Meet Paige Bryant

Today we’d like to introduce you to Paige Bryant.

Paige, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My family was always very supportive in fostering my love of the creative performing arts. From elementary to high school, my entire world was stage production, cheerleading and being the class clown. After graduating high school, going to New York to major in Television & Film from St. John’s University was one of the best decisions of my life. That always feels weird to say in your 20s.

Truthfully though, I didn’t always want to stay in college. Don’t get me wrong, my classes were interesting but the idea of missing more time performing by being in class was daunting. My mom loves to tell the whole “when Paige tried to drop out freshmen year to pursue stand-up comedy full time” story whenever we’re at a family function. She did convince me to stay in school and likely bribed me with Beyonce tickets but I vowed and then did start to hitting the stand-up scene. Some of the coolest people do stand-up, a bunch of weirdo’s also of course, but they put me on game, and hooked me up with a few production assistant gigs. We were performing at Broadway Comedy Club, Gotham, and Caroline’s. Being backstage and hanging with all these comics was like being apart of some club. Never having the sorority experience, this was the next best thing. The next step after graduation was to move back to LA, shortly after I started working my first industry job at Burbank Studios.

About a year of that was enough time to want more. Imagine being so close to all of this action and you’re basically looking through a window. When I’d heard about a production coordinator gig from my godfather, who was working at this huge advertising agency 72andSunny the only option was to jump at the chance. Working there was life changing, hands-down. In fact all of my jobs has been positive and influential, there will never be a day I’m not grateful for each opportunity and the people that brought them to me. At that time in my life I hadn’t know how deep the creative process could go for a single piece of advertisement, but a little under 2 years there working on brands like  Google, Adidas, and Activision opened me up to the idea that everything matters, and it’s all about the details.

Making the move over to Media Arts Lab to work on Apple spots was about proving to myself learning different creative processes is more important that staying where you know. I can say the work life balance was catching up to me and needing a change was an understatement. Once you get the mind for “going freelance” you either jump or stall. For my sanity and growth, the payoff was more than imagined. It was cool to freelance, make your own schedule, expand your network, work with cool companies (Beats, Snapchat, Haymaker).  Then of course the freedom of controlling your own workflow allows you more opportunity to build your own dreams.

I’ve kept my LLC and still make it a point to perform stand-up. While producing I’ve written a few sketch comedy pieces and have a few pitches out. It’s an exciting time to be a creative producer, it’s impossible not to feel very much fortunate to be on this path. Being able to set my own schedule allowed me to perform write and perform multiple stand-up shows a month and assist in production. There’s nothing worth trading the things learned during that time. Things like explosions on set, 5am Call Times, how to manage big and small budgets. That was the time of my life that showed me this production life could take me anywhere, and if that was the case, what was next?

Technology was calling to me. If I wasn’t reading Variety magazine it was Highsnobiety articles on tech. When the opportunity to interview at my current spot, Left Field Labs, as a producer showed up, it was like a sign. Here was this cool Creative Technology Company, producing tech forward experiences and wanting me to become apart of it. It’s been mind-blowing how much I’ve learned since immersing myself in another part of production. This year I’m proud to be apart of a team elevating our experiences even further for our clients. There’s a genuine energy of everyone wanting one another to succeed. Since working at LFL I’ve produced events in my hometown of Los Angeles as well as in Las Vegas, New York and Spain.

Has it been a smooth road?
I’ve had no shortage of help along the way. While challenges can be trying, to be frank they’ve always made me a better comedian and producer. I’m still learning, everyday. A big quality I’m making a point to work on is how to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. As a black woman, there can be a lot of perceived challenges, even an intern struggle with imposter syndrome and overachieving especially in a field like Technology. The hack there is to lean into the people holding the ladder down for you, and to stay eager to learn and apply knowledge.

Then if we’re on the road of comedy, it’s a loaded question. Yes, it’s smooth to make people laugh, that comes natural. What didn’t come natural was the typical “artist dilemma”. Wanting something to be perfect before putting it out. The struggle. This was the biggest mistake made by yours truly, definitely turning this around for the better now.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
Currently I’m working on a few domestic and global experiences. They are technology driven and require a fairly large team with an imagination to match. We’ve been working as a unit for sometime now, the biggest thrill for me about the process is seeing creative vision with a digital element go from from idea to tangible.

When I’m not full swing I’m collaborating with my friends in film I’ve made along the way. Mostly working together on sketch comedy pilots and short films. More on that but I don’t want to jinx it.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Los Angeles, my home, my first love, is an amazing city. I mean, this is Hollywood. It’s the perfect place to do what I do. In theory, someone could just as easily make that very same argument for New York. But for me it comes down to quality of life and ease of networking when you have roots somewhere. The end goal is to be a bi-coastal creative producer with a hand in all things comedy and tech.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://paigeproduced.com/
• Phone: 3102569479
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/champaige/?hl=en
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/itschampaige

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