Rising Star Summer Chastant On The Five Things You Need To Shine In the Entertainment Industry

“I have changed my mentality so much since I started out. Now the work I do is about upping my game not trying to be better than someone I know or who I follow on social media. Others can inspire you but spending your time comparing yourself to another person is just wasting time.”

I had the pleasure of interviewing Summer Chastant creator of the new hit digital series Rage Room — which is currently a Primetime Emmy Contender. You can watch it at rageroomshow.com.

Thank you so much for joining us! What is your “backstory”?

I grew up in a small town called Youngwood, PA. It’s about 45 mins to the east of Pittsburgh. I always wanted to make films. From the time we got a video camera I would invite my friends over and make up skits and perform them.

I would stay up every Saturday night and watch SNL. I loved comedy and couldn’t wait for the opportunity to do it.

I’ve always spent a lot of my free time writing; short stories, poetry, prose and journaling.

I lived in NYC for almost a decade and made a full time career as a successful yoga teacher. Interestingly that taught me a ton about starting and running my own business — I lead four retreats a year in addition to a full time teaching schedule. Looking back I totally get why I loved those retreats and teaching…I was producing these really specific unique experiences for people!

…Which leads me to where I am now, in LA making shows for people to watch.

Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that occurred to you in the course of your acting career?

I moved out to Los Angeles a few years ago and I hit the ground running by booking a few commercials. However, some of the film parts that I was going out for or booking didn’t have the depth of female storytelling that I was interested in doing. So it was 3 months into moving to LA that I started writing roles for myself. That’s when I created my first series Namaste, Bitches — which I also executive produced, wrote and star in. It was written up in The New York Times, MTV, Paste Magazine, Cosmopolitan (among many others). And was dubbed “the Girls of Yoga” by LA Weekly. With millions of views, it has been named in numerous top 5 lists of “best original series” alongside of Netflix’s Master of None, Louis C.K.’s Horace and Pete, Jerry Seinfeld’s Driving in Cars with Comedians and HBO’s High Maintenance.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

I just released my new short form digital series RAGE ROOM at rageroomshow.com. It’s been getting a ton of buzz and is a Primetime Emmy Contender in the Short Form category. I also have three half hour pilots that I’m finishing for various production companies.

Who are some of the most interesting people you have interacted with? What was that like? Do you have any stories?

I had the opportunity recently to chat with Zach Galifinakis who I think is one of the most brilliant comics out there. Like me, he’s created content for the web (Between Two Ferns). He’s really doing what I’m on my way to doing by creating and starring in his own Television show, Baskets. Also, we hit it off really well and it wasn’t surprising that we have the same sense of humor in real life.

What do you do to “sharpen your craft”? Can you share any stories?

Creating and writing shows and being a screenwriter can be a very isolating profession. I’ve only been in LA a short while and although I’ve produced pretty much all of the work that I’ve written: Rage Room, Namaste, Bitches, A Little Bit Pregnant, and music video treatments — it still all starts with me and my thoughts in a room by myself. The production part of making this content is actually just a small part of the equation.

So the thing I am constantly doing is creating my own work and writing. And the more work I make the more I’m finding like-minded individuals who are more successful or know more than me. These people so generously believe in me and what I’m doing that they help, advise, critique, support and promote my projects. That connection and conversation in addition to actually working helps me sharpen my craft.

Even today I started my morning talking to a friend Gabe Hobson about my latest pilot script. He gave me invaluable “story” advice that he had learned from working on True Detective. And following that conversation the director of Rage Room, Charles Herman-Wurmfeld came over and we spent close to two hours going over where the show is, what we are working on next, and just general ideas of how to improve our collaboration process. Working with Charlie — someone who’s made huge Blockbuster films like Legally Blonde 2 and the cult classic Kissing Jessica Stein — I always feel like I’m learning things I couldn’t get in a classroom.

My other go to advisors and friends are Producer Mollye Asher, Showrunner Kate VanDevender and writer Alvy Johnson.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

My web series, Namaste, Bitches, is a show that is used in film school curriculum — which is a huge honor. I have people contact me or meet me who tell me that they heard about me from a film class they took in Ohio or Chicago. So that’s super cool that I’m inspiring up and coming filmmakers.

I work with a phenomenal program here in LA called GFS (Ghetto Film School). It’s an organization that teaches filmmaking to underprivileged high school students. Stosh Mintek heads the LA branch. Every time I’m making a project I ask him if any of their kids or former alum want to be involved and sure enough they become an essential part of my team. Because I received all of my training growing up through getting my masters by scholarships or funding for the arts, involving programs, like GFS, are very important to me.

All of my stories are very female driven. I’m thrilled to be a part of this incredible time where we are moving towards women being half of the equation, not just in Hollywood, but also in every industry. I hire and work with a bunch of incredibly talented women. I can’t wait to work with more!

I write the multicultural worlds because that’s the world I live in and I believe those are the most enriching stories.

Also, I’m extremely conscious of trying to make my sets as green as possible. People who work with me know that there aren’t plastic water bottles on my film sets. It’s bring your Klean Kanteen to work or borrow one that’s provided.

On each of my series I feature local artists’ handmade work in an effort to help them promote their small businesses. And with my shows having millions of views it’s a great way for the artists’ work to be showcased.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

1. There are a billion reasons why an idea won’t work, ignore all of them and keep going. E.g. During pre-production of Rage Room so many things fell apart. We lost one of our lead actors, our location, and our cinematographer. I made a pact with my director Charles Herman-Wurmfeld and producer Ruth Du that we would make it through production no matter what. We stuck to it and we made the show!
2. Nobody can teach you an exact, all-encompassing way of working that’s right for you. Only you can figure that out. Eg. I’m a classically trained actor. I have my undergrad and Masters in Acting. The first show that I wrote was a one-woman play a decade ago. I directed it, produced it, and picked the music, did everything to make it happen. That piece was a culmination or accumulation of all of these different things that I had learned, not one singular way of working. And that’s how I work with all of my shows and films. I used to get so frustrated that I couldn’t work in a formulaic way that was designed by someone else. And now I realize it’s because my approach is so much more holistic. It’s more me.
3. If you want to do something in your life or to change your life, do it now. It’s not too late. E.g. I watched my mom go from having a high school education to getting her Masters degree when I was a teenager. She was 50 when she completely changed careers and learned sign language. That reminds me daily that it’s never too late to make big career moves.
4. The only competition you have is yourself. E.g. I have changed my mentality so much since I started out. Now the work I do is about upping my game not trying to be better than someone I know or who I follow on social media. Others can inspire you but spending your time comparing yourself to another person is just wasting time.
5. Do everything to educate yourself so you don’t fail. Then fail and try again. E.g. With both of my series I spent so much time researching how to make original content. I read books on screenwriting, listened to podcasts, watched and learned from other shows like Awkward Black Girl, High Maintenance, Broad City, etc. I studied what worked and what didn’t. And then I made my first episode and failed. I failed hard. And then I tried again.

Some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might see this. :-)

Ava DuVernay hands down. She is such an inspiration to filmmakers and women. I love her relentless drive. She deserves every single bit of recognition she’s getting. And she’s a humanitarian. I would love to work with her, talk to her, have her Executive Produce my shows.