Megan McCoy
This month's Alumni Spotlight is featuring Megan McCoy, a 2013 St. John's graduate with a degree in Television and Film Production and a minors in Theatre and International Studies. Throughout her time at SJU, she was a member of Chappell Players all 4 years as well as a member of Alpha Psi Omega. We asked Megan a few questions about her time as a Chappie and how it affected her after college and here's what she had to say:
How was the transition from college to the real world? How was life after graduation?
Very interesting. I graduated at a time where we still were recovering from the Recession and jumping into an industry that was/is EXTREMELY competitive. It wasn’t easy. I was very used to having a routine & structure. Besides going to class, participating in CPTG/APO, I worked two jobs & interned. Suddenly, all of that went away. I was faced with trying to find my place in world, as many graduates do. After waitressing & hustling for about a year after I graduated, I decided to move out to Los Angeles. I’ve been out here for over 4 years now and I can honestly say it was the best decision I ever made. I needed to push myself out of my comfort zone and force myself to be scared again. Currently, I am a Post Production Supervisor for a reality TV company. Basically that means I oversee edit, hire staff, manage post production budgets and am the medium between TV Networks and my company. I work on both Current Programming shows and Development. Some of the shows I’ve helped oversee in post are Flip or Flop: Nashville for HGTV, Nate & Jeremiah by Design for TLC, Celebrity Animal Encounters for Animal Planet & various Development projects for Bravo, Discovery, VH1, History & Lifetime.
Did being involved in the Chappell Players prepare you for life after college? How so?
Absolutely! CPTG is all hands on deck in every capacity. You learn about so many different areas of theatre that it forces you to think about a production with new eyes and ears every time. I’ve house managed, stage managed, assistant directed, acted, produced, ran the light/sound board, was tech crew, videographer, photographer, built sets, painted until 2am, assisted with designing playbills and ran the spotlight. With each position, I learned how to be a valuable/strong team member, learn how to stay calm under pressure and most importantly, have fun. All of these skills (people skills, life skills, etc) transitioned over quite nicely to Post Production Management. In my position, you deal with a variety of personalities, tight deadlines, have to stay extremely organized and be able to quickly solve problems. Chappell Players allowed me to witness and participate in the creative process from start to completion. That’s pretty much what I do now…just in television.
What is your favorite CPTG memory or performance?
One of my favorite memories is when we did the Friday the 13th Annual Cabaret for Charity. It was written by my beautiful friend Jessica Hackett (actually her last name is now Grello but I’ll forever call her Hackett). Everything about that show was super fun and it was a completely original idea so the creative possibilities were endless. Anyways, because the show was horror themed, the whole cast & crew stayed after rehearsal one night and watched scary movies on the big projector. We had blankets, pillows, snacks and were just being silly. I always loved those special moments with everyone that weren’t necessarily work related.
Have you been able to remain involved with theatre as much as you hoped/wanted?
I wish I could participate in it more because I miss it very much. I was able to participate in Alpha Psi Omega’s Annual Evening of One Act Plays after I graduated but since moving to Los Angeles, it’s been harder. However, I think it’s worth nothing that theatre and the Chappell Players was and remains to be the core strength within my group of friends. I met my best friends because of this organization and I will forever be grateful for my time. When you get to work together in a creative capacity for years, you have this incredible bond. Even though I live 3,000 miles away, we are all close friends and are still involved in each other lives. They are always in the front row to the good (and sometimes not so good) moments in my life. So cheesy, but it’s true.
What is professional theatre like compared to what you did with the Chappell Players?
While I haven’t participated in many professional theatre ventures, I have many friends who do theatre professionally. They’ve acted in off-Broadway plays, starred in national tours, started their own theatre companies or became technical directors in their field. It takes a LOT of hard work, perseverance, patience, sacrifice and a little bit of luck. At the end of the day, it’s important to be passionate about what you do. You can take ANY skill you learn with your time with CPTG and apply it to any profession.
Do you have any advice for Chappell Players going through college or those who have recently graduated?
Be nice to people. Stay humble. Ask questions. Challenge the status quo. Also, network, network, network.
How was the transition from college to the real world? How was life after graduation?
Very interesting. I graduated at a time where we still were recovering from the Recession and jumping into an industry that was/is EXTREMELY competitive. It wasn’t easy. I was very used to having a routine & structure. Besides going to class, participating in CPTG/APO, I worked two jobs & interned. Suddenly, all of that went away. I was faced with trying to find my place in world, as many graduates do. After waitressing & hustling for about a year after I graduated, I decided to move out to Los Angeles. I’ve been out here for over 4 years now and I can honestly say it was the best decision I ever made. I needed to push myself out of my comfort zone and force myself to be scared again. Currently, I am a Post Production Supervisor for a reality TV company. Basically that means I oversee edit, hire staff, manage post production budgets and am the medium between TV Networks and my company. I work on both Current Programming shows and Development. Some of the shows I’ve helped oversee in post are Flip or Flop: Nashville for HGTV, Nate & Jeremiah by Design for TLC, Celebrity Animal Encounters for Animal Planet & various Development projects for Bravo, Discovery, VH1, History & Lifetime.
Did being involved in the Chappell Players prepare you for life after college? How so?
Absolutely! CPTG is all hands on deck in every capacity. You learn about so many different areas of theatre that it forces you to think about a production with new eyes and ears every time. I’ve house managed, stage managed, assistant directed, acted, produced, ran the light/sound board, was tech crew, videographer, photographer, built sets, painted until 2am, assisted with designing playbills and ran the spotlight. With each position, I learned how to be a valuable/strong team member, learn how to stay calm under pressure and most importantly, have fun. All of these skills (people skills, life skills, etc) transitioned over quite nicely to Post Production Management. In my position, you deal with a variety of personalities, tight deadlines, have to stay extremely organized and be able to quickly solve problems. Chappell Players allowed me to witness and participate in the creative process from start to completion. That’s pretty much what I do now…just in television.
What is your favorite CPTG memory or performance?
One of my favorite memories is when we did the Friday the 13th Annual Cabaret for Charity. It was written by my beautiful friend Jessica Hackett (actually her last name is now Grello but I’ll forever call her Hackett). Everything about that show was super fun and it was a completely original idea so the creative possibilities were endless. Anyways, because the show was horror themed, the whole cast & crew stayed after rehearsal one night and watched scary movies on the big projector. We had blankets, pillows, snacks and were just being silly. I always loved those special moments with everyone that weren’t necessarily work related.
Have you been able to remain involved with theatre as much as you hoped/wanted?
I wish I could participate in it more because I miss it very much. I was able to participate in Alpha Psi Omega’s Annual Evening of One Act Plays after I graduated but since moving to Los Angeles, it’s been harder. However, I think it’s worth nothing that theatre and the Chappell Players was and remains to be the core strength within my group of friends. I met my best friends because of this organization and I will forever be grateful for my time. When you get to work together in a creative capacity for years, you have this incredible bond. Even though I live 3,000 miles away, we are all close friends and are still involved in each other lives. They are always in the front row to the good (and sometimes not so good) moments in my life. So cheesy, but it’s true.
What is professional theatre like compared to what you did with the Chappell Players?
While I haven’t participated in many professional theatre ventures, I have many friends who do theatre professionally. They’ve acted in off-Broadway plays, starred in national tours, started their own theatre companies or became technical directors in their field. It takes a LOT of hard work, perseverance, patience, sacrifice and a little bit of luck. At the end of the day, it’s important to be passionate about what you do. You can take ANY skill you learn with your time with CPTG and apply it to any profession.
Do you have any advice for Chappell Players going through college or those who have recently graduated?
Be nice to people. Stay humble. Ask questions. Challenge the status quo. Also, network, network, network.
