Big Announcement
When you work in production (and if you’re reading this blog, I assume you either do or want to), plans change all the time. As the saying goes, the reed bends with the wind, where the mighty oak breaks. Such was the case yesterday. We had planned for Crew Call producer Chris Henry to make […]
Motherhood in the Industry – Part III: Working after Childbirth
This is the last of a three-part series, written by a guest TAPA who has some actual life experience that I don’t. I would advise you to be physically strong to help get you through childbirth. Childbirth is a very crazy thing. Truly, you are just happy to get through it alive and with a […]
Motherhood in the Industry – Part II: Pregnant and Working
This is the second in a three-part series, written by a guest TAPA who has some actual life experience that I don’t. If you plan to work through your pregnancy, my “let’s get real” advice is this: do not announce your intention to start a family and if you become pregnant, hide it as long […]
Motherhood in the Industry – Part I
This is the first in a three-part series, written by a guest TAPA who has some actual life experience that I don’t. I am a twenty-something married woman who is a new mom with a three-month-old. I live in SoCal and am currently “living the dream,” AKA somehow managing to make it month-to-month while I […]
Managing Your Time
Ashley writes in: I’ll be moving to LA in the next few months to chase my dream of becoming a screenwriter. I’m also interested in production, though, and have thought about working on set starting as a PA. I’ve read that as a PA there’s usually little to no time outside of work, and I […]
Can They NOT Hire Me?
A soldier who wishes to remain anonymous writes in: I am a soldier of the US Army Reserve. I am obligated to give one weekend per month and two weeks a year to the Army. I am also an experienced set production assistant. I’ve never had this issue before, so I thought I’d ask you. […]
How Many Languages Do YOU Speak?
I had a coordinator once who was Vietnamese. She’s been in America for a couple of decades, so she didn’t have much of an accent, but she still occasionally got colloquialisms wrong. For instance, she would say, “Do you grab my drift?”{{1}} I understood what she was saying, obviously, but it still bumps you for […]
What to Do About Sexual Harassment
A reader who would like to remain anonymous writes in– Actually, you know what? To preserve this reader’s anonymity, I’m not going to copy-and-paste the email, like I normally would. There’s too great a chance of somebody figuring it out. Everyone with more than a couple years’ under their belt has experienced some sexual harassment.{{1}} […]
Willing to Relocate
Sorry, you have to be here when the job opens up.
Women in Horror Month
Welp, the Oscars are over (not that I had many opinions on that). More importantly, the film I was on is over, so I don’t have any good set stories to talk about. Having some time on my hands, I decided to read up on Women in Horror Month. If you’re not a fan of […]
The TAPArty Is Back!
And better than ever! Sorry it’s been a wee while. I’ve been on a shoot out of state, with no real way to make arrangements. But now I’m back, and it’s on. Mark your calendars: Sunday, March 8, at 2:00pm, TAPA and her readers are descending on Story Tavern in Burbank. Because we got into […]
Set Life Versus Office Life
Brianna writes in: My life goal is AD. I was just told by a PA as green as I am that I should take a job as an office PA because I didn’t go to film school and the office is a great classroom and that everyone should do it once. I know that being […]