Today we’d like to introduce you to Angela Nichols.
Angela, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My affinity for pop culture started when I was a child. I was exposed to the entertainment industry via my aunt, who was a marketing executive for Warner Bros. theatrical entertainment. I often attended movie premieres, press junkets and promotional events, and various celebrity gatherings. And by the age of ten, had decided on an entertainment career path.
Following graduating from Long Beach Polytechnic High School in 1996, I moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to attend Chestnut Hill College and majored in Communications and Technology. As a full-time student, I had internships at Warner Bros. in New York, and Allied Integrated Marketing in Philadelphia. Allied is the country’s premiere entertainment marketing agency with over 23 offices across the United States and Canada.
After graduating in spring of 2001 college, I relocated back to Southern California to be closer to my family and to pursue a career in entertainment but unfortunately, due to the events of September 11th, my dreams were literally crushed because all of the studios took a hit and weren’t hiring. In the span of four months, I interviewed at every major studio and was told NO! So instead of folding, I decided to be a grown-up and get a job until making my next move which leads me to work as a live source operator for Verizon, WHICH I HATED, but it paid the bills. I spent eleven months recalculating my next move and decided if I didn’t get the job I had dreamed of in Hollywood, then I would return to Philadelphia and go back to the drawing board. Immediately after settling back into my life on the east coast, I took a position as an Executive Assistant to the President of PRWT Services, one of the city’s leading outsource companies. From there, I moved into a marketing position at the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau (PCVB) working on events that included the annual Army-Navy Game at Lincoln Financial Field, the Live 8 Benefit Concert held on the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum, and Philadelphia’s bid for the 2016 Olympics. But after working there for three years, I decided to move back home permanently to pursue my dreams…this is now almost 20 plus years that my dream has been differed.
I had built a successful career in tourism and went on to work at the Los Angeles Convention Bureau and then went on to handle the consumer promotions for Madame Tussauds Hollywood, which was so much fun until I was laid off 17 months later. A couple of weeks after being laid off, I found myself on set with Stage 3 Productions working as a PA for a couple of shows for the BIO channel, which introduced me to an entire new world because I always thought I would end up working in publicity. Well, I thought nothing of working this gig although several of the talents on set encouraged me to pursue production. I wasn’t convinced. I was now 30-years-old and felt very lost in my career. Twenty-two months later, I was still unemployed and was feeling down for not being able to land a permanent job and burning my gas interviewing at all the major studios/networks, until a chance encounter with the Executive Producer of the New Ricki Lake Show turned into the open door that unlocked my dreams.
So here’s where things get good! My aunt, who I mentioned above asked me to drive her to a meeting at FOX Plaza because she hates the freeways. I didn’t have anything else to do, took her to the meeting and waited in the lobby area. As I sat there waiting for her to finish up, I was convinced that my dreams would never happen and GOD had other plans for me. At that very moment, I literally said, “GOD, if you don’t want me to work in the entertainment industry, then I don’t want to do it and will follow your lead.” And I truly believe that me surrendering my dreams at that moment was the catalyst to my big break. A couple of days later, the Executive Producer of the New Ricki Lake Show, who I had only said a quick hello to, called to inquire about my interest in being her assistant. I contemplated moving forward because I never had an interest in daytime talk shows but in the end decided, if the door was finally opening for me, then I had to walk through it. So, I took a leap of faith and accepted the position after finding out it paid less than half of the corporate salary I was costumed to earning. And from there, my career took off!
In April 2012, I started off as an assistant to the Executive Producer and worked my way up to a lead producer in a span of seven years. Some may think that being an assistant is horrible but it was the perfect position that helped me build a strong foundation in producing. From learning how to pitch ideas to booking guests, I did it all while getting lunch, handling day-to-day tasks and parking cars. But I was very blessed to have so many wonderful people who believed in me and took the time out to answer all of my questions. I assisted producing teams on show days, pitched ideas every week and sat in meetings that taught me how to stack a show. Now there were a couple of bad eggs but for the most part, I’ve worked with some amazing people.
My production credits include “Biography” (Bio Channel), “The Kris Jenner Show” (FOX), “The Queen Latifah Show” (Sony Entertainment Pictures), “The Boris and Nicole Show” (FOX), “It’s Not You, It’s Men with Tyrese and Rev Run” (OWN), “The Next 15″ (TV One), “Curvy Style with Timothy Snell”, “The TD Jakes Show” (OWN), “My Cat From Hell” (Animal Planet), “The RuPaul Show” (Telepictures), “The Steve Show” (NBC),” and my current gig at “Carpool Karaoke” The Digital Series (Apple TV).
As a little girl, my thoughts of working in the entertainment were so small compared to my career in production. My resume reads like an unimaginable dream that I am so humbly and blessed to call my reality. And I encourage everyone who has experienced a differed dream to keep your head up and never lose hope because at the right time, it will happen. GOD didn’t put it in your heart to tease you. The manifestation of your dreams will come to pass.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
When the opportunity presented itself to me, I knew it was GOD sent so I decided to put my all into my career. First one in, last one out. This was my dream career and I made a commitment to myself to make the best out of it and to make this a good experience. I walked into work every single day with a positive attitude because I remembered what it was like working those jobs I hated going to. I remained humble when encountering unique personalities and when I saw people being promoted over me.
One of the biggest challenges was encountering negative people who were in high positions and held up my money and learning how to deal with them. It helped me to be stronger and helped me find my voice so that I wasn’t being taken advantage of.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I am a television producer and currently work as a research producer on “Carpool Karaoke” the digital series. I’ve worked on various projects that include daytime talk shows, reality series and digital series.
I must admit, daytime talk is my favorite because I find so much joy in helping people share their stories. It’s always exciting to be able to work with celebrities but human interest stories is what I love!
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Starting out, I would have probably pursued production instead of publicity. I would have been further along in my career.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: iamangelarenee
- Facebook: Angela Nichols
- Twitter: AngelaRenee07
Image Credit:
Queen Latifah Show on stage: screen grab.
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