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CMCL Interview: Elle Potruch
100 Plays8 months ago
Julie sits down with Hollywood talent manager, Elle Potruch to break down what goes into managing and advocating for talent with disabilities in the current entertainment industry landscape.
Notes:
Elle Potruch is a talent manager representing deaf and disabled talent in the digital and traditional entertainment industries. She independently manages a roster of creators, actors, public speakers, and consultants. Elle is also a member of the Disabled community and a passionate advocate for increasing disability inclusion and changing the way people think about and define disability in the entertainment industry.
Changing Minds and Changing Lives is produced by Disability Solutions, a non-profit consulting firm and leader for global brands in talent acquisition and inclusion for people with disabilities.
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Transcript
Introduction and Previous Episode Recap
00:00:01
Speaker
Welcome back to the Changing Minds, Changing Lives podcast. Again, my name is Julie Sowatch. I'm the executive director and co-founder of Disability Solutions. Thanks for tuning in today for another YouTube or Spotify or Apple or wherever you listen to your podcast session of Changing Minds and Changing
Guest Introduction: Elle Patroosh
00:00:18
Speaker
Lives. um If you didn't catch our last episode with Callum Brievers,
00:00:23
Speaker
such an amazing conversation really opened my eyes a lot to thinking differently and using words differently around representation and lived experiences and and really um just growing our confidence in our disability identity and how that confidence changed his lives and how it changed Callum's life so but today i get to have a conversation with someone that helps us with a different type of representation and i'm so excited to introduce elle patroosh to our podcast today elle is an independent talent manager
00:01:05
Speaker
who works in partnerships, negotiation, advocacy.
Elle's Work in Talent Management
00:01:09
Speaker
I actually have been watching her in action part of this time as we were prepping to to record today to help a variety of ah deaf and disabled um talent get roles in all types of things that Ella is gonna tell us about. Ella, welcome to the show. Thank you so much for joining us and and do a much better introduction of yourself than I just did.
00:01:35
Speaker
Well, hi, Julie. Thank you so much for having me. but As you mentioned, hi, my name is Elle. I'm a talent manager. I work specifically with people who are members of the deaf and and or disabled communities. And the types of talent that I work with sort of span a wide range, but most of the folks that I work with are actors, online digital creators, um public speakers and consultants.
00:02:02
Speaker
um And the work that I do is within that ah another pretty wide range of working with brand partnerships for know online advertising, also working in different TV shows, different films, movies, commercials, print modeling, online and advertising that way. Also working in the public speaking space with different um bookings for different, obviously different kinds of people want different types of things from speakers, and then working in consulting for accessibility and disability inclusion. Oh, some of your clients or some of the companies and brands that you have helped your clients work with ah is pretty incredible. um Nike, Revlon, Samsung, HBO, Lego, CVS on the BBC at Lionsgate.
Career Journey and Representation Focus
00:02:56
Speaker
um Tell me, how did you get into this career as a talent manager for people with disabilities? Sure. So I had started to become interested in, well, I guess sort of going back to the beginning, I joined the disabled community later in life. I wasn't born with a disability, but I acquired mine um around the time I was in college and around the time that was and that was something that I was just experiencing. I was you know becoming part of the disabled community online and learning a lot about what challenges our community faced, what I was facing personally. And I always had a really deep-seated interest in working in the entertainment industry. I was born and raised in Los Angeles, you know kind of part of the course.
00:03:54
Speaker
by um After college, when I entered the workforce, I was starting to work at a talent agency. and you know as i was working as an assistant, figuring out my lay of the land and what I wanted to do. you know It was always in the back of my mind that something that interested me was you know wanting to increase representation for people with disabilities and seeing how I could do that moving forward in my career. And then I was connected with a young woman named Keely Cat-Wells, who ran a company called Sea Talent. I'm sure you're intimately familiar with Keely. She's like a huge name in our industry. So I was connected with her. and
00:04:33
Speaker
We kept in touch for probably the better part of a year before I started working at C Talent. um And I was really excited about the opportunity to combine something I was incredibly passionate about with something that I had background in and skill doing. And that was actually a real job. That's always nice.
00:04:56
Speaker
um So that's sort of how I got started working in it. And that was back in and 2022 when I officially started working as a talent manager. right yeah I got to um do a panel with Keely at Transform in March. That was the first time I met her. She's fantastic. um Definitely and enjoyed our conversations together.
00:05:19
Speaker
um so You get into talent management. which is Was it immediately on the disability side or was it more general at first? So when I started working as a talent manager, it was at C Talent, which was okay specifically representing deaf and disabled performers in the industry. So at the previous agency that I was working at um was more so in the traditional entertainment industry for a TV film commercial. And I wasn't representing talent there at the time. I was working as an assistant, helping other agents.
00:05:54
Speaker
and their rosters. And then, you know, I was able to make the leap to start representing my own talent and that was at C Talent. So it was pretty much immediately the first people that I was working with were members of the disabled community.
Challenges in Entertainment for Disabled Talent
00:06:08
Speaker
Gotcha. And how, so yeah you're relatively young in your career. um What are some of the big barriers or opportunities that you've seen so far? um And then, you know, where do you think we, what are the, where do we go from here to make it better? Yeah, I think the, you know, I had the, um I was pretty lucky in finding the role that I found working at a talent agency way back in 2017, when I first started, it was, you know,
00:06:48
Speaker
my second job after graduating college or my second job in the entertainment industry. um And, you know, most agency positions, you either start in the mail room or you need to have some kind of experience, start working on a desk.
00:07:05
Speaker
um And the types of positions that are starting in places like mail rooms or unpaid internships, those places are obviously a little bit harder for people who need to either A, make money, um or B, have different access requirements or needs. So I was very lucky to start out with a job where they said, hey, you just seem like the organized person. Let's try it out.
00:07:32
Speaker
um because I had no experience working at an agency prior to that. So I worked at a smaller boutique agency. It wasn't like one of the big you know big name ones. It wasn't like a CAA or like a WME, but I really was able to to grow within my role there and learn so much. I think additional barriers um are just like any other barrier when it comes to employment for disabled people is mostly people just like not understanding what people can or cannot do. um I think that when it comes to like when it came to my personal experience like there were definitely times in which I needed
00:08:14
Speaker
additional support or Flexibility with my job based on what I was experiencing or going through as it related to my disability or my health medically and luckily I had great bosses who were super understanding and um You know, we were able to make it work and figure it out, but there's definitely a lot of places that Don't care um And They're like, well, you're just like a cog in the machine of this place. So I don't really care that you have to like take off every other Thursday early to go to physical therapy, you know? yeah um So I think it's just a lot of it's attitudinal. And I think that they just don't realize like how easy it is to accommodate people. Yeah. And it's just, it is, it's really just that simple. We we do it for,
00:09:11
Speaker
single moms, we do it but for, you know, any other, you know, any other kind of need that someone has, but you put that label, accommodation or disability on it and suddenly it becomes like this huge ordeal. Yeah, for sure. And I think that, um you know, especially the but attitudes surrounding working at one of like the really big agencies, those are really competitive. They're very, um I mean, pre-COVID, the the types of like schedules that, you know, I had friends that worked at these big agencies. They would have to wake up super early, get to work, do work all day. And then they were like expected to go to all these networking events and network with people and then go home and do work and then come back. And I think that obviously, especially when you're expected to like go to events and meet people, probably a lot of those places aren't going to be the most accessible. Um, so I think that there's barriers put in place, you know, mostly added to employees.
Inclusivity in Media: Digital vs Traditional
00:10:11
Speaker
So I think that um yeah those are really like the main barriers for people to like get into the industry. But I also think that sometimes nice people just don't know what they want to do when they're 22.
00:10:31
Speaker
um I certainly didn't. um My goal after graduating college wasn't to become a talent agent or to become a talent manager. My goal was, I want to work in the entertainment industry. I don't know what. So it's a lot of follow-ups just to make sure that we're hitting all the benchmarks that we need to be hitting, wanting to make sure that we have everything in order or doing everything correctly. um Also to make sure that you know the language is what the brand wants, ah et cetera, et cetera. So you know any one of those pieces of that
00:11:08
Speaker
brand pipeline puzzle is something I could be doing on a day-to-day basis. and Then when it comes to things like fielding incoming inquiries, there's a lot of stuff that I have to vet to make sure that you know it's a real inquiry, if it's coming from a real person or if my clients are interested in it. you know I have a lot of clients who you know do a lot of educational work in the disability space with people who have chronic illnesses or diseases.
00:11:36
Speaker
And there's a lot of companies out there who want to use that platform to talk about like their new medical device or a new exciting thing that's happening in the medical space. And my clients aren't doctors. They aren't medical professionals. So you have to figure out you know what's the best use of my client's expertise as someone with lived experience versus someone who's a scientist to talk about this new advancement in this medical treatment.
00:12:06
Speaker
And then you know like when currently working on on you know some event coordination for a client who's gonna go be a panelist at an event, so handling the accessibility requirements for my clients and what a lot of that entails is just educating people. um It was recently having a conversation with the head of, yeah with an event coordinator for an event and my client is deaf and you know I was explaining to them, like, you know, what we need in terms of, you know, his preferred interpreter, and, you know, all the bits and pieces that are required with that. And, you know, it's a it's a film related event. So I was like, well, there's going to be screenings, you know, do you have captions available, you know, on the on the film, so they're going to be captioned. Because obviously, if you have, you know, I'm not assuming that my client is going to be the only deaf person there. Right. um It's possible, but let's not assume.
00:13:05
Speaker
And there's plenty of other reasons why people need captions. I'm someone who I like to say I can't hear without my captions. and And you might need captions if you have an auditory processing disorder or many other reasons that people use captions and appreciate them. And, you know, their response was, oh, we're actually going to have captions. Like if people want to use them, they can have like an app on their phone and the captions are going to be through there. And it's actually like, you know, AI generated captions. and I was like, I just got myself rolling my eyes in the middle of this conversation.
00:13:41
Speaker
Um, cause I was like, Oh, I was like, they're like, that's like actually the decision we ended up going with. And I was like, well, that's really interesting because like, did you ask like a deaf person or like you asked someone who actually uses cap? And I was like, I don't know if you know that it's not an equitable experience for people who rely on captions to have possibly inaccurate ones and something that they can't look at us like two screens at the same time. I don't know if you know that. Um, so.
00:14:10
Speaker
you know It was me and then interpret like the interpreter on the call. and was just like i I had to stop my face from happening. Hey, I have to do that a lot. Yeah, I feel you. Yeah. But I think that so you know a lot of my job doesn't involve advocating on behalf of my clients and educating people, but i I love the fight. That's why I like my job so much. Yeah. um And it does get frustrating when you know people's response is like, oh, OK.
00:14:39
Speaker
didn't expect that to be like the answer. We don't have the you know the filmmakers who are submitting pro who are submitting their films to this you know film festival. We didn't require them to make all the movies captioned.
Advocacy and Accessibility in Events
00:14:57
Speaker
but blah bla like you know There's a lot of other moving pieces that people have to figure out. And is it my place to sit there and say, Well, my client's going to be there for a day and a half. So he might want to see any of those movies that are going to be screened that day. All of them need to be captioned, no matter what. Or what. So like, if they're all, it's sort of like trying to, trying to figure out a middle ground that works, that's doable, but also isn't going to like, you know, make anyone
00:15:35
Speaker
you know, try make anyone feel like accessibility is excessive. Right. Yeah, I get what you're saying. It's a always the like the middle ground. wide you We want you to think about this and we want you to do it, but we're also not trying to shame you so that next time a ah disabled actor comes to you or creator, you just go like, we don't work with those people, sorry. Yeah, it's really hard to shame people into caring. I wish you could.
00:16:07
Speaker
but I've tried for so long. It does not work. I wish you could shame people into caring. It would be so much easier. but I would say a lot, yes. So I got a lot of event coordination, handling travel, booking, making sure that people are getting on flights that they need to be getting on, making sure that the flights that they're on are the right ones. So It's a lot of different moving pieces and I i describe it as a lot of spinning plates um and the plates are also on fire.
00:16:42
Speaker
All good. um yeah You said something that interested me um that I want to go back to. So you said about 85% of your ah About 85% of your i don't know activities or or roles are inbound. and When we first started talking, I thought, she's got to be out there fighting every tooth and nail just to get studios, agencies, creators, brands, even think about including people with disabilities.
Social Media's Role in Diversity and Inclusion
00:17:16
Speaker
So do you feel like you're actually like you feel positive about where the industry is going about representation? I think that the digital entertainment industry and the traditional entertainment industry are
00:17:35
Speaker
ah running at two different speeds, I think that when it comes to my traditional clients, and when I say traditional, I mean like traditional TV, film, movies, commercial work, um traditional actors, that work is all the work that I do there. That is, you know, on my day to day, submitting people to projects on different casting sites and pitching them to casting directors. And a lot, I would say 99% of that work is out loud is pitching and trying to convince. I think in the world of the digital space, I think in the world of the digital entertainment industry, when it comes to the you know creator economy and online advertising, when it comes to working with like creators and ah influencers is, you know there's so many more brands out there who are excited about inclusivity and who see the
00:18:34
Speaker
very obvious numbers and very obvious online community that exists for these creators and the community that they've built and see the value there. i And they're able to work much faster to implement those strategies in advertising much faster than the traditional entertainment industry and that is because I think that the pipeline for getting somewhere where you can um if the campaign doesn't have anything to do with disability you can hire anyone and this is the same for the traditional entertainment industry as well this is like the narrative we're trying to push is that you can hire pretty much anyone for any job as long as they fit
00:19:27
Speaker
the specs that you're trying to fill. So if you're looking to hire a beauty creator with 100,000 followers on Instagram who has a great engaged audience with a certain percentage engagement rate, it doesn't matter if they have a disability or not. Because if those are the specs you're trying to fill, plenty of people fall under that category. But if you're looking to within the broad strokes of your campaign, have a certain amount of diversity And you're going to say, hey, if we run a campaign and it just so happens that everyone we choose is like a young white girl, that's obviously not going to look great and people are going to notice. And Gen Z is a great example of, you know, it's a great generation of people who are so ready to call out that when they see it and hold brands accountable. And I think it's it's much easier to affect change on that granular level with like brands directly because we have so much
00:20:28
Speaker
more of like a ah pipeline to communicate them like with social media rather than with these like huge production companies and like huge studios. um And then when it comes to like the studio side for TV and film, you know, I'm of the opinion that anyone can play any role unless it's sort of like out of the realm of possibility.
Shifts in Casting and Representation
00:20:49
Speaker
Like if you're looking for, you know, super agent bad guy who's like chasing people through the woods and the wilderness and like swimming through, you know, the Amazon, you know, the running through the Amazon rainforest and cutting down trees and swimming through the ocean and jumping in and out of boats. Maybe you're not going to hire a real estate user. Yeah, for the sake of like five guys, like there's just a few guys that actually do that. Yes. Yeah. yeah Like,
00:21:20
Speaker
If you're looking to hire a Mission Impossible guy, it's unlikely the person who fits those specs is going to be someone who's a member of the disabled community in ah in a physical manner. right But I think that um when it comes to other things, like, disabled people could be lawyers. like yeah like me There a guy who was in an iron lung for most of his life that graduated law school. Like, anyone could do it.
00:21:49
Speaker
um I'm not saying anyone can be a lawyer. Not everyone can be a lawyer. It's a very difficult job. But I think that we are slowly but surely able to start affecting change and able to start expanding what people think about when they think about the characters that they're looking to cast. And I've had a couple great experiences in which my clients have been hired for something and at the end of the day, you know, the producer comes back to me and they're like, hey, you know, we had a totally different idea for the character when we wrote her, but then we ended up hiring your, your client and we did the shoot and they're like, and we had like such a great time. Like they're like, and it really like expanded our worldview and like really made us be creative and, you know, think about how, you know, her identity, uh,
00:22:45
Speaker
affected the story and how her identity affected the, you know, the character and and the intentions in the scene. And they're like, and it was really great. It was just a wonderful experience. And I was like that, that little bit is something that those people who worked in that production will then take to the next thing that they do.
00:23:05
Speaker
And so I i think that like it is a lot slower of a process, especially because there are so many barriers when it comes to working in the entertainment industry. um And I think that there's been so much great movement when it comes to people rallying about telling underrepresented people stories.
00:23:30
Speaker
In the past couple of years, there's been like a huge rallying cry behind it. um And I think that more people who are getting in positions of power are slowly bringing up more people with them. you know The best part about uplifting one person is that they have the ability to then bring someone else with them and then bring in a new generation of people up with them.
00:23:54
Speaker
So I think where, from where I'm sitting right now is I can see that like people who are in like my class and I say class, like not like cast system class, like my, like my graduating class, like my, my category, my age category, you know, people within the disability community who are in my area are like,
00:24:19
Speaker
you know, we're no longer assistance. We're like moving up that pipeline of being able to like start having opinions that matter and start getting to affect change in that way and start having a seat at the table and get invited into spaces where we're able to like share those thoughts and feelings and affect change. And and I think that Um, you know, the important, you know, a huge thing that we always try to say is, you know, nothing about us without us. And I think that, uh, I feel like a really big part of telling, uh, getting more disabled people roles and projects is obviously a huge part of that is.
00:25:08
Speaker
getting more disabled writers and directors the opportunities with which to do so. um That's why there's so many great, you know, programs with like the inevitable foundation, and their, you know, cohorts and, and there's different programs with different studios, I think like so many as like a director's program where people with disabilities to like, get people plugged in into the to the network to get those those to get them those opportunities so they're able to then tell our stories authentically.
Authenticity in Media Representation
00:25:41
Speaker
But I think that non-disabled people need to be more open to simply hiring a disabled writer or hiring a disabled consultant.
00:26:00
Speaker
Because you know if you're someone who wants to include disabled people in your story, first of all, do it. Just do it. But do it, obviously, correctly. And that correct way is to like with the you know with the inform and and with the education of people with lived experience um and people who are not only people with lived experience, people who are experts in the field. And I think that you know You don't have to be disabled to tell, to write disabled characters, or I don't want to say no. What I mean to say is you don't have to be disabled to include disabled people. Right. Yeah. One thing that I, I, um, I was actually thinking about this as we were, we were i was prepping to to chat with you and I've been watching Welcome to Rexxum. Do you know what I'm talking about?
00:26:58
Speaker
I do know what it is, I have not watched it. So one thing that I think they've done so well is tell diverse stories in a way that's like not at all token and not at all, um you know, inspiration porn or pity or anything like that, but just like those real lived experiences. um And it's something I've so enjoyed watching not just because I like football, but because I have appreciated how I'll say Ryan and Rob, for lack of knowing who actually does the work, um have have told stories and, you know, LGBTQ, disability, mental health, you know, just this like huge gamut of stories. And
00:27:45
Speaker
You know, I don't know. It's just so thoughtful to see an organization do that out front. So, you know, to your point it is, you know, Welcome to Rexham is about football in Wales, but somehow they figured out how to normalize for lack of a better word, storytelling and and lived experiences around the football club. And that was certainly a conscious decision. I mean, that didn't just happen. No, but I think when you make stories about people from an authentic place, that's going to happen. I mean, you don't need to make your movie or your TV show about a disabled person.
00:28:28
Speaker
Be great if you did. We just need more leads. But if you have a big ensemble cast, let's look at the let's look at the numbers. Let's look at the stats of disabled people and their population. It's very likely you're going to have someone in there. And it doesn't need to be their huge like characterization of like, oh, and that's Jim, the disabled guy who was in our friend group. like He's just a person, lives like a full rich life, happens to be an amputee. Yeah, there's going to be some storyline around it and some lived experience, some stuff we're going to talk about. But like I think when what I noticed when I was working at my talent agency, there was this huge, big cultural shift.
00:29:22
Speaker
you know in 2020, 2021, about people were really hammering at home the importance of like hiring authentically, hiring inclusively, making sure that the people from these communities were the people telling these stories. And you know I noticed a really big shift in that with people from different ethnic backgrounds and different gender identities and sexual identities.
Breaking Barriers for Disabled Talent
00:29:46
Speaker
And the big red flag that came up for me was that no one was talking about disabled people when everyone was like,
00:29:52
Speaker
Oh my god, inclusivity is such a problem in Hollywood. And we need to be hiring them more people of different ethnic background that are identities and sexual identities. And I was like, you are correct. And you are right. And they love people. And that's what really like spurned my interest in, you know, getting to work with, you know, folks like Keely and continue working in this space is that like, yes, and more.
00:30:18
Speaker
Yes. Yeah. no and And I think we might have like maybe over ripened that idea a little bit to make people feel uncomfortable stepping into a space that they don't experience. And I think that people need to understand that it's the the barriers to getting into the disabled community and reaching us there aren't that many. There are, I could probably connect people with like five or six different disability consultants who have experience in script writing and TV writing and story writing in a um new number of different niches or genres, you know, 10 minutes after this phone call. Just to say like, hey, there's people out there who are ready and willing to like help you and provide access to a community that you aren't a part of.
00:31:14
Speaker
and that you one day will be. But, you know, there's so much information out there that people have put online for free to to educate you about our community, that there's really like no excuse to be like, Oh, well like I was afraid of doing it wrong. So I just didn't do it. Yeah. And then we hear that every single day, every single day. And I think that you know, when I mentioned the like we've over ripened it is like people got really nervous about saying the wrong thing, doing the wrong thing, getting it wrong. And I think that people became, ah you know, really precious about it. And I think that while yes, there is something very important and very, you know, there's something to be said about wanting to ensure that you're doing something correctly and wanting to ensure that you're not offending people.
00:32:06
Speaker
I think that if you're just making the decision of like, oh, I'm not going to broach the subject because I don't know enough. Your next sentence after I don't know enough should be, well, let me go find out. Yeah. And I mean, I i think as a I can say, generally speaking, we don't expect perfection. We just want to get in the door.
00:32:30
Speaker
Yeah, especially for like, and and for me, and this is coming from my own experience, so I won't speak for anyone else, but as someone who has not lived with a disability my entire life, as someone who acquired one later in life, you know, my expectations and ideologies have absolutely shifted and changed throughout things that I've personally experienced, things my friends have experienced, and the work that I've been able to do within the disabled community.
Understanding Disability Pride and History
00:32:57
Speaker
I would say,
00:32:58
Speaker
You know, I, it has been such an honor for me personally to be able to work with deaf community so closely and personally because it's not a community that I have part of, but It's such a a rich and beautiful community of people. And I had a lot of incorrect assumptions going into it when I started working with people. And I had to learn a lot. And luckily, you know I work with clients who are very like you know happy to educate me and let me know because you know I need to be able to advocate on their behalf correctly.
00:33:34
Speaker
um But you know I think that a lot of people need to understand that like there's always gonna be someone out there who's gonna be mad at you for doing something wrong. Always. But I would say the majority of people who aren't yelling about it ah who who aren't yelling at you about it, and that's the majority of people. It's like a Yelp review. The people who leave Yelp reviews are either people who like love the restaurant or hate the restaurant. Yes.
00:34:09
Speaker
not a lot of middling. So I think that it's really hard to ah change that mindset of being like, Hey, yeah, like, just, just try. Yeah, we're just as a three star, we'll get to a four star next time. um Yeah. And I think that and that is a really big part of it. Because I think that people you know A lot of people like to expect perfection. And I think there's also, and you know I lauded you know Gen Z earlier for being one of the you know a great generation of folks who will always call out things and they don't think that it's inclusive enough or or sustainable enough or what have you. I think that some of the expectations that have been set are a little too high, like especially
00:35:03
Speaker
Like I went to a beauty conference earlier this year, and they had a whole conversation and panel about accessibility and beauty, and which was incredible to have. um And one of the the questions someone asked to someone on the panel was like, you know when it comes to making accessible packaging for beauty, how can we also make sure that it's like the most sustainable option in terms of like the packaging or plastic or whatever. And the head of this beauty brand who makes accessible you know beauty products was saying like, Hey, listen, like is the stuff that I'm using like the most sustainable environmental version of this? No, because this was round one.
00:35:58
Speaker
And I was focused on making it the most accessible possible. But when we have round two, now that we've like raised money and this we're a bigger company, and then in round two, we can focus on ensuring that it's not only accessible, but it's also sustainable. And so I think that people need to like give these smaller brands a little bit more leeway and say, like listen, you can't expect a brand new startup beauty brand as it were to come out with perfectly accessible packaging right off the bat, perfectly eco-friendly sustainable packaging that is reduced reusable totally eco-friendly compostable packaging right off the bat. Can't make sure that you know they're using a having
00:36:50
Speaker
Yes, that they should have a wide shade range, but like every single shade range right off the bat. These things cost money and these things cost, you know, these things take time. Obviously I think there should be caveats to that. So I'm not going to say that's like a hard and fast rule, but I think that people are, are slowly coming around to like, Hey, I think we might've overcorrected a little bit here and we need to be a little bit more like just a lot of people are trying.
00:37:17
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. No, I agree. I would say that all the time is like, Hey, you're going to muck it up. Just do better next time or take the next evolution or learn the next thing. So this has been such an, a fascinating conversation. I feel like I've learned so much today about the industry, a lot of really good things.
Advice to Entertainment Decision-Makers
00:37:35
Speaker
Actually that makes me very excited. Um, so we always end on two questions. Um, the first one is what is one thing you would want a decision maker?
00:37:47
Speaker
in the entertainment industry um to know that would change their mind about what talent with disabilities can bring to their production. Yeah, I think that something that I would want the decision maker to know is that there are so many incredibly talented disabled people out there that are excited and ready and willing to work and bring flavor and character to your project that just are ready and out there and excited to work and just need a chance and maybe if you're looking for someone who has a million credits to be in your project, who's also someone who's disabled, I think you need to adjust your worldview and understand that historically
00:38:42
Speaker
disabled representation in TV film over the past however many years has been slim. And there has been very few opportunities with disabilities. So I think that there needs to be a level of understanding of like, hey, there hasn't been as many opportunities for this type of actor and this this person. So Maybe we just we find the right fit and they're they're not someone who's ever Led a TV show before or been a lead in a movie before but like they can make it work you do that with plenty of other people and What is one thing that someone has done for you? That's helped change your life It's a big question I think
00:39:29
Speaker
um One of the most interesting things, I would say one of the most transformative things that I've had the pleasure of experiencing was, you know, when I started working at Sea Talent, you know, I had my identity as a disabled person and I didn't understand disability pride when I was working at Sea Talent. I am not entirely sure that I knew it existed at the time, to be totally honest.
00:40:01
Speaker
And I think, um you know, I come from a very medical background. My parents are medical professionals. I grew up in a lot of medical offices, seeing doctors all the time. And i am a lot of my a experience with disability was, you know, wrapped up in diagnoses and seeking out answers, you know, from medical perspective. And so when I heard about disability pride, I was like,
00:40:31
Speaker
what a Why am I proud about what I have to be proud about? and and What am I going to be proud that I have a genetic disease? like Cool. like and Then when I had the the opportunity, um and I can't thank Keely enough for this, she did so she really ensured that all the people that were working at C Talent were really educated on disability history.
00:40:56
Speaker
but As we continued to work in representing disabled people, you know, we did a lot of learning as well as people. um You know, when I learned about Judy Heumann, when I learned about the first disability pride, when I learned about the passing of the ADA, when I learned about our rich culture and history is when I really understood what disability pride meant.
00:41:24
Speaker
And that was a really big turning point for me because I was able to, you know, shift my mindset into being like, well, why am I proud of having a diagnosis? Like, yeah, it took me a while to get here and I'm really proud that I got that. Um, cause it took a minute, but.
00:41:43
Speaker
like what is there to be crowd about and then learning about the incredible people who had come before me that have afforded me the ability to even have this as a job that really enriched my life because it gave me so much more to be fighting for. It's not just about getting my clients the ability to be in a Maybelline campaign or getting my clients the ability to be on Grey's Anatomy or getting my clients the ability to be in a movie. It is so much more than that.
Conclusion and Call to Action
00:42:24
Speaker
And that is what really, I think changed my perspective as a manager and and really gave me that push to want to continue doing this for as long as I can.
00:42:37
Speaker
So thank you, Elle Petrouche. So if those aspiring creators, actors, or EPs that want to start casting talent with disabilities want to get ahold of you, how do they find you? You can find me on LinkedIn, or you can... I think guess the best way to get in contact with me is through LinkedIn. um Yeah, I would recommend that.
00:43:01
Speaker
Awesome. Thank you so much for joining us. It's been a pleasure. i Again, I've learned so much and I just love your takes. So thank you guys for joining another episode of Changing Minds, Changing Lives. Catch some of our prior episodes here from some of the amazing guests that we've had on Outside of Elle. And we'll catch you next time. Thanks.