Paralegal to Production: Shanice Williamson on Chasing Purpose and Staying Persistent
Shanice Williamson (she/her), alumni of the Writers Guild Foundation’s Writers Access Support Staff Program (WASSTP), class of 2022.
[Abridged interview below, listen for full interview]
Alright Shanice, can you tell me a little bit about yourself and your journey as a writer? What did you do prior to participating in the program?
I’m Shanice Williamson. I'm a former paralegal who hopped into production and worked in office, art department and in various areas realized that I wanted to work as a support staffer in a writers’ room and fortunately found the Writers Access Support Staff Training Program through the Writers Guild Foundation. Applied. Didn’t get in the first year. Applied again and got in the second time and got to learn all the ins and outs of being a script coordinator and writers’ assistant. And thanks to the program, I have been gainfully employed as writers’ assistant and script coordinator since 2023.
So, what do you do now?
I laugh at myself; I always say that my particular God is a comedy showrunner because of the way that just life is like. So, I just finished as I was a combo Writers' Assistant/Script Coordinator for Season 5 of a BET (Black Entertainment Network) show called All the Queen’s Men. That show is about a woman who runs a male strip club in Atlanta. I was brought to that because probably my most celebrated pilot is about two women running male strip club and it comes from an experience I had and when I tell the story, people just love it so.
A friend, you know, saw that script and sent it to the showrunner, “You got to see this, you wouldn't believe that she's done this.” We met the showrunner, and she hired somebody else. And it was fine. I mean, I wasn't ready. It was before I got into the Writers’ Access Support Staff Training Program and she had that person for two or three seasons when I graduated from the program, I emailed her. And I was like, “I just want to let you know I graduated this program.” I sent the link, and she responded back and was like, “You know what? We're starting a new season. I want you to come on.”
I always say that it was the program that got me in.
So, I just finished that show and I'm wrapping it up now. And I just got hired to be a script coordinator on Season 2 of the Mike Schur show that’s coming to Netflix.
Oh my gosh. Congratulations. I hope you have a wonderful time working.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
What do you write about?
I write about very bold women. Bold women who are uncomfortable in their boldness, making their way in the world. Very often they're running from their destiny, they're running from what they want because they've been told what to do with their lives. My characters generally try to break out of a mold that's been made for them to find their own way, but they are all bold. They're bold in their impetuousness. They're bold in their arrogance. They're bold in their core belief systems. They're bold outwardly but then really, they're trying to find some courage to live the life that they want to live.
Chasing purpose. Chasing destiny. That's mostly what I write about when I think about it. And very often in most of my scripts, you're going to find somebody dancing.
How did the Writers Access Support Staff Training Program impact your career and if applicable, how did the program help land your first job?
So, when I graduated, Kira [VandenBrande, Director of Community Programs], who runs the WGF side of things, is magnificent and she [and the WGF team] put together a package of our samples, our profiles, our photos and links to our resumes and all this other stuff, put together in a virtual portfolio. And apparently when we graduated, sent that out to their contacts at studios. I understand we've got Liz Alper, Mike Royce, Tanya Saracho and quite a few other voices in this that I know of that help with the program and I'm guessing they just went out to their networks and sent out our resumes and our portfolios. I was one of 16 in the second cycle in 2022, and my name is Shanice Williamson, so I was the last. And I remember thinking, “I'm never going to get called like my name is last. I'm never going to. No one's ever going to call me like they got all these great people beforehand. They're never going to get to #16.” And I didn't tell Kira or anybody that, I just told my husband, “Well, that was a bust as far as like being recognized or being seen.”
However, I was wrong. Kira reached out to me about a month, two months after graduation and said that a showrunner for an upcoming Bosch (Amazon) spin-off wanted to interview me and found me on the website. He was a regular speaker at WGF projects and programs. I think I was one of six people interviewed, and, in the interview, he gave scenarios of, “what happens if you get a script and it's, you know, in the middle of the night and you can't reach me?” And the only reason I was prepared to answer those questions is because of Debbie and Clay’s training in the program. It’s the only reason.
So, it's twofold. One, they marketed me. The program marketed me, and I got an interview based on the marketing. And two, I was able to answer the questions effectively to get me the job because of the training that Debbie and Clay gave me in the program.
And that was my first job. It was a spin off for Bosch and I was script coordinator and that was March of 2023 and I had graduated in November of 2022. And the room ended when the strike happened. But I still got the job because of the program.
What would you say is the most valuable lesson you learned during the program?
Doing in class exercises and homework for script coordinating was the most valuable aspect of the program.
But they also provided us with a [slideshow or PDFs] of the general steps for getting through publishing your drafts for each script in Final Draft and through Synchronize. I blew those up, printed them out, and I have them in a binder that sits next to my desk. And so, when I start freaking out about basic script coordinator things, I pull that [book] out and I looked at these beautiful, colorful drafts that that, that [Instructors] Debbie [Ezer] and Clay [Lapari] put together.
So, I would say that's valuable as well. Their instruction was top tier, the delivery was great, but the most valuable lessons were the homework, the in-class exercises because they put you on the spot and the slides that we could use for reference later.
What did you love about the program?
What I love and love is that there is a community built. We need that in this industry because while other people may say, “Oh, you’ve got it made. You could check boxes.” There is still a ruling factor around.
And the program genuinely seeks out diversity, including diversity of age. I mean, I am the oldest person in the room 90% of the time but I know there are people who care, who understand, and I don’t feel like I have to walk in, yelling my age out. I can just meet up with my fellow graduates and just have a conversation.
Even in the interview for the Mike Schur show, I brought up that I raised my sons, and I could see them doing the math. And at some point, it’s a dance. Do I tell them, do I not? But I don’t feel that when I come into community with the program.
In addition to the training, in addition to the tools that Debbie and Clay left us with, in addition to being able to reach out to them, I would say the community is the best part.
It's just that you just feel more comfortable knowing you've got a crew. I’ve built an accountability group from our all the graduates across the last few years I've built. We built writers' groups from that group, and we all support each other. If our if one of our names pops up in the trades, it's going to be in our Slack group, you know?
What advice would you offer to emerging riders entering the industry post-strike who are interested in support staff goals?
I would tell them to study Final Draft as much as they can. If they have the resources, I assume if they’re a recent graduate they’d have access to it, but tutorials, studying Synchronized and doing all the tutorials there so they can be ready when they get that call is my advice.
The spiritual, kind of emotional advice is, hang in there. I firmly believe that this is a rough patch, but we’re going through a cycle and the cycle is meant to weed out the folks that are not supposed to be here, for whatever reason, and no offense, possibly send on some folk into retirement to make room. And so, I think that if we hang in, I think that there will be light at the end of the tunnel. I do believe that I firmly believe that, and I am generally a pessimist.
I would say keep your head up but be prepared. Do not despise small beginnings.
What excites you the most about being a writer?
Being able to share my mom-ness, all over people through my work. I mean we have a voice, and we’re normally hired for our voice. I remember when I wanted to study writing, I was working at the federal court thinking about not going to law school, going to grad school and getting an MFA in writing. A reporter from the Associated Press (AP) came in and he was one of my favorites. I would always give them stories and what was going on at the courts. And I was like, “I’m thinking about getting an MFA.” And he was like, “Don’t study writing. You need to live and just write.” And I was like, “Well, what am I supposed to write.” And he was like, “Whatever you have to say. Do not write unless you have something to say.”
The first short film I wrote was about abortion. The web series was about a sort of militant black man who came back to help raise his ex-wife’s stepchild who was white. The most exciting thing to me about writing is being able to voice my opinion, kind of couched in entertainment and just how I think that the world can be better. My little Shanice-isms I just put into a character.
So, what excites me is I have an opportunity to leave a mark you know and express something that means a lot to me through my work.
Interview conducted and edited by Community Programs Intern Evan Ibarra (he/she). Intro & outro music “Hello User: Bright Cheery Intro Music” by jjmarsan (Jeremy Marsan) -- https://freesound.org/s/476070/ -- License: Attribution 4.0