Today we’d like to introduce you to Spencer Taylor.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Spencer. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I was painfully shy as a child – at least, that’s what they called it in the ’90s. Pretty sure it would be more apt to label myself “riddled with anxiety.” So, when I was six, I started writing to express myself. I would write poems, short stories, journal entries, and, as I got older, other people’s homework and essays. For free. Cause I liked to do it, I was desperate for approval, and I had no business sense.
When I was in elementary school, I realized that people liked funny. The class clown was always the most venerated person on the playground. and I wanted to be that clown so badly. So I would write down a few jokes, here and there. And, if they came up organically in conversation, I would lead people to believe that I came up with them off the top of my head. Is that insane? Probably. But it’s also stand up comedy. So it was only a hop skip and a jump into performing my jokes on stage (and by that, I mean a solid decade of working myself up to the point where talking in front of people didn’t; make me want to throw up).
I started stand up when I was 21 and have not quit since. Even now, at the ripe age of 86. I performed all across the southeast before moving to Atlanta where I was able to perform regularly, try my hand at improv (I sucked), and also dip my toe in satirical writing for a local live news-style show. It was during this time that I started sending out Late Night Packets and spec scripts to try to land a job as a TV writer. And, wouldn’t you know it, I got an interview to write for ABC’s “Mixedish.” Being mixed and often full of ish myself, it was a dream job. I booked a flight, did my interviews, and bam, started my career as a TV writer with my first staffed job. It has been an amazing ride; even now that we have to break the second season on zoom due to COVID, I love spending my day cracking up with talented, hilarious people. Of course, there is a lot more to it than what Is above, but I feel like you get the picture.
Has it been a smooth road?
Of course, there were struggles – I did stand up comedy, in the south, as a woman of color. I’ve dealt with misogynistic bookers, racism, and people trying to pay me in chicken fingers. Plus, I lied earlier, I never stopped throwing up from the anxiety of talking in front of people. Must’ve been all those chicken fingers.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Bunders story. Tell us more about the business.
My company, Bunders Inc, is an entertainment company providing freelance writers, stand-ups, and improvisers. We are very new but still growing and I guess I am proudest of the success we’ve had so far and what is to come.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I think COVID is going to change the industry for quite a while; it’s hard to predict when things will go back to “normal” so a lot of great projects have been put on hold, a lot of shows have been canceled, and a lot of hardworking and talented people are finding themselves out of work.
But I can tell you what I hope to see – I hope to see more actors, writers, producers, directors, and entertainers of color get the opportunities they deserve. We are still incredibly underrepresented in Hollywood and I hope this is recognized and remedied.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @spencatayla
Image Credit:
Photographer: Andrew Max Levy.
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