MPTF. He is someone I have come to not only admire, but to count as a mentor. Stanley Kramer – His filmography is part of the reason I moved to Los Angeles. My goal was to be a producer/director like him. The Producer’s Guild, The Harvard Yardbirds, Team in Training, The Child Development Institute, Women in Film, MPTF’s NextGen and The Hollywood Finge Festival.

Website: https://bepreparedtostop.org/ & www.mptf.com)
Instagram: @jenclymer
Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/jennifer-clymer-a35840b
Twitter: @jenclymer
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jenclymer
Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/mptf
Other: The link to my recent documentary available for free on YouTube is here… https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7ZjxGGDWbiARP7Op6WnbvQ

Image Credits
The behind the scenes photo from Organized Chaos and Matt and Maya were taken by my fiancé, Edgar Pablos. I took the other photos.

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