Meet Lauren Boone: Media and Development Executive, Producer, Director

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

Hi Lauren, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?

The work/life balance is an aspect of life that I feel gets overlooked first, and with ease. Once you realize that there is no balance between these two things, it becomes harder to make it happen. Who doesn’t want to be good at their job? Who doesn’t want to work hard to get a promotion? Not many, I’ve found, especially in the highly competitive entertainment industry. This way of thinking is great until you realize that you are always hustling, working overtime, giving way more than you are getting, and STILL waiting for the next best thing to come. Once you fall into accepting that you “just don’t have time” for yourself, or to do anything that makes you happy independent of your job, it’s time to re-evaluate in my opinion. I have personally fallen into many situations in which I had a very poor work/life balance because I was under the impression that I was young and therefore “needed to hustle” in order to make something out of my life – aka all work and very little play. Also, there’s a very real passive aggressive (sometimes just aggressive) underlying warning for most entry-level jobs which whispers “if you won’t do this overworked and underpaid job then someone else will.”

When I first moved to LA 7 years ago, I had a habit of throwing myself into my job and would easily lose sight of what made me happy as an individual. I was happy when I did well at work and made my boss happy; this would lead to me prioritizing someone else’s success and happiness over my own. Therefore when I had an opportunity to go on a trip or do something fun with my friends, I would always make sure that it wouldn’t have any negative impact on my boss or my job whatsoever. This type of dedication can be beneficial in many ways, but I feel the most important factors of success are 1. that you are in a job with a path to professional/personal growth, and 2. that there is a healthy work/life balance.

It took me a few years, but eventually I realized that my work/life balance was way off and that I needed to start making moves to better my life. I’ll never forget when I was on a well-earned vacation in the UK a couple years ago and I was asked about the average vacation time allotted in America. When I explained that I got two weeks a year, the friends I was with absolutely lost it. They could not believe that I was given so little time a year – which completely surprised me. I thought this was normal! And after that, I began to think about my situation and evaluate my work/life balance. In most of Europe and the UK, it seemed to me that everyone worked to live, not lived to work. I realized I wanted to live my life accordingly.

I believe that mental and physical health is invaluable, and no promise of success from any person or business is worth damaging it for. Setting boundaries within the workplace at the start of a job is so important – I cannot stress this enough. And with these boundaries and self-awareness comes a health work/life balance.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I currently work in media & development for a literary agency, with a focus on book to film/tv adaptations, and podcasts. I am producing a podcast at the moment with a few others in development. What I love about my current job is that I get to combine two of my favorite things: books and movies. I love supporting writers and their projects, and being a part of the long journey a good book will make through many mediums. Podcasting is something I have come to love too, as I love storytelling – it’s at the heart of everything I do. I grew up wanting to be an actress, but it wasn’t until my final year of college that I realized I was actually a director, and that I loved working with actors more than being one.

My experience as an actor has helped me as a director more than I can say, and working with actors to get their best performance is my strong suit. I’m also incredibly specific and am able to communicate what my vision is for a project, which is an asset when working with designers, etc. I also really value collaborating and working with a team of people who are brilliant at what they do. As much as I love to fully envision a project before I start to work on it, I’m just as excited to hear what each department feels will work as well. I don’t think any project can really succeed without these elements.

I co-founded a theatre company in Los Angeles in 2017 called THIRD CULTURE THEATRE, and have been tremendously fulfilled producing, directing and running marketing for the many shows we’ve brought to life. Starting a company wasn’t something I thought I would do, but when the opportunity presented itself alongside people I love and respect, I knew it was the right choice. Between my jobs I feel incredibly busy but more importantly, I feel like I’m doing something of personal value with my time. I’m proud of what I have accomplished, what my co-founders and I have brought to fruition within our company, and what I’m building for myself in the future. Balancing the “day job” with one’s passions outside of a paycheck can be really daunting too, and I’m very lucky that I never have to do it alone. I’m surrounded by artists and creators who love the work, and are never short of ideas.

The path to my current jobs was wayward, at best. I moved to LA 7 years ago knowing I wanted to produce and direct, and that was it. I had no idea how production companies worked, what it took to get a PA job – nothing. I did understand, however, that I would likely need to get an internship for free, so I started there. I hustled and applied to every internship I could find. Within the first month, I had three and was working as a “Development Assistant” to an independent producer, “Front Desk” at a commercial production company, and “General Intern” for a production company. Eventually the assistant job turned into a paid gig after 6 months, so I dropped the others and started working there full time.

I learned a lot working for an independent producer and when it was time for me to move on, I was notified of a job that was not within my “wheelhouse” but it seemed interesting, and that landed me where I am now. Working at a literary agency was never something that I thought about – the same with producing podcasts. However once I peeled back the layers of these positions, I realized that I could use the skills I learned from directing and producing theatre and other projects to succeed.

It’s not easy working as an assistant – for anyone. Especially in the entertainment industry! The best advice I can give someone who is looking to work their way up via the assistant route is to come into a job knowing your boundaries and stating them up front, and to keep an eye on what you are passionate about because it’s easy to lose sight of that when your world turns into making someone else’s business thrive. It’s also really important to take a job that has growth opportunities. The reason assistants will work for little to no money on an excessive schedule is because they know there is light at the end of the tunnel. Therefore, if you don’t see any light (aka a promotion)…RUN. This is not the job for you, and you don’t want to waste your time.

My story really isn’t unique to many in Hollywood, or “the industry”. Most people will tell you it’s a lot of hard work following your dreams, finding a job that makes you happy and allows for proper work/life balance while paying you a liveable wage. These jobs are like unicorns. Which is why I also like to advise that people learn what they can from jobs that pay the bills, and then to go create your unicorn job. Despite what many people who have been here for decades seem to think, you DO have the power to go out and create, develop, network, produce, direct, act..whatever you want! You just need to do it, to try it. I’m still learning how to do this, by the way. It’s great advice, but can take awhile to master.

If you take away anything from my journey up to this point, I hope it’s this: trust your gut. When something feels right, even though it’s a risk, please go for it. And if you feel like you’re walking into a trap with a new job, you likely are. Trust your gut, speak up for yourself, and remember that working hard to get somewhere doesn’t automatically mean you should expect to suffer at the hands of someone else.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

I’ve been blessed with rock solid, ride-or-die friends from a young age. I met my soulmates in high school and a few more in college that have been by my side at every turn life has given me. I have a core group of about 15 people who encourage me, push me, gas me up, keep it real, and have done so since they came into my life.

One friend in particular once told me something that changed my life. I was in a situation where I was rejecting the idea that I needed time off to travel – that I deserved to clear my mind and do something for myself. For many reasons, I decided that I was going to stay put for the benefit of others, and she simply told me that I needed to say this phrase over and over until I got clarity: NO FEAR, JUST FREEDOM. I took her advice, and from that day forward I’ve brought that phrase with me into every room I step into. This wise person is named TiYanna Long, and she is a supremely powerful business owner, innovator and best friend; one of the many people I’m lucky to know that have held me up over the last 17 years

Website: www.thirdculturetheatre.com

Instagram: @lalafalana

Image Credits
First photo of me that I submitted of me directing “LB Directing”: @hrdwrker “TCT1” – @mfbentertainment “TCT2” – Lauren Boone “TCT3” – @hrdwrker “TCT5” – Lauren Boone “TCT6” – Lauren Boone