We were lucky to catch up with Marlene Sharp recently and have shared our conversation below.

Marlene, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Talented LA-based digital sculptor Beth Maki is architect of the most meaningful endeavor in my career: creative and business collaboration with adults on the autism spectrum.

Picture peak pandemic (2020) and a buzzing cell phone (mine) with Beth on the other line. She describes her new-ish job as art instructor for The Center for Learning Unlimited in Torrance, CA. Her employer – specifically, CLU’s 3-year year career training program in animation for autistic adults – is 12 months away from graduating its first class.. The school administration seeks an industry pro to discuss entertainment employment prospects for its unique student body.. Am I able to oblige? Beth awaits an answer from a hesitant me, who has no neurodiversity experience but heaps of insecurity . . .

Thanks to Beth’s urging, I oblige and eventually become CLU’s first official job developer and entertainment industry liaison. In 2021, we soft-open CLU’s professional media studio Brainstorm Productions, where we service creative content clients and make our own originals for the screen. My role is a mash-up of business prospecting, marketing, instructing, exec producing, and generalized goodwill ambassadoring. The best part is joining imaginative forces with the blossoming neurodivergent artists, plus the accomplished teachers and staff of CLU/Brainstorm.

Marlene, 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?

My pathway to merchandise-driven entertainment started with temping. After graduating with an MFA in musical theatre from San Diego State University, I registered with an LA job placement service that planted me as an exec assistant at the now-shuttered Renaissance-Atlantic Films. RAF was the consultancy of retired Bandai America president Frank Ward, who is legendary for exporting POWERS RANGERS (and other Japanese toy-centric intellectual properties) across the globe. After his Bandai retirement, he retained an exclusive Bandai advisory role and opened RAF in Beverly Hills..

My RAF temp job morphed – POWER RANGERS-style – into a full-time, 5+ year tenure. For much of that time, I was Frank’s only employee. The work was akin to boot camp for toy and TV development, plus content localization and consumer product licensing deals.

Frank flew under the radar, but his frequent collaborator Haim Saban was not shy in the public eye! Consequently, Frank is not as well-known as an anime/manga/kawaii/otaku pioneer, but he certainly is just that! In the last year or so, a Canadian influencer named Ray Mona re-discovered our work and chronicled it in a series of streaming documentaries under the banner TALES OF THE LOST. They are free to watch on YouTube and real crowd-pleasers!

I have not strayed far from those RAF roots. My career mainly has consisted of jobs in overseas media companies with a desire to have a Hollywood presence. Sometimes, I have served as that single-handed, physical LA presence (and lone native English speaker). Japan, Korea, India, Jordan, Israel, and Italy were/are home bases of former consulting clients and bosses.

Most of my job descriptions have included some form of creative development, business development, business/legal affairs, outreach/PR/marketing, distribution, special events, and project management. On occasion, I have snuck away for acting roles and the requisite auditions. With regard to performance at present, however, I am offer-only!

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

LinkedIn is my jam . . . And bread and butter! I love it, because it has provided me with many tangible career opportunities. The biggest boost to my personal LI following came when I accepted the role of admin for the official Women in Animation LinkedIn group. Through interaction with the global WIA community, my personal network has ballooned.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

My team management advice is to lead with compassion and healthy doses of good-natured humor. A reward-based system tends to work better than harsh criticism. Staying flexible in the face of inevitable change is helpful, too. Finally, never underestimate the power of a tasteful gift basket, lunch treat, coffee break, or frozen yogurt Friday to lift spirits!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.pinkpoodleproductions.com
• Other: https://linktr.ee/marlenesharp