Meet Megan Nager | SAG Actor. Writer. Commentator
We had the good fortune of connecting with Megan Nager and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Megan, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Before I had started my own business, I had worked in the entertainment industry for about eight years, in as many different roles as possible – both in front of and behind the camera. What I finally realized after all of those years was that my favorite thing to do was to create unique pieces of content – whether that be a comedy sketch, a commercial or a short film. When I eventually met my current business partner, Corey Turner, we discovered that the skills he brought to the table complimented the skills that I had, making us a really great team. We began by first creating a mini-series that we were able to pitch to Amazon. That was followed by several music videos, and then short commercials for local brands and businesses. Within six months of working together, we discovered that we were totally equipped to start our own company. We had all of the skills needed between the two of us to create super high-quality digital content in a short period of time. We officially launched Wake and Make Media in 2020, in the height of the pandemic, with the hopes of creating marketing and promotional content for local businesses who were struggling to get seen during such an uncertain time. Since 2020, Wake and Make Media has grown into a large, national production and marketing company that caters to over 25 different clients, all in various industries.
Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’d say that what sets me apart from others is my wide array of interests and how that factors into my art and content creation. I’ve always loved comedy and have been passionate about creating comedic content along with performing stand-up comedy and acting in comedic films and series. As I’ve grown as an artist and an adult, I’ve realized that it’s hard for me to stick to just one specific type of content and that I really love following and exploring different interests. Instead of forcing myself to just make comedic sketches or films, I’ve allowed myself to pursue those other interests and infuse them with comedy. For instance, in 2020, I grew a large TikTok following of over 200,000 followers by talking about pop culture conspiracy theories. Conspiracy theories aren’t typically “funny”, but I was able to infuse the videos I created with comedy. That following eventually landed my partner, Erin Darling, and I a Spotify deal and our show, Popspiracy, is currently on Spotify.
Additionally, when I’m working with our marketing and production clients, I love to infuse humor into whatever type of content we’re making for them. We recently produced a national commercial for one of our clients who owns a roofing company. Roofs aren’t necessarily that funny, but we were able to write a script that kept things interesting and brought a fresh perspective to the roofing industry.
I began my career working as a comedian – performing stand-up comedy and making sketch comedy comedy for social media – and that will always be my first love. At this point in my career, however, I’ve realized that there’s other, less literal ways to embrace that. The world needs to laugh more, so I will continue to sprinkle comedy into whatever venture I pursue.
Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’m OBSESSED with Gracias Madre in West Hollywood. If you love Mexican food, you absolutely have to try it. Known as “Beyonce’s favorite Mexican spot”, Gracias Madre will have you dreaming about vegan taquitos. And even if you are not vegan or hate vegan food, I promise you will love it.
I also love any time I can go to Malibu. The beaches are so beautiful and I love the drive up the coast.
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?
I could thank SO many people for helping me get to where I am today, but that would take up a novel-length amount of space. So I’d like to thank my parents – who have been unbelievably supportive throughout my career – and for always being there and providing me with the guidance, love and encouragement I’ve needed throughout such an unpredictable career journey. I’d also like to dedicate this to my fiancé and business partner, Corey Turner, who has allowed me to do so much more in my career than I would have without him. We’ve truly become an unstoppable team thanks to our complimentary skill sets and our overactive imaginations. Corey has helped me grow a business, film a ridiculously large amount of content, and continue to do one of my favorite things of all time – create, create, create.
Website: www.wakeandmakemedia.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/meganmakescomedy
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meganmakescomedy/
Twitter: www.twitter.com/unmetacated
Facebook: www.facebook.com/meganmakescomedy
Other: www.megan-nager.com
Image Credits
Credit: Sergio Estevez
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