We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Polly Hilton a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Polly , appreciate you joining us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?
As someone who identifies as a multi-hyphenate artist, my career path was an enigma for the beginning of my adult life. I started out like most theater artists do—moving to New York City, working in the service industry while balancing multiple side hustles, all while trying to find time to pursue my creative endeavors. I was constantly exhausted and feeling defeated because I was stuck in a cycle where I wasn’t reaching my creative goals and was struggling to make ends meet financially. New York City is expensive! And while the TV shows I grew up watching, like Friends or How I Met Your Mother, romanticize life in your early 20s in the city, the reality of it was rough for me. I found myself in a constant state of juxtaposition. I was craving stability but also was reluctant to give up the “bohemian” life I had been conditioned to believe was the only ramp to success in the theater industry. Bottom line: I did not want to be viewed as a sell-out or give upon my creative work in order to make money.
Everything changed when I got my job at Marathon Digital. Marathon is Broadway’s premier social media agency and is a company founded by theater artists and enthusiasts. The folks who work there value multi-hyphenates and are passionate about people bringing their unique skillsets to the table. I was hired as a community manger but quickly transitioned to creative copywriting, where I am responsible for crafting all scripted content, post copy and pitching tone and voice strategy to our clients. I am able to use my skills as a playwright and performer to capture the worlds of the shows we’re promoting. There is nothing more exciting than seeing a script I’ve written be performed by A-list actors and then released across socials to the delight of our various fanbases.
Additionally, once I found stability and creative fulfillment in my day-job, additional opportunities and commissions started rolling in. It’s a wonder what being properly rested and not overwhelmed by financial stress will do! I rediscovered the confidence and energy required to put myself out there and apply for fellowships. I am currently finishing up my second year in the famed BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, which never would have been possible without my job at Marathon.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I started in the entertainment industry as a child. I am an identical, red-headed, twin, and growing up, wherever we went we turned heads! So because we were so unique we sort of fell into film by getting asked to do some local commercials. Then this passion for being on camera bloomed into a desperate need to be onstage. We did local and community theater until we were cast in the National Tour of Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat when we were in 5th grade. After that, we were all in! I trained at Circle in the Square’s summer intensive while in High School, and then attended Emerson College in Boston, MA, where I earned duel degrees in performance and playwriting. Post-grad I worked at Disney World as performer— which out of all my accomplishments, is the thing I get asked about the most. Then I moved to New York where I organically fell into Broadway social media marketing.
My day to day is dominated by writing. When it comes to writing for social media, my main focus is to extend the world of a show— I firmly believe that a story doesn’t stop once the curtain falls. You continue to think about it, play the songs in your mind, and question characters choices. My job is to celebrate that intrigue and keep audiences wanting more. Additionally, my writing also serves as an invitation. It’s crazy to think that an Instagram reel could foster a life-long love of the arts, but we’ve seen it happen! We’ve seen folks buy a ticket to their first ever Broadway show thanks to content I’ve helped craft. And then, we’ve seen them come back for more!
I think my personal background as a playwright really sets me apart, because I have a reverence and deep love for what it is we’re selling and I am able to be a sort of chameleon among our various fanbases. For example, I write VERY differently for Hamilton than I do for Back to the Future. I completely transform my sense of humor, vernacular, even punctuation. I view it as if I am writing in character, just like I would if I was sitting down to work on my own original work. Not everyone has this innate understanding of language and of the shows we’re promoting (I was a fan first, after all) and I think that’s what helps keep my content from being generic.
I am extremely proud of all the work I have done for our Sondheim clients. We currently manage the socials for Sweeney Todd and we previously managed the most recent Into The Woods revival. I am someone who swings for the fences with my niche references and humor, and Sondheim’s work is ripe with things to draw from. And though it sounds nerdy, it was a really pinch me moment seeing my same in a Playbill along with Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford!
When it comes to playwriting, I am constantly searching for female helmed stories to tell. The theater is a place for diverse voices and I am passionate about keeping women at the forefront of what I’m working on— specifically women above the age of 30 and with diverse bodies! I am extremely proud to have previously been the Theater for Young Audiences Writer in Residence at the 92NY. It was such an incredible opportunity to create work for children that does not pander, but instead aims high, and challenges and entertains. It was there I wrote three shows, all reimagined adaptations: Little Red Riding Hood, Alice in Wonderland and Molly the Manatee. And though I’ve continued to write for young people since that residency concluded, I also am actively and eagerly exploring other facets of my creativity and other genres. The BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop has really inspired me to keep pushing myself and has been a real “NYC bucket-list” accomplishment on that front.
If there is one thing I would want folks to take away from my journey within the theater industry, it would be there is no one way to be successful! Someone else’s path might not be yours. I never dreamed I’d be in the rooms I’m in as a playwright and a copywriter, but I’m so glad I remained open to the opportunities, even when they did not look like I thought they would!
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
For me, this career path is rooted in a love for the collective experience of consuming art. There is a saying that when folks sit in a theater together and watch a show, the audience’s heartbeats sync up. I am not sure if this is scientific fact BUT I am sure that there is a special kind of magic that occurs when a room full of people are all empathizing and imagining at once! And when the thing that’s causing folks to think deeper, or cry with laughter, or relate to someone they never thought they could, is something I wrote, there is truly nothing more rewarding.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I had to realize that putting in the hours doesn’t always equate with being productive. When I was just starting out writing, I would literally schedule hours in my calendar to sit at the computer and be creative. One time in particular, I was up against a mammoth deadline, and so I blocked out extra time, thinking this would set me up for success. During these scheduled sessions I was strict with myself and wouldn’t use my phone, or surf the internet— I would sit, essentially shackled to my desk and try to create. What this often turned into was me sitting, staring at a blinking cursor, watching the time run down. As my deadline loomed, I grew frustrated because in my mind I was doing what a good writer should! I thought was putting in the time. My iCal said I was, so why was my script no closer to being complete? I was growing resentful of all the time I was spending supposedly doing what I love which is never a good head-space to be in as a creative.
Years later I would learn that productivity as a writer takes many different forms. Sometimes it IS sitting at a desk with no distractions putting in the time, but more often than not, it’s getting outside and taking a walk, doing a work-out, or having a conversation with a mentor or fellow creative I respect. I had to learn to give myself permission to walk away from my desk when a work session is unproductive. It felt like failing at first. But over time, I discovered that in actuality, giving myself the space to re-center meant that when I came back to my desk, I would most likely be inspired and refreshed.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @hiltonpolly
Image Credits
The onstage images and the image outside are credited to Carrington Spires. The headshot is credited to Chris Macke.