Stars of The Teachers Talk Writing Process & Working with Friends
Crushing on women who are crushin' it.
The Cast of TV Land's The Teachers
TV Land's Teachers is an irreverent ensemble comedy about six elementary school teachers based on a web series created by The Katydids and Matthew Miller. The Katydids, a comedic troupe of six women from Chicago whose names are all derived from Katherine, wrote, executive produced, and star in the show (C&C fave Alison Brie is an executive producer), which is entering its third season.
We were able to grab the attention of 2/6, which is an F by school standards, but def an A in content.
Kate Lambert & Kathryn Renée Thomas chat with us on everything from the writing process to being scared to audition to superpowers.
On the writing process:
What does the writing process look like for the six of you?
Kathryn Renée Thomas: We generally spend the first 10 to 15 minutes talking about garbage. We have to get it out. We all arrive in the morning and have to gossip about what horrible things Trump tweeted last night or whatever Real Housewives did-- we cover all the really important things. Then we just dive right in.
Which means?
KRT: It depends on where we are in the process with the script to be honest. Sundays we come in and there are times where we’ll have to brainstorm a plot for an episode. But sometimes we just jump right in and start throwing out ideas. In the beginning we have a couple weeks of brainstorming. Sometimes a plot gets thrown out by the network and we’ll have to come up with something new to plug into a current script. There’s one script that we’re going to table read together for the first time. There’s another script that already has been table read that we’ve gotten notes on. Everyone has written their punch-ups and we bring them in and we sit around a monitor with our writers' assistants and we all pitch for different lines.
Kate Lambert: Going into Season 3 we’re looking to explore our characters on a deeper level. So that’s something we’ve been doing as well.
On having tough convos with the team:
You work together on so many levels and have known each other for a long time. Is it hard to be honest or tell someone you don't like their idea?
KRT: We’re pretty open and honest with each other. It was a hard transition at first. We’ve been together for over 9 years. It started with improv and it started as a joke. This group started as, “Hey we all have the same name. Isn’t that funny? Let’s do a show.” 9 years later we’re executive producing and writing our own show. The transition happened slowly, but we started treating the improv as a business early on and getting pretty serious. Then when we were actually getting paid for what we were doing as a business, we had to shift gears. At first, it was hard for me a to hear a “No” or have my pitches rejected in the room. Especially from people who were my friends and my sisters. We had to learn pretty quickly that that is just part of the process and part of the writer's room process. Any writer's room you go into, you’re going to have to pitch one thousand ideas and maybe none of them get chosen that day. I had to separate friends from business and say “You know, these are just my business partners,” for a while. Then once I got comfortable enough to understand,we’re doing what’s best for the show, I was able to go, “Oh yeah these are my friends!"
On the turning point for the business:
You mention a turning point-- when it all changed. When was that?
KL: It originally started as a one-off show. It was a lot of fun. Then it ran at a small black box theater in Chicago and that was so much fun and so exciting. I think it was the highlight of everyone’s week, and we had a great time and there was such an interesting chemistry between everyone that we thought we should explore. We ended up hiring a coach and getting a run on IO which was a huge deal. From there, we decided to make videos. It's such a great way to get your comedy out there. We made a video promoting the run and we thought that if people didn’t know our name or names of people in the group, they could watch these videos and that would entice them to come to the show. From there it turned into more of a business. We got a website, a Facebook fan page, we took professional photos, and we had a friend design a logo for us. We decided that we wanted to pursue this together, put our best foot forward and try to get to the next step.
KT: I wanna give a shoutout to Kate Lambert because she was really awesome about leading the charge with a lot of that stuff. I think it was Lambert's idea to create a press release for our show and some of the videos we started to make. Which, at the time, I didn’t know a lot of people in the improv community that were doing press releases about their show runs. I think that was a step above what other people were doing.
KL: Aww, thanks!
KT: It’s true! You really lead the charge on some of that stuff and I think it was incredibly helpful and lucrative for us.
On relationships and culture shock in Hollywood:
You've obviously got your tribe and support each other. What was in like moving from Chicago to Hollywood?
KL: Well, I think when you move to Los Angeles, like anything business and Hollywood related aside, the weirdest thing is that the weather never changes. And you lose all sense of time. I can't tell you whether I’ve lived here a hundred years or four. Living Chicago, you remember experiences according to weather and what people were wearing. I really can’t tell if something happened 3 years ago or two months ago.
KT: I’m so Midwestern and I think all the women in the group are really. My idea of LA was a very stereotypical -- douchey managers and fakey-fakey everything. Boob jobs and coke, you know? I was thinking, I’m this nice Midwestern girl, I’m not going to fit in there. But I love it out here. I think what helps with moving from the midwest to LA is the fact that we had a team of people whom we'd been working with and that support system was amazing. We were also really, really lucky to work with TV Land-- I'm not saying that because they’re our boss but they were really willing to take a risk with our voice and our vision. We anticipated that if we did sell this show, we would have to change it a lot to make it mainstream or that we’d be let go in creative aspects, and maybe just get creator credit. We truly found the love of our lives with TV Land because they let us keep all the same cast, all the same producers, all same writers, and they say yes to a lot of the crazy stuff we come up with. So my idea of this bad boss, people being douchey, was really squashed as soon as we started working with them. Not only that, but they’re just the nicest, warmest people so we felt like we were being brought into a family. That was such a great surprise.
KT: Also, on the business side, we came from a sketch background and all of our characters in the web series were different. But they were different by shades of gray and we tried to really blow them out for the show. We had to differentiate the characters and make their differences even more apparent. We also had to make them freer and move into their histories more. We weren’t just exploring them for two minutes anymore-- it was 22 minutes now. It was all a process of developing the characters to a further extent.
"Our success, in the end, came out of a lot failure."
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How did your backgrounds in sketch comedy prepare you for the successes you've seen?
KT: We failed a lot. Our success, in the end, came out of a lot failure. We’re 6 weird quirky girls from Chicago who were auditioning for a lot of things-- not all for weird quirky girls though. We weren't getting cast but instead of taking that as “Forget it, you’re worthless,” we collectively thought, “Forget it, we’ll do our own thing.” So being told no so many times, getting rejected, doing a show to an audience of one, or a hundred who aren’t laughing, we took all that and we learned from this and said how can we just keep going? And we managed to succeed anyway with our own trajectory and our own voices and we have more creative control than a lot of people do.
Early group shot. photo credit: TOM MCGRATH
On dealing with uncomfortable moments:
What’s worse, doing a show with an audience of one who is laughing hysterically or audience of a hundred who are silent?
KL: I always think it’s more uncomfortable to perform for one person. I’d much rather be in front of a crowd of one hundred people. To be honest, sometimes it’s pretty hilarious when nobody laughs. You just have to focus on what you think is funny. If an audience feels like you’re trying to be funny, they get uncomfortable for you as a performer because they can feel your nervousness. You just have to be comfortable and pretend it’s a huge audience.
But you were scared of auditioning...and didn't do it for a long time...
KL: I was lucky. I was working at a department store and the people I worked with knew all about my dreams and what I wanted to do. They were incredibly encouraging and they honestly really pushed me and helped me get over my fear. It was when I was working there that I took my first improv class for actors and I was there when I got cast in my first sketch show. I think it was a combination of support from friends and family, my parents obviously. And also just realizing life's short and I need to do what I want to do. Working jobs like that was good for me in some ways because it made me realize just how bad I wanted the job that I have now.
KT: For me, it can go either way. You can definitely kind of get in your head like Lambert was saying. You can even let go a little more than you would with a crowd of a hundred people. If you’re in a crowd of four people in the audience, it’s kind of like “Well maybe I can take more risks this way. I’m not gonna blow it in front of one hundred people.” I might take a risk and let go a bit in an audience of 4 people and I might play more lightheartedly and have more fun, that often times happens. It just takes a minute to get out of your head to move from “Fuck this, no one came to my show,” to “Okay, well let’s make the best of it.”
On their superpowers:
KL: I can love any dog on sight. And anytime I see a dog I get extraordinarily excited. I think dogs are the best thing.
KT: Oversharing. Girl, I’m an open book. It’s gonna get me in trouble some day.
Teachers is on TV Land. Catch up with the series here.
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#FollowFridays: The 8 Female Artists We're Obsessing Over
Much-needed weekend inspo.
Need new inspirational IG accounts to follow? Our #FollowFridays posts will have you showing mad love online when we round up our favs in art, business, wellness, philanthropy, tech, media + so much more. Check out who we're following below!
@monicaahan + @jackeyblue_
CLICK THEIR HANDLES. LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ARTISTS & SHOW THEM SOME LOVE.
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Content Creator: Tayst
Don't call her a doodler.
This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full Content Creator List Here.
Don't call her a doodler.
When Taylor St. Claire, AKA Tayst of Tayst Design, received negative feedback from a her college art professor on a project, she posted the piece on social media “on a whim.”
For the first time, she received positive affirmation of her work, while also having fun creating the artwork she was posting. After a few months of posting her illustrations to her personal channels, companies started reaching out. “Requests for sponsored posts and custom graphics for their company’s use started to flood in. I was so happy to think that people appreciated and wanted my artwork.”
"I was so happy to think that people appreciated and wanted my artwork.”
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Growing up in a very creative family, Taylor has been drawing as long as she can remember. Art came easily, but it’s been her unique approach to marketing herself as a brand, as well as “a lot of persistence and hard work,” that has catapulted a passion for art into a career that she loves. Take for example her approach to the business card. “At the beginning of my career I attended a seminar in New York at the Teen Vogue offices for young people interested in the business of fashion,” she says. Rather than opting for “the common business card,” Taylor created mini flip books showcasing her artwork. It set her apart from others at the event and hooked some of her favorite editors who were also in attendance. “When they contacted me,” she explains, “they helped give me confidence that I had found the right career path.”
That she has. “Ever since my initial post, business has been nonstop,” Taylor claims. Which sounds ideal, but can prove difficult for a young artist dipping her ink into the business world. Initially time management became a struggle. “It all happened so fast, I had to pretend to be professional, while still trying to figure everything out,” she explains. Everything from pricing, to copycats, including fake social media accounts imitating her style and blatantly copying her work, became hurdles. “Some even went so far as pretending to be me,” she says, “in hopes of taking my clients.” It was admittedly difficult, but Taylor is “always striving to learn the next latest and greatest thing to make my work stand out.”
“Not everyone understands what I do,” she adds, “but I am proud of all that I have accomplished in such a short time.”
Taylor is wearing Keds' Champion Originals.
She's inspired by "interesting" boss ladies who “live their lives with a sense of playfulness and humor.” Women like Beyoncé, Adele, and Chrissy Teigen. Taylor also says that her “absolute favorite character" Molly Gunn from the movie Uptown Girls, "gives me hope that the free-spirited and young-at-heart will overcome the hurdles in life to eventually thrive.”
Her favorite life advice is fitting for an artist: “Don’t be passive and end up with the black crayon. Always go for the red crayon.” But like many 23 year olds she also looks to Instagram stars like Gigi Hadid, who has said, “Eat clean to stay fit. Eat a burger to stay sane.” Which might help when she’s wide awake at 2am, the time she claims is when her “best creative work happens.”
"Don’t be passive and end up with the black crayon. Always go for the red crayon.”
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In addition to her work for Tayst Design, Taylor is also the Digital & Creative Content Manger for La Femme Collective, a site she launched with some of her best friends last year on International Women’s Day. “LFC,” says Taylor “is an online community created to support and celebrate the careers and personal development of women. On our site, we feature women from all walks of life to share their triumphs and struggles, and encourage both male and female audiences.”
After hearing their stories for a year Taylor says her takeaway is this: “Be strong, be independent, volunteer, get involved and support the women around you. It’s the only way that things will change.”
Styling provided by Reservoir LA. Hair and makeup provided by Glamsquad. Photography courtesy of Light Lab and Woodnote Photography.
Why Artist Jess Rotter Says You Should Take Time to Be Bored
Only boring people are #blessed.
From Jess Rotter's "I'm Bored."
Boredom is a thing of the past. With smartphones and streaming video, the world at our fingertips (!!!), how could it not be? Isn’t that what we wanted? Wasn’t it our mothers who told us, “only boring people are bored.”
But artist Jess Rotter is bored. And the LA-based creative responsible for those rad Lenny Letter illustrations and official merch for musicians like The Grateful Dead and Cat Stevens, is proud of it, proposing a new way to think about boredom.
It’s what her new book of illustrations, “I’m Bored,” is all about.
Raised in NY and deeply influenced by her dad's vinyl covers and the world of 1970s rock-n-roll, Rotter says she moved to LA when the rat race of the city wasn’t working for her anymore. “There were a lot of ups and downs,” she says of the city that raised her. “I came out here [to LA] and sorted it out, but then I thought, ‘I’m bored.’” She turned that feeling into art.
“The book,” she notes, “as cute and funny as it can be, can be super heavy. The characters are alter egos. The dog is all about a desire to feel cool and relevant. The ostrich is broken-hearted and depressed.” A wizard on an old-school telephone asks, "Mom, am I relevant?" to the voice on the other end. They wonder, "Now what?" They tell us, "I'm trying."
Image: Jess Rotter
The sentiments shared by the characters typify a kind of life fatigue we all feel at points-- the exact kind of fatigue we try to escape by keeping up with the cult of busy. If we're bored, then what we're left with are our thoughts. *Shudders*
They each also represent a desire from Rotter for people to get back to the “story” of moments. She believes that when things are over-documented stories lose part of their luster. She shares a tale from a friend who told her about being a small child trying on his grandfather's lederhosen. "It was this insane memory," she says of his retelling, "and has always stayed a fond memory because he never had an actual photo of the event."
In that undocumented moment, “the story becomes more exciting. That’s the soul, that’s the beauty," she says. "But now we’re afraid to forget or we’re afraid to deal with the moment.”
"We're afraid to forget or we're afraid to deal with the moment."
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“Maybe we don’t need to go back and look at everything. Maybe let’s try being in the moment because we’re documenting every day of our lives.”
For Rotter, dealing with and being in the moment means dealing with the subsequent boredom. A feeling that no longer makes us comfortable, but does make room for creativity, rare moments we wouldn't otherwise notice, and for us to hit the space key in our brain.
In this day and age it’s a sacred sentiment, where everyone, including Rotter, hops on their cell phone in the grocery store line or the elevator ride. “You’re giving your brain a little thumb-suck,” she says of the social media stream. The constant coverage is driving the bus. The Tweeting, the hashtagging, the stories layered on top of each other. There are not moments of boredom because we don't allow them.
To get into the bored zone, Rotter says we, “have to train ourselves to go backwards."
Image: Jess Rotter
The election comes up. How could it not? During the 2016 Presidential race the media never allowed for information to sit. There was always a story, never a dull moment, and we were all active participants.
"Life bounces between good and evil constantly," she shares. "Now the ball has been thrown in a different direction. The world is about the change in a major way. This electron was such a swamp, he [Trump] brings it out of people. He knows what buttons to push. It’s like the purple slime from Ghostbusters.” She sees some positive, hoping that now, more than ever, “that this wakes people up to express themselves.” That communities “open up and make art."
"So many people are at their lowest levels," she says. "This is their anti-establishment takeover. And art is one of the things that is going to get us through this shit.”
"There are not moments of boredom because we don't allow them."
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“Everybody’s eyes are opened," she explains. "People are awakened in a weird way. They’re depressed and awake. They’re feeling things and maybe people will turn off the phones.”
Maybe they'll bored. Maybe we'll relearn how to sit with our thoughts. Maybe boredom will change the world. Jess Rotter, for one, wouldn't mind.
In the meantime, pre-order "I'm Bored," now.
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This Startup Is Offering Independent Artists a Real Shot
Using crowdsourcing to produce art.
Minted founder and CEO Mariam Naficy (Credit: Minted)
Art has gone crowdsourcing. At least in the case of Minted, a design marketplace that connects the consumer to a world of independent artists and designers. Founded by Mariam Naficy in 2007, she has said, "we wanted Minted to be the enabler, not the decider."
Enable they have.
The way it works is fairly simple. Artists and designers submit their work during monthly challenges and the community votes what they want to see sold. It’s art by the people, for the people, that's also chosen by the people. And it's making the independent art world a little less financially intimidating. When an artists wins a competition they are given a personalized storefront on the site, an upfront cash prize, a percentage of the sales (10% for art), and Minted fulfills the product orders. The company also offers customizable stationery, custom wedding design services, as well as home décor options.
We spoke with three artists whose work is featured on Minted about being part of this community and why the brand has been invaluable to their online presence and confidence as artists.
One of the ways Minted supports independent artists is getting the work in front of eyeballs. How else has the company boosted your presence as an artist?
Kristi Kohut, Mixed Media Artist & Designer at Hapi Art
When I was just starting it was quite scary putting my work out there and not knowing how it would be received. The community and support Minted gives its artists helped me push through this and be inspired to keep moving forward. They really work hard to promote their artists through online editorial features, Minted catalogs and national print campaigns. This is a huge deal as an independent artist with a tight advertising budget!
Alexandra Nazari, Los Angeles-based Photographer
Minted has been great in providing web traffic, sales (the best feeling is walking into apartment buildings, offices, stores, etc and seeing my work hung by total strangers ! Before the only people who saw or purchased my work were either directly related or kind friend ) and an amazing community of very kind fellow artists from around the country I would have never connected with otherwise.
Betty Hatchett, Graphic Designer & Painter
Minted’s reach is truly incredible. I’ve had both private and corporate customers connect with me from all over the world after seeing my work on Minted. Also the way they’ve combined business, community and education is brilliant. They’ve introduced my work to a broad audience of collectors, but have also shown me how to better market myself, as well as form strategic, mutually beneficial alignments with other creatives and entrepreneurs.
What are some ways the company exceeded your expectations?
Kristi: There really is a strong bold vision and team behind Minted and I'm so impressed with their continued growth and commitment to growing their brand and establishing a huge presence in the marketplace. It's exciting to be a part of and inspired by this kind of direction.
Alexandra: Their attention to making sure my work isn't stolen or plagiarized (a huge concern when selling online) and supporting a community that is so genuinely kind and constructive. It never feels competitive! It's so hard to find a "troll-free zone" on the Internet, but Minted has really made the seemingly impossible happen!
Betty: I’ve been floored by the community Minted has created, both within Minted’s staff and the designers who’ve connected and banded together around the world. My true hook after I dipped my toe in at Minted was participating in an independent fundraiser for victims of hurricane Sandy. Organized completely by Minted designers in their free time and supported by Minted staff with a donation of paper for all art prints that were sold, it showed me the core generosity that runs through this exceptional pocket of the industry.
What is important to you as an artist who sells digitally?
Kristi: It’s important to me to be able to convey online what is created offline; the color, the quality, the feel of my work has to translate online so the customer can envision the work in their home. My hope is that the work matches or exceeds their expectations.
Alexandra: Making sure that the work is printed and presented in a way that is high quality and enhances the work - unlike some other online stores that cut corners and print really poorly. In the end that makes both parties look bad- I never want to disappoint someone who not only a) wants to actually hang my work in their home or other special place and b) spent their hard earned money. Minted really prints, frames , and ships their products impeccably at a very reasonable price. Another thing that Minted is great at that is very important is protecting my intellectual property. As an independent artist hiring a lawyer to send a letter is a very expensive and difficult task. It's amazing to know that Minted is behind me protecting the rights to my own work and keeping it out of the hands of copy cats!
Betty: My favorite art professor in college liked to use the phrase “Your passion is your edge.” Of course, this is true for any kind of artist, but especially as as an artist who sells digitally, there is no good reason not to mine to the very core of your joy and curiosity in the work that you do. If your town isn’t celebrating the kind of work you long to make…there is a corner of this world that will and you can find them online. Time and again I’ve found that the work I most wanted/needed to do, even though I wasn’t sure it would resonate beyond my own brain, has become the work that defines my voice as an artist and connects me with patrons and collaborators that fit.
"My favorite art professor in college liked to use the phrase 'Your passion is your edge.'”
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It’s hard to be an independent artist. What advice do you have for other women trying to make it and remain independent?
Alexandra: Always have some sort of space even if it's as small as a desk in the corner of your apartment that is your own and strictly reserved for making art. I find this separation essential.
Betty: Find and nurture friendships with other creatives. There are very specific challenges and joys to being an artist as well as being an entrepreneur. We all need friends to remind us of why we love the creative process when we have hit a block, friends who understand the mental angst grappling with pieces that just aren’t “there” yet, the vulnerability we all will face if we are committed to sharing our work, as well as the joy of life illuminated by finding your voice through creativity.
What do you want people to get out of your work?
Kristi: Joy. My hope is that my work elicits a feeling that lifts the viewer out of the ordinary.
Betty: The creative process allows me to slow down, listen to life’s stories, beauty, humor, questions and give as honest a response as I can muster. It's a push and pull between meandering and direction, control and release, mistakes to embrace and perfections to forfeit...much as life is. I feel more human when I make things, more aware of how strange and wonderful it is to be alive, more grateful. I hope my work can offer a piece of that wonder to other people as well.
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