Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lauren Schaffel. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Lauren thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you take us back in time to the first dollar you earned as a creative – how did it happen? What’s the story?

I started acting professionally when I was five years old in Los Angeles. I was at a gymnastics class and was scouted by a talent manager (not that unusual in LA) and started auditioning for commercials, television, and film projects. I booked my first role on a show called Fudge, based off the novels by Judy Blume. I played the title character’s kindergarten girlfriend, and while it was my first time on any set and I had no clue what was happening, I felt instantly connected to the other people on set. There were so many moving parts, multiple cameras, and PAs, and costumes, and lights, and craft services, and other kid actors. It felt so exciting to be Part of a team, a family, and knew I wanted more!

Lauren, 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?

Hi everyone! I’m Lauren Schaffel, an actor, writer, comedian, and producer. I started acting professionally when I was five years old, and grew up as a working child/teen actor in Los Angeles. I starred in several primetime comedies including “Still Standing,” “Situation Comedy,” “Will and Grace,’ and the voice of Lucy in several Peanuts movies and series. I attended Columbia University where I studied English and Theater and fell in love with New York. I stayed for over a decade, immersing myself in theater, film, television and absorbed as much arts, culture, and training as possible. I met my people, formed a theater company, and told stories as an educator and performer at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum.

I moved back to Los Angeles about a year and a half ago and have found so much joy in tapping into writing as well as performing and embracing my funny. For the past year I’ve been training at the Groundlings (comedy school that feeds many SNL comedians), creating original characters, writing and performing sketches, and doing improv. I recently filmed two sketches that I wrote and star in, one of them featuring my best friend and fellow Canvas Rebel interviewee Elyssa Nicole Trust!

I love making people laugh and am planning to write and act in more projects. Currently, I’m developing a short film called “Catalogue of Noses” which is a dark musical comedy (a la Crazy Ex Girlfriend) and you can catch me in the upcoming film “Guy Friends” on Amazon Prime.

Have you ever had to pivot?

When March 2020 hit, I felt so lost and disillusioned. How could I be an artist when I could no longer attend rehearsals, classes, auditions? See live theater and shows? Rather than stew in these feelings of despair, I examined what I was feeling deeper and realized that I wanted to continue telling stories no matter what. My friend Neil Flesicher sent a NY Times article to me and fellow members of Lee Brock’s Master class at the Barrow Group Theater Company and School about how artists could stay connected during the pandemic by reading plays on Zoom in their living rooms. I was immediately inspired to take action- before I knew it, Neil and I had formed a formed a virtual theater company called LMC Productions (Lee’s Master Class :). The company started with about ten actors reading plays on zoom every Sunday night (our first two readings were In Arabia We’d All Be Kings by Stephen Adley Guirgis and Macbeth) and within a year the group grew to over 60 members including actors, directors, dramaturgs, and writers. Each reading featured a director coordinating 1-2 rehearsals a week, costumes, virtual backgrounds, music,and sound effects.

As of 2024, LMC Productions is still going strong, co-produced by Alison Chace and myself, and we focus on readings of new plays amplifying women’s voices. I’m so proud of this community we created and also realized that in addition to being a performer, I could produce and be a leader. Visit lmcproductions.org to learn more!

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

I love this questions and I couldn’t decide on one answer!

One of the most rewarding things about being an artist is being in community with other people. Nothing thrills me more than signing on to do a project and then meeting new, or sometimes familiar, friends and discovering how other people work and play. I think for the past few years the entertainment industry has shifted to being so virtual, with auditions, rehearsals, sometimes even jobs recorded remotely. For me, nothing beats being in person with other artists and experience that real life human connection. Whether it’s writing a sketch together, or performing a monologue, or sitting at a table read for a new episode of television, I love working with other people in a room!

Another rewarding aspect and related to the above, is getting audience feedback. My passion is to make people laugh, and there’s nothing more rewarding than performing in front of people and hearing that laughter. Seeing people’s smiles. I love that so much. I grew up working on several multi camera sitcoms which were taped in front of a live audience, so I think that influenced my love of comedy and also doing live theater- that immediate audience feedback.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.laurenschaffel.com
• Instagram: @laurenschaffel111
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=122863
• Twitter: @LaurenSchaffel
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY-2xHroKS1RNo1EHHdt3Rw

Image Credits
David Muller Photography for headshots