We were lucky to catch up with Giselle Fischman recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Giselle, thanks for joining us today. Can you share an important lesson you learned in a prior job that’s helped you in your career afterwards?

When I first moved to Los Angeles my first job was an executive assistant to an executive at a major movie studio. Sometimes I feel like it was my masters degree in entertainment. I was exposed to the highest level of decision making and so many people that had an amazing wealth of knowledge. I tried to soak up as much as I could while I was there. As a creative, it can be difficult to understand the reason’s behind the decisions made by executives. When I decided to leave to pursue my own endeavors it was extremely helpful because it gave me a more holistic view of both the creative and business sides. It defiantly taught me what I didn’t want to do, which is move valuable than you think. And simultaneously empower me to go after what I do want to do!

Giselle, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

After I graduated from the University of Michigan I packed up my car, like so many aspiring artists, and dove cross-country. When I arrived in Los Angeles, I had no idea how difficult it would be; I just knew I loved it. I started working as and executive assistant at a movie studio. I leaned a lot, but wasn’t doing what I moved to LA to pursue. Eventually, I left and realized that I needed to be more creative with my approach, and thats when I started producing. Since then I’ve produced 2 short films and 7 plays with my producing partner.

Some lessons I’ve learned along the way are: the faster you fail, the faster you fly. Sometimes you have to make things happen for yourself, you can’t wait around for someone to give you an opportunity.

Last summer, I produced my latest play. An original, I wrote and acted in that debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland–Donut Dollies. Its my current passion project I’m working on. Stay tuned…

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

When people ask me what I do, I say I have a career in make believe. Working with other creatives to create something that doesn’t exist is just fun. Maybe that is why I love theater so much, because its a collaborative effort to create; its a very rewarding experience. I feel so encouraged when I see a project come to life.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I think that entertainment is in a very interesting place right now; its constantly evolving. The traditional way to success doesn’t exist anymore. And so, you have to be malleable enough to pivot in order to keep up sometimes.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @gisellefischman

Image Credits

Elsa Melero