“Other people’s success is your success. Celebrate other people’s wins. Because at the end of the day, we’re all doing this together.”
The following is a conversation between CSUF alumnus Samantha Drews, an actress/writer best known for the musical Ain’t We Got Fun.
Kemdi:
Hi Samantha. Thank you for taking the time for this interview. I want to jump straight into what came first, your desire to be in front or behind the camera, and what caused it.
Samantha:
I wanted to be a director. I grew up writing. I wrote several books by the time I finished high school. Eventually, I ended up teaching at this summer camp where I wanted to direct and make films, and that’s what I was doing growing up and then going into college. I ended up getting a degree in cinema and television arts with the idea in mind that I was going to be a director, and obviously, that changed. Once I graduated, honestly, I just started making more income acting than anything else just happened to fall into my lap.
Kemdi:
What made you desire to pursue this interest as a career and what made you certain you could do it? Did you have other interests that you considered majoring in for college? If so, how did you weed out the other options and figure out which cinema and television arts were the best method for you?
Samantha:
I wanted to do directing. I studied editing. I interned in my sophomore year of college with a production robotics company called Ellison Technologies. I worked with them for about a year until Covid hit. I was doing all of their editing, their marketing materials, and all their advertising sales and pitches but I realized that it was draining for me at the end of the day. I realized that wasn’t for me.
I ended up picking a directing course at Cal State Fullerton, during the spring semester of my junior year, and it was a fun class. In the middle of it, Covid hit. I just realized in the middle of that directing course, as I was directing the actress that I wanted to do the acting. I started building a resume for that in film instead of theater. I had a friend of mine reach out to produce a thesis at Cal State Fullerton and I started producing for them. In that class, we did a table read between the students and I ended up reading one of the roles and everyone was joking that I should be acting as a lead role.
Kemdi:
Can you share a little about your experience at Cal State Fullerton in terms of classes, social life, parking, and campus involvement?
Samantha:
I moved down and into the cinema and television dorm. That was sort of my first introduction to college, and in general, the environment of SoCal and you know the people in the film industry who are majoring in film. My junior into senior year, ironically enough, during Covid was when I had the most engagement with the film community because of production courses.
Kemdi:
To add to that last question, what would you say is the best way to maintain a proper work-life balance and how have you carried that into your professional life?
Samantha:
I was working at least 12 to 16-hour days, especially with producing. I act and I write so I have to balance them, and then I have my social life. I set times during the day when I will answer my emails. I will set times during the day when I’m not allowed to be distracted by social media. What I would do differently now is when it comes to assignments, for instance, let’s say you have a big essay that’s due or a big project that’s due. If there’s an emergency going on in your life, tell your professors, and talk to your people because they’re on your side. Having that open communication is incredibly life-changing.
Kemdi:
How did you feel about your final year in college in terms of what you do after and what steps did you take towards ensuring that ‘Oh, like, you know, I have a plan and stuff like that,’ right after you graduate?
Samantha:
I ended up moving back home and I went from making films with my friends every day all day to having school, having classes to absolutely nothing.
No less than a month later I got my 1st interview for Disney.
I studied 125 questions that they could have asked me, and I created answers for them specifically. I tailored it to myself, and I studied it for like 3 days straight, no break. Studied it. Eventually, I got my internship with Disney.
Kemdi:
Moving on to the Disney internship I wanted to know how you studied for that which you know, 125 questions. That’s a lot of questions. But I also wanted to know what the application process was like. What did your resume look like up to that point? Did you have to create a reel, website, a portfolio?
Samantha:
After post-grad depression and not having a job, not knowing what to do with myself, I spent time learning CGI, because that was the only tool I could use that I could do by myself. Why not, add another scope to my repertoire from there I thought I might as well take a chance on myself. I looked at Disney’s website and immediately logged onto their website.
I’ve had production experience and I applied and not thinking about it, I think I got lucky because I applied so soon within the first four hours. My resume just happened to have the same keywords that their job listing did. What happens is when you have 3,000 people who applied to that position, the computer is going to sort through all the resumes and see if the keywords match up to what the listing’s keywords are. Mine just happened to match. Explain and know your experience, why you’re interested in the industry, and what your passions are.
I was refusing to be unprepared. I talked about leadership qualities, specifically, because I remember talking about being a producer and producing my short film. Then I talked about the web series that I started producing with a friend of mine, why we had decided to do that after college, and why it was important to us. They’re looking for people who have passion, who have leadership, qualities, and capabilities. People willing to step out of their comfort zones and who are kind, good, kind people, someone that’s not gonna be arrogant or hard to work with.
Kemdi:
How was your experience working with Disney and ABC?
Samantha:
Oh, I loved it. I got to go behind the scenes for the set dressing of “The Muppets” and help them organize the wall pieces that they recycle and reuse. I sat at a table reading for their shows like “Grey’s Anatomy.”
Disney has an internal database of their employees, and so we had to stock people on this employee internal database, and reach out to people and talk with them. They emphasize reaching out to people, having one-on-one offers to buy them coffee, and talking to them and asking them questions about their career, and what we’re interested in.
I did have an interview with Marvel” after I finished and I thought about it. I don’t know if I should stay, or if I should try acting and continue on that path or not. This is an opportunity that I would love to have and pursue, and eventually, I decided I would pursue acting.
Kemdi:
And then another thing I wanted to ask about your work on the film “Ain’t We Got Fun.” Where can I watch? Is it on some streaming platform?
Samantha:
Yeah, it’s on Amazon Prime.
Kemdi:
Is there any other advice you have for recent graduates who are trying to get their foot in the door?
Samantha:
Networking for one. I would say the biggest thing is taking risks. Believe in yourself, and just hold on, and don’t let go. If you don’t believe in yourself, why should anybody else be right?
That took me a long time to figure out because even now I have imposter syndrome. But I would say, just make content. Put yourself out there. See what happens. You know. Test the waters. For instance, I tried editing, but I realized it wasn’t for me. I tried directing. Helping others helps you. Other people’s success is your success. Celebrate other people’s wins. Because at the end of the day, we’re all doing this together.
It doesn’t matter if you have all the equipment, just create it there. There are films out there that are not the best quality production.
Kemdi:
What are your dream goals in your career? What is the most unique production you’ve worked on or what is your favorite memory from a production? And then anything that you’re working on that you’d like to mention?
Samantha:
I’m honestly, really happy where I am if my career stays here. But if it did progress, I would love to lead in a big movie or a recurring role in a TV series. At this point in my life, when I was in college, I was fully “careered.” It never stopped. I reached a point in my career where I can be happy, and I’m glad for all the work that I put in to get to where I am now, and all the people that I’ve met and I’m content. I get to write a screenplay a month, and then I get to also act at the same time and just be able to do both. I would love to maybe start a production company because I’m starting to produce a little bit more. I am working on a short film about selective mutism, not necessarily breaking a stigma around mutism, but sort of diving into what it is.
My favorite production I’ve ever had was “Ain’t We Got Fun.” It’s my favorite because it’s the first feature I ever did. I was still in school, and everything about that was so much different than what I do now. Because the character I played was a half-blind Russian woman. It’s a farce musical comedy. So I also had to sing and I had to learn the Russian accent. And just a completely different style, because it was a period piece, the actual mannerisms of the characters.
Kemdi:
That’s great to hear. Thank you again for agreeing to do this. Is there anywhere readers can reach you?
Samantha:
You can find me on Instagram. @SamanthaDrews_
