Actor, director, producer, and improv artist Jennifer Clymer joins me to talk creativity, caregiving, community, and her incredible work at the Motion Picture & Television Fund. A heart-filled conversation about living your next act with purpose.
This episode’s guest is, actor, director, producer, improviser, and all-around wonderful human, Jennifer Clymer.
Jen’s journey is a rich tapestry of creativity, resilience, and community building. From founding Chicago’s Playground Improv Theater to producing and directing both indie darlings and major studio projects (Spider-Man, Charlie’s Angels), Jen brings heart and hustle to everything she does.
We talk about her early days in Chicago’s theater scene, how she pivoted into producing, and the powerful work she does now at the Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF)—where she helps care for aging and retired members of the entertainment industry. 💛
This episode is also part of @podcasthon, a global initiative spotlighting charitable organizations—and we’re honored to shine a light on the MPTF and the artists it supports.
Whether you’re a filmmaker, a caregiver, a lover of community, or just someone trying to live your next act with purpose—this episode is for you.
Chapters:
00:00 – Intro: Who is Jennifer Clymer?
02:04 – Reconnecting after the pandemic & intro to MPTF
07:10 – Jen’s early creative roots and first steps into improv
10:00 – Building community through The Playground in Chicago
16:00 – How improv shaped her storytelling and career
20:00 – Stage vs. screen: vintage vibes and fast fashion
22:30 – Moving to LA & falling in love with Stanley Kramer films
25:00 – Producing Timecode & working behind the scenes
29:00 – Directing with heart: Be Prepared to Stop
31:00 – Jen’s full circle moment with MPTF & Stanley Kramer
34:00 – From pen pals to LA: a surprise support network
39:40 – What the Motion Picture Television Fund actually does
45:30 – Supporting Thelma & MPTF’s approach to aging with agency
50:30 – Cris shares her journey with Alone Girl
52:27 – Jen’s advice on failure, timing, and creative boldness
55:26 – On being single, creating joy, and finding your “next act”
1:00:00 – Shout-outs, creative chaos, and living blissfully
Jen’s Bio:
Jennifer Clymer is an award-winning actor who loves singing and being on stage and has since childhood. She performs around Los Angeles with the Harvard Yardbirds a capella group.
She is a founding member of The Playground Improv Theater in Chicago and was proud to perform in multiple productions and stages in her career there.
Her time in Los Angeles has included being in front of and behind the camera in film and television.
Through the pandemic, Jennifer used her improv background to create and host a live, interactive variety show for residents of the MPTF retirement community to keep them engaged and informed. Also she has created and hosts the annual MPTF Instant Film Festival and has been honored to serve as the executive producer for fundraisers and telethons benefiting MPTF.
She is a director/producer who has work on Studio productions, such as Spiderman, Joe Dirt, Adaptation, Charlie’s Angles and independent films - Be Prepared to Stop, Showfolk and Thelma.
Connect with Jen on Instagram
To learn more about MPTF head to their website
To learn more about Podcasthon check out their website
Jenifer Clymer - Actor, Director, Producer & Improviser (Part of Podcasthon)
Cris (00:00)
Hi and welcome to Blissful Spinster. This week's guest is actor, director, producer, improviser, and all around wonderful human being, Jennifer Clymer. Jen is an old friend and I am so happy she said yes to being on the podcast. Especially for this very special episode which is part of Podcasthon.
the world's largest podcast charity initiative, bringing together podcasters from across the globe to raise awareness for organizations doing good in the world. And today we're shining a light on one of those organizations, one that is super close to my heart as it's helped me in the past, the Motion Picture Television Fund or the MPTF, where Jen currently works creating life-changing programming and support systems for entertainment industry members, both working and retired. Jen's journey is a rich tapestry of creativity and compassion.
She's an award-winning actor who's been performing since childhood, a founding member of the Playground Improv Theater in Chicago, and a vibrant presence on stages across Los Angeles with the Harvard Yardbirds, an acapella group. She's also worked behind the scenes on everything from experimental indie films like Timecode,
to big studio blockbusters like Spider-Man and Charlie's Angels. Through the pandemic, Jen used her improv chops to create and host a live interactive variety show for the residents of MPTF's retirement community. Keeping spirits high during incredibly tough times, she also launched the Instant Film Festival, executive produced multiple MPTF fundraisers, and continues to champion a community-first approach to storytelling. Our conversation is a celebration of creativity, resilience, and giving back.
We talk about Jen's early days in Chicago, her work at MPTF, her passion for elevating the underrepresented voices of the entertainment industry's aging community, and the lessons we've both learned while chasing our big dreams. Whether you're here because you love film, believe in community, or just curious about what it means to live your next act with purpose, this episode is for you. So however you found this podcast, thank you for tuning in.
And please enjoy this episode with my friend, the fiercely talented and deeply compassionate Jennifer Clymer. Hi Jen! How's it going? I'm good, it's been a long time.
Jen (02:04)
you doing? Cris, I'm good. How are you?
I know. mean, between the fires and the work stoppage and the pandemic, it's been a minute.
Cris (02:16)
Yeah,
I don't think we've seen each other since before the pandemic at some point. I'm so happy you said yes. And A, I love your journey that I'm going to get to talk to you about. But B, that you get to work with the Motion Picture Television Fund, which is such an important organization that I don't know that everyone knows about.
Jen (02:32)
It is unfortunately one of the better kept secrets in Hollywood. For a long time we said it was the best kept secret, but I think more and more people are starting to understand and turn to it not just as donors to get services from NPTF. And if people did know about it, they thought it was only the retirement community.
because that's the brick and mortar, the home for 250 people. Long before there was a retirement community, we were doing financial aid for people in the industry. We continue doing that. That's how it started in 1921. And with everything that I just listed for why we haven't seen each other, the people who have been suffering from the industry with the contractions that have been happening, I'm so excited about Stay in LA, the move to get productions to come back or stay in Los Angeles.
because there have been so many losses of productions of opportunities here in this town. This town where people moved to it because they had a passion for storytelling, they were creative, and they took a gamble. They risked security, they risked the stability of the hometowns that they grew up in and the community that they left behind. But you found a great community here and that community keeps getting smaller these days. Hopefully.
initiatives like Stay in LA will bring production back to where the studios are, where the craftspeople made their homes and the legacy, the people who learned from the generations before are here. So it'd be great to have production come back and really be buoyant here.
Cris (04:07)
I miss the days of, I mean, I moved here in the mid-90s and you couldn't turn a corner without at some point seeing the trucks, you know, or if you went on the lot, there was one stage that didn't have something in it. Now it's one stage has something in it. You know, it's pretty sad.
And I hope that the California legislature sees how important the booing the tax credits are because I'll tell you, I've been on a journey to get my film made for, this is I'm entering the sixth year and when I have had producers attached, big question is always, would you consider filming somewhere else? And my story.
takes place here in LA and any one of those, if you asked any of those producers, they will tell you, I was like, no, I'm going to shoot it here. Even if it was going to cost more money, I wanted to shoot it here. And they're like, but you can shoot it in where, you know, some other state with the tax credits, like the interiors and then come back. I'm like, I don't want to. I mean, it might sound idealistic or dumb or whatever to people listening out there, but I have wanted to write and direct.
film since I was eight and this I'm not going to compromise. I'm 54. This is a long time coming. I know I have a good script and it takes place here. The city's a character. The artistry is here. The people that I'm going to pull from. David Bolan who you know from probably met him during Thelma. He's my DP. I knew him before he got Thelma. So that's how I ended up meeting the Thelma crew.
Jen (05:30)
which they are such a great group of people. And I was going to say that's a wonderful example of a film shot in Los Angeles.
Cris (05:37)
They're my
guiding light right now. I've gone to several of their Q &A's and stuff because I like to support, but also because I was terribly interested in learning how they've done it. Because you keep being told as an independent filmmaker, L.A.'s too expensive and my film's anywhere from three to five mil, depending on cast.
Jen (05:53)
I think because it's been in the conversation so much and there are people who are out there stomping for it and members of SAG-AFTRA who see that there's a real desperate need because it doesn't just affect the Harrison Fords of the world who have to leave their homes for two months while they're on location. It affects all of the day players that aren't going to be flown to wherever that small community is that the tax breaks are.
Cris (06:20)
It also affects from the PAs to the grips, to the lighting people, to the catering people, to all the vendors. When we contract, especially to the point that we have contracted, it affects the entire town. And this town that I love, that I know you love, that just that energy of you can dream it and make it possible if you hustle in the right ways, like there's that palpable energy of hope and dreaming that I've always loved.
And it has dimmed in the last couple of years because we're trying to figure our way out of that box, right? I'm always sharing the stay in LA stuff. I signed the petition like in their first week. But to get to you, all this is super important, but I want people to learn about you because you're so awesome. So when did your journey, because I know you started as an actor, correct? Or did I get that wrong?
Jen (07:10)
I did, I did. From a very young age too. I grew up on the East Coast and was singing before I could talk and dancing before I was running. I started in community theater when I was in elementary school and doing school plays and high school plays. And then I went to college for communication arts at a small school in Maryland and was part of the theater program there, but also was doing.
theater in Delaware. I was doing professional theater before I had my degree and moved to Chicago after I graduated because one of the people that I'd met in Chicago cast me in a show and said, know, get out here, you're going to love it. And as it happened, I had family friends who like, it's a crazy story that at some point over a different dinner party where we're at the cheese and cracker table, I will tell you in depth, but.
When I was a kid, I met this family in Florida and became pen pals with the son. And anyway, during high school, I would go to Chicago for my own vacations separate and apart from my family visiting this other family. So I had a home base to already tap into. I moved to Chicago, went to the first rehearsal for this new musical that this guy was so excited that he'd put financing together. That financing fell through. So I was fresh out of college with...
like a random job trying to figure out what my next step was. But I knew that I wanted to study improv and Chicago was a good place to do that. So even though that show brought me to Chicago, I wasn't just going to pack up and leave. There were great things to explore. So I was doing open mic improv and did not realize that there was an audition happening at one of these open mic improvs. The director came up to me and said, I need your headshot. Like, why? We're playing games. This is.
So random Tuesday night, just bring my headshot places. People don't have to do that now because you just share your IMDB page. But back in the day, they would make the little business cards that had the headshot on it. Well, I didn't have the funds to do that. basically I scribbled a little pen drawing of myself on a napkin. It was like, here you go, you want to cast me? And it was that kind of just, okay, it's.
it's the unknown, jump in, play around, see what you can do. It got me cast in that show and then the next improv show. And I ended up in this really great community of actors and improvisers. And in that group, there was a real need to have a community for our own theater space. There were these great improv schools that also had theaters as part of them. Second City, of course, is renowned. Improv Olympic.
had this structure where they brought you in for classes. You'd go through all of the levels of classes, you'd form teams, maybe you were on two or three teams, and you would get onto one of the two stages. But part of the reason that your team was going to get more stage time was were you bringing people in? So there were groups that had kind of outlived their ticket sales and they would get orphaned.
because there were more groups coming up behind them of young improvisers who didn't have friends that were burnt out on their 70th improv show, right?
Cris (10:26)
Our friends, the things we make indeed.
Jen (10:29)
Poor, non-actor friends who were like, okay, I will see you Friday at 10 p.m. Thanks.
Cris (10:36)
I will laugh at that joke again.
Jen (10:38)
Right. And you know, the thing that you could keep going back to people with was, well, it's improv. It's going to be different every time. It's a brand new show. So there were all of these orphaned teams at this point in the mid nineties in Chicago. And somebody came up with the idea of let's form a co-op. So it's not a school where we're just going to bring these teams together who still have this creative vitality, but who aren't getting the stage time at whatever school they were going through. We had
teams from the annoyance and teams from the Improv Olympic, teams from people who had formed teams from Second City. You rarely were gonna get a Second City team that was orphaned because they did not form teams in that way. The reason that they were doing it was to learn the art of comedy writing and then go out to Los Angeles or to New York. So a lot of those people would start in Chicago and lie.
Cris (11:29)
Yeah, I went to University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, so I'm very aware.
Jen (11:33)
A
lot of teams from schools that they got separated and then because of the playground, the theater that I helped to found, those teams found each other again and were able to play and have fun and pull from the things that they were doing in college. There was a stretch there after I had decided to move out to Los Angeles, there was a stretch where they were closing down all of these storefront theaters. The playground had started where we were booking like the back room stage at different bars all around town.
So for a while we were at this bar called the Q Club and then we were at Jacko's on the north side and we moved to yet another bar for a one year anniversary and Mick Napier from The Annoyance came to host our one year anniversary. And when we got kicked out of that bar because the bar had no steak, right? I mean, they were happy to pour us drinks until they were like last call. Nick said, well, I got keys, let's go to The Annoyance. And he opened up The Annoyance and we just partied through the night just to
to celebrate this joyous, momentous occasion that none of us really knew if we were gonna get to. And Mark Henderson, another one of the founders for the playground, said, guys, this is what we need. We need our own set of keys. We need our own space so that we're not hopscotching around town. People who understand what the philosophy is and wanna come know where to go. Because at any point, the bar owner can be like, you know what, this improv thing isn't really working for us anymore, so see ya. We're gonna bring a band in next week or whatever.
So we set about and found a storefront and it wasn't necessarily legal to have a theater in that part of town on that street. But at the same time, things like that were happening all over the, you know, that kind of north side of Chicago and outside of Wrigleyville on the outskirts of Wrigleyville.
So we just did it. And when they finally started cracking down that you had to be in a properly zoned, you couldn't just be a storefront, you had to be in a properly zoned place for public entertainment, we did end up going to the turnaround theater and then the pandemic kind of shut everything down. I keep saying we, I left in 1999 and moved.
to Los Angeles. And it was still the infancy of the playground, but there was this great structure that we had established. One of my mantras was fundraising never stops because it was a 501c3 theater. And it's still going.
Cris (13:58)
I spoke to Randall Park and he founded an Asian American theater group at UCLA that's still running strong. He was one of the founding members of that in the 90s. I mean, it's cool, right, to meet other people like yourself that were like, let's just do the thing.
Jen (14:13)
And that was it, because that's part of the muscle that you exercise in improv, right? To able to say, okay, nobody really understands the goal that we're headed for, including us, but we know that this is the general area, and if we get even close to that mark when we're starting with nothing, we've succeeded.
Cris (14:29)
So
for you and the rest of the founders, I I assume there's some of that muscle going on for the current members too now, but really that first group that decides to do the thing, you're also learning to make the thing out of nothing.
Jen (14:44)
think that there's an equally challenging set of skills that you have to put in if you're walking into something that has been established. Because just because it's been established doesn't mean that that's going to work for the recurrent rules of the world, right? So I think it's even more courageous to walk in and say, okay, how do we keep the intention but make it feasible for what's happening right now? And there are people who had, you know, the founders had
stepped away or moved on to other things. And there are people that came in after us for the playground who absolutely did that. And that is such an incredible skill set to be able to say, got it. We are honoring 100 % what these people have done. But if we're gonna make it another 20 years, what's that look like? Because it's coming up on, we're a couple of years from the 30th anniversary.
Cris (15:38)
Amazing. Are you going to go back and are they going to do something?
Jen (15:40)
Probably. That'd be cool. Yeah. And they did this really wonderful podcast for the, it was the 20th anniversary and I was really excited to go and there were going to be four of us on it. And because things were a little crazy here at work, I booked my flight. I had a ton of stuff going on. There was another event that popped up that they were like, can you please, please do this? And I was like, yeah.
I think I booked a red eye, right? I was positive I booked a red eye because I'm from the East Coast and that was what I would do. Well, there aren't really red eyes to Chicago. I did not book a red eye. I showed up at the airport after this event and they're like, your flight took off this morning. So I missed the podcast, but I did make it back for the party.
Cris (16:22)
think you're all right of the different levels of coming in after something has been started versus starting it. But I was more meaning like it gives you skill set for this business because you are continually reinventing yourself or readjusting. You've got whatever project you're working on, whether it's something you're working on that someone else is or it's your own. All of those skill sets help you get through it, I guess is what I was more getting at.
Jen (16:51)
Yeah, yes. And I highly encourage anybody who wants to make themselves a more, this is gonna sound terrible. I'm not gonna find the right words. So forgive me if I've said this in an offensive way. It is not intended that way at all. But if you are looking to improve your public speaking or if you are looking to be able to do multitasking, if you're looking to increase that skillset, and what I was about to say was if you're looking to make yourself a better person,
That's not exactly what I mean. But taking an improv class is a really wonderful way to help fracture your brain in this beautiful mind way where you have to keep different stories happening constantly in your head and you're building on what the next chapter of those three stories are all at the same time. It helps you to be able to go into a situation and say, okay, I don't know what I don't know.
But everyone here also has no idea what the end result of this is gonna be. So how do we form a team? How do we speak to each other in a generous way that moves us closer to the end goal? And that's something that I have used in my life in a million different situations, making people laugh.
just getting everybody into harmony and all rowing the boat in the same way. And sometimes that skill set also helps you to identify, today is one of the days where I get to sit down and just grab a paddle and row in the direction that another person is saying, this is where we're going. In agreement, in harmony, and pulling everybody else together to say, do you hear this great idea that this person's, let's all go. Come join me as I follow them. Yeah.
Cris (18:36)
I took an acting class a couple of years ago. It wasn't improv, but I've got stage fright. So it was a big deal for me. I've been working on that for the last few years since I started doing my short films. I was like, if you're going to do that, you're going to need to get comfortable to be on stage because you're Q &As and whatever. And so I went in with, just go with it. Just be in the moment that I was taking it to learn. You would probably agree with this. I mean, you came to directing from the acting side, whereas this was part of me also wanting to
to know what it is to be in the actor's side so that I can communicate better. was eye-opening, it was great, and I do think I want to take an improv class at some point. I don't know that I'll be good at it, I always get tongue-tied, but I want to try it. I just haven't had the money or the time.
Jen (19:25)
If you are a person who gets tongue tied, you lean into that in an improv situation, you know?
Cris (19:31)
Well, and that's what I want to learn. want to learn that skill set, which I don't practice on my own, my cats, right? But I want to. People who do it well are so amazing to me. You know, it's
Jen (19:41)
So
cool. Where you have to go in believing the audience is already with you. know, like some people will talk about in this moment we lost the audience. Yeah, but in your mind you have to be like, I'm going to get them back. Yeah. And you can't make it about whether or not they're with you because you know at the end they're going to be. They may not be at the end.
Cris (20:00)
can't be that way in the performance, you have to believe. Yeah. What do you think you get out of performing on stage? I how does that impact your performances on film and TV? Because I know you've done both, right?
Jen (20:03)
Absolutely.
Yeah,
yeah. And the process is what I really love. I love stepping into this other reality and exploring the nooks and crannies of what brings that character joy, what brings that character pain, what motivates them. Are they someone totally separate from myself who their joy comes from other people's pain?
I'm friends with Julie James. Shout out to Julie James on SiriusXM. I'm a huge Broadway fan, as is she. I heard her yesterday on SiriusXM talking to Susan Lucci. And that was fun because as a kid, I convinced my acting teacher to let me play the villain.
because we were doing like the kids version of Aladdin and we had done Free to Be You and Me, the musical, and I was flitting around the stage and dancing and singing. And in Aladdin, there were two main male characters. was the uncle and Aladdin. And then everyone else was like a townsperson and the genie, right? So I said, well, I wanna play the mean uncle. I wanna, let me do that. That's.
That's fun, that's different. So to be able to like literally throw your chest open and just embrace what is separate and apart from who you are on a day-to-day basis is a lot of fun for me. And the way that that differs from film or TV acting, if you're doing it for performance on a stage, you have this opportunity day after day after day to go deeper into what that character is. For film or TV, you've got to be in it with the partner, you're doing scene work.
hard and fast and then you're forgetting it. Forgetting it is hard. You have to draw upon it for whatever else you're doing in the film, but that's a week. Once that is captured on film, you're onto the next thing. For me, feels like it's like fast fashion versus vintage clothing. You hold on to the vintage clothing, the fast fashion is cool and hip and it looks great and then.
maybe it's in the back of your closet, maybe you donate it to Goodwill the next day. You're just not in that character's bones for very long.
Cris (22:14)
that fast fashion versus vintage. That was great. So you've also produced and directed. Was that like a natural pivot or was it a pivot, I'm not getting work so I need to do this to generate work for myself, which I've also spoken to actors who do, or was it something that you gravitated towards because you were like, I want to investigate this. think I'll be good at it.
Jen (22:33)
So I made a very weird and specific choice when I moved from Chicago. I had set these goals for myself in Chicago where I wanted to produce talk radio at the Loop radio station, which I did. And I was really proud of all of the work that I did at the Loop. The Loop changed formats and moved to rock and roll. Like they were just gonna do music and they were doing a little bit of music, but a lot of talk and having that like rock and roll energy in their talk shows. The show that I produced was the last part-time.
talk show that they held on to until the format changed to 24-7 music. So I checked that off of my box. There was a really interesting improv show called Flanagan's Wake, which was like Tony and Tina's wedding, but set in an Irish way. So I was like, I got to get into that show. I would watch it. I had to see Flanagan's Wake once every six months until I was like, they're having auditions. They were having auditions for the male parts. They didn't need to recast any of the female parts.
but I went to the male auditions. Like, look, I know I'm not what you're looking for for the roles that you need to fill, but I am what you're looking for. You need to put me in the ensemble in rotation, because I love this show and I can sing and you got to at least hear me. And they did and they called me the next day and they're like, we hate that we're calling you because we don't need a woman right now, but we'll put you in limited rotation because you're great and you love the show and.
So I started doing that show 1998 and was starting to book more shows and get more time. And the improv theater was really taking off. had established our own theater space. I had my own set of keys. I still have those keys. They don't fit any lock, but I have the original keys. And I looked at this list that I had established.
I was like, I either need to write a new list or I need to figure out what's next. And I was not secure enough to, I was always a size like 12 to 16. Right? In my mind, that was never gonna get me film and TV work. And I had someone when I first moved to LA, and I will tell that, remind me to tell you what that person said to me about my struggles with my acting and my size. So I decided I wanted to make Stanley Kramer kind of movies.
I had done some directing in Chicago. I was an improv coach for different teams that I'm still excited for them. But I had watched Stanley Kramer movies. I'd gone to the films, get the movie theaters and thought I would rather watch movies on Turner Classic movies made by this guy, Stanley Kramer, who was a director producer. Then go to the movies and be surrounded by like maybe I'm trying to watch a great film.
that not very many people are going to because it's not entertaining. And maybe what I need to do is not complain that nobody's making the kind of films that I want to see made. And I need to go to Los Angeles and try to make those films. So I moved to LA, found out about the Motion Picture and Television Fund, decided, hey, I'm going to try and get a job there and
work on events and network and meet people who are in the industry, but who have a good heart and who want to give back. Like those, that's the kind of community I want to plug into. So that's what I did. And I met an executive who worked at Sony, who I talked to about my Stanley Kramer obsession. And he said, okay, let's, let's see what you can do. Got me onto Timecode, which was a Mike Vegas film.
Cris (25:50)
I remember seeing that in theater.
Jen (25:51)
It
was a really amazing experimental film. was an incredible first experience, but not a first experience that would be able to translate into moviemaking, right? Because it was so avant-garde. Look it up if you don't know. So the small, small description is it is the television series 24 before 24. So it's all an hour and a half, no edits, go see it. The UPM, the unit production manager from that film,
I was working with him, there would be problems and I thrive on creative solutions for problems. Problems that would come up in production and I'd solve solutions. Simple things where people are spinning out because they've got so much other stuff that was on their minds and I'd be like, can we just do this? So.
I worked on the studio side for a couple of years. I worked on huge budget films, Charlie's Angels, Spider-Man with Tobey Maguire. I want to circle back really quickly because when I was in post-production for Timecode and talking to one of the people, they were asking why I had moved there and what I had done in Chicago. And I talked a little bit about my acting and my improv background. They said, well, why aren't you acting now? And I said, well, you know, I'm not really physically the type that.
they're going to cast. And he wisely said, no, we need all types. It is not just the ingenue or the size zero and you should do it. But at that point, I was so obsessed with, I'm going to make Stanley Kramer kind of films. I'm going to make films that are entertaining first and that are uplifting and make society better, which is why Be Prepared to Stop, the documentary that I executive produced and directed was so important to me because it is
available for people to watch on YouTube. Some of the information is outdated now because what the Biden administration was able to do with infrastructure and improving the way that we get all of the stuff that we need for our livelihood, some of that information is a little outdated. But the understanding, the philosophy about it, the idea that you share this highway system, this road system that connects all of us across the country with these trucks that
People sometimes are scared of, people may find annoying. I was so frustrated driving in Los Angeles, seeing cars cut off like an 80,000 pound truck. Like, do you not understand the physics of what is gonna happen if you're not respectful of the, you're in a rush to go to the store?
to get something that is probably on the back of that truck that you just cut off, putting your life in danger, putting others in danger, or at the very least, inconveniencing people. All of us who drive in Los Angeles know there's an accident on every roadway every day. Why would you?
do anything that's going to try and compound the problem. So be prepared to stop is a little bit of a love letter to the transportation industry and an opportunity for people to open their eyes to the reality that the food that populates in the grocery store doesn't magically appear. It's not like through some tunnel system. But at the end of the film, we do talk about innovations for how we can take the stress off of our roadways and how we can continue getting the items that we cherish so deeply without.
having to raise the gas tax or without having to put life and limb on the line and in a way that's really respectful to the people who are behind the wheels of those big trucks. So it wasn't guess who's coming to dinner.
but it was information in an entertaining way. And I've had an opportunity to be part of so many great short films and projects here internally at Motion Picture and Television Fund that are life-changing for the people who are making those projects. There was a short film that won a couple of Film Festival Awards that we made here that was made by a man who had advanced ALS. He edited this short film using an eye tracker because his just muscular
system was not functioning anymore. So he's not typing and moving a mouse with his hands. He's controlling his computer with his eyes and he edited this project called Matt and Maya. And we had 120 volunteers over six different weekends that came out to support the production of this to give him the opportunity to spend however much time he wanted to edit this great film that told a story of two people he met here at MPTF.
I do feel in my way, I've done the Stanley Kramer thing. And the greatest irony of all of it, I did not know at the time that I was moving here and thinking, MPTF is a good place to meet people who care about other people, but who work in this industry. didn't know that Stanley Kramer was living here at that time. So when he passed, one of the people working at MPTF who heard my story way too many times called me and said, I could not tell you because of our privacy rules that Stanley Kramer
was living here, but we are holding a memorial service for him and we need volunteers. So would you come and help us? So I got to escort Sydney Poitier up to the stage at the Directors Guild to give the eulogy for Stanley Kramer.
Cris (30:57)
little circle moment for you. That's beautiful. That just made my heart grow. So you kind of without even knowing what an NPTF does, you approach them and start working for them and then got more into that. Like it just seems like it was a wonderful marriage of your spirit and being in the right spot, right?
Jen (31:15)
Well, the gentleman that I mentioned, Ken Scherer, he grew up in my hometown. So his father was like a grandfather figure to me. So when I was contemplating moving out here, my parents said, do you remember Mr. Scherer, meaning Ken's dad? Like, of course. He was an elder at the church that I went to. And for me, church was less about religion than it was about it's a place I can sing and act and dance. There's a stage. That's an altar. No, it's a stage.
cut steps, big long platform, people, there's an audience out in front of you. So Mr. Scherer saw me, you know, shining my light and Ken, his son, was living in Los Angeles as a producer. So he called Ken and said, at some point, this little girl is breaking out of New Jersey and she's gonna land in LA. And when she does, I want you to help her. So I had no idea. Wow.
Cris (32:04)
without you even knowing?
what an amazing story!
Jen (32:08)
So
my parents got a call from Ken when I was eight and Ken said, my dad's telling me about your daughter. My parents said, do not call here again. If she knows that you are calling from Los Angeles, we will not see her and she's not even 10 years old yet, please. So I'm 27 in Chicago and ready to make my next step. And my parents said, okay, now we can tell you.
call this guy. So he told me about what MPTF was doing. There was an auction, fundraising auction that was about to happen for this great photography that Roddy McDowell had taken throughout his life. And as it happened, one of the jobs that I had in Chicago to make ends meet, I had worked in post-production. I was an office manager and receptionist in one of my first jobs in Chicago for a post-production house. So I learned some of the editing lingo and some of the software.
And then from that, I became a production manager for an advertising agency. A job I had no rights to have, zero rights to have. I was wearing the loop jacket from the radio station. I have like this varsity jacket from them. And the owner of that company liked the radio station and needed a production manager. And I was so just full of, yeah, what's next? And he was like, well, we're looking for a production manager. Could you do that? Sure, I'm producing at the radio station.
Why not? So I threw myself into print production, learned everything that I could. And when I was leaving Chicago, I just had that information. So when they were, when MPTF was looking to do this auction for Roddy McDowell's photography, I'm with the fundraisers whose job it is to make money, like to get people to understand the mission and to separate them from their money to bring it to the charity. They were not understanding what print production was. So I'm just kind of standing back PA-ing and we're at
the photo lab for Warner Brothers with a shoe box of Roddy McDowell's negatives and slides and some three by four contacts. And my boss, Ken, hands the shoe box to the photo manager at Warner Brothers and says, we need to make these into portraits to be auctioned. So she's looking through the negatives going, how do you want it pro-ed up and what size do you want? And he's looking at his counterpart. Who doesn't know? And I raised my hand and was like, I don't mean to speak out of turn, but can I say a
couple of things, like yeah, because this is the world I had just come from, that I had just spent years looking at proofs with a loop and marking things that were bad with print offsets. So I step up and say, well, anything that will pro up to a 13 by 17, we should do the larger size because that's gonna be a bigger perceived value, but as soon as it gets soft, we need to scale that down. And what I really love to do is save money with the framers and just have.
two sets of like mats, two sets of frames so that when we put it up on the walls, it looks consistent. We're not worried about like all these different sizes. Ken says, okay, so everything that you had on your resume is accurate. Got it. We're leaving. You figure out what needs to happen here. Get me a budget. We're gonna go raise money.
Cris (35:15)
Amazing
origin story there!
Jen (35:17)
It was a wonderful event. That's the event that I met the executive at Sony. So I didn't know what this executive was doing. I was given his name as a person that I could turn to for all physical production needs. There were a few vendors that he hadn't given me the phone numbers for. I was trying to give space, but I also had my own deadlines. He had said, I'm gonna give you all the information that you need by Friday. So Friday at four o'clock, I call his office and his assistant's like, no problem, I'll put you right through. He gets on the phone.
and I was like, hey, goes, hey, what are up to? Like, I'm twiddling my thumbs, ask me why? He goes, okay, why are you twiddling your thumbs? I don't have the information you said you were gonna send to me. And he laughed and a week later I found out he was the vice president of physical production for Motion Pictures at Sony Pictures.
Cris (36:04)
hilarious. You were just treating him like a normal person and he probably liked
Jen (36:09)
He did, and I ended up working with him on, there was a film that he ended up putting together, he packaged it, and we went to Panama. I worked in Panama for five months on this featured film. The next film that he was participating in, I did a scout with the writer, director, and the cinematographer around the world. Like, I literally got on a plane in New Jersey for a family event, flew to Los Angeles, swapped suitcases.
with a friend of mine. I didn't even leave the airport, got my suitcase, checked in, flew to Taiwan, did part of the scout there, flew to Thailand, did part of the scout there, flew to Vienna and then drove to Bratislava and then flew to London and flew back to Los Angeles. And it was over, it was in November. I spent Thanksgiving in Thailand. It was amazing. And then unfortunately the financing fell through on that and I was in between jobs and called MPTF.
called a friend of mine here to see if she could like go to lunch with me. She's like, why are you available for lunch? I'm like, oh, you know, it's Hollywood. I'm in between gigs now. And she said, I could not pick up your call before because I was in a meeting where we were literally saying we need like a gen climber to just take this on and run with it. And I was like, well, gen climber's available. Gen climber's looking for work right now.
So it was the TV station. It was this really wonderful board member for Motion Picture on Television Fund. If you are part of the industry and you're in the Writers Guild, the Mel Shavelson Library at the Writers Guild, like invaluable resource. Mel Shavelson was a board member for MPTF. He was very frustrated because he wasn't booking work. And somebody finally sat him down and said, hey Mel, you're 90. And Mel was like,
Why would that matter? I'm still creative, I'm still churning out great stories and interesting points of view and the penny dropped for him that there were people retired on this campus who were warehoused, who were like their creativity was discredited just because they hit a certain age. And that is not just on this campus.
Cris (38:13)
industry-wide, it's also country-wide.
Jen (38:15)
So Mel had this idea, let's make a radio station, like something that he was very much into ham radio. So he wanted to create something that would be an easy lift for the residents. And again, Ken Scherer said, we are the motion picture and television fund. Maybe we do a TV station. Let's see what that looks like. I went to NAB, I did all of the.
pre-production work for what would that take? Let's do a plan, let's do a budget, where can we get items donated from? There were lots of great studios around town that were ready to throw in. And then I left and shot those films and did that scout. And while I was gone, they implemented the plan that I created. But that plan was three years old at the time and technology moves like this. So.
when they were like, we're ready to start it, who's gonna run it? They had done like a soft launch and they had gotten a couple of really generous volunteers to come and give a little bit of time. But you need somebody who is gonna cut through the paperwork and cut through the BS and do all of the groundwork so that it's a soft landing for the residents who wanna come in and tell their stories. And that's what I'm up to. And still having my hand in other.
productions that are interesting. I still direct theater. I was in a student short film like two weeks ago, so I'm still acting or I'm acting again. Like that's been a real lovely rediscovery for me.
Cris (39:38)
We've been talking about the Motion Picture Television Fund, but we haven't actually just like, what do they do? What do you want those listening, especially those who've never heard of it and didn't realize this organization exists?
Jen (39:49)
So Motion Picture and Television Fund was...
founded in 1921 by industry luminaries like Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, and they were collecting change from people that were working in the industry. Mary Pickford would literally put a bucket down in the middle of a soundstage and say, hey, we're fortunate to be working. We all know people who are struggling right now. Put whatever you can in and we're gonna redistribute that to people who need a hand. One of the great Genesis stories that I have been told, whether it's apocryphal or not, I don't know. There was an actor who,
needed.
a toupee and he had gone to the community chest, right? That was the Los Angeles based place that you could go for different social services cases and funding. And this group from the industry approved for him to get a $40 toupee. And when they were being audited for the funds that they were giving out, somebody not industry related said, that was so frivolous. Why would you give somebody a toupee? And everybody else was like, that's not a vanity thing. Not every actor needs hair, but this guy needs hair.
If he doesn't have hair, he's not acting. So that was the most generous thing we could do to have him feed his family, keep his rent up. You got to trust us on this. We know where that money is going to be best spent. And the people that were not in the industry were like, yeah, do we have to trust you on that? So that was the other thing that kind of sparked.
and PTF's start as the Motion Picture Relief Fund. 20 years after that, 1941, Gene Hirshholt buys this big plot of land in Woodland Hills, California, was walnut trees and orange groves. And he says, we're gonna start a retirement community because being the Dane that he is, taking care of seniors was something that culturally was very important to him. And it was before social security, it was before residuals. So people who were retiring or aging out of this industry had literally no
to go. So this was a safe place for them to come, still be in community with like-minded people, and have a safe place where there were three males a day. And it didn't matter if you were Mary Astor, who, you know, look her up. She's an incredible actress. And little films called, like, The Maltese Falcon.
She was in that. So she lived here. She was an advocate for it, but she also retired here. Larry Fine from the Three Stooges, he lived here. So the retirement community started and it has evolved over the years to a
plethora of services, whether it's palliative care or if you're a military veteran, we will help you figure out how to get through the red tape of the VA so that you get your full benefits. Or if you're someone who has worked in the industry for like 10 years, but the work has dried up.
because COVID or because of the strikes. You can turn to NPTF and we will sort out, okay, what are the most urgent bills? How can we get those paid for you so that you're not stressed and you're able to move on and look for that next gig? We also have a lot of informational services. We want to make sure that people aren't in crisis. As quickly as we can get you out of crisis, that's great. But if we can educate you to stay away from the crisis, to not worry about those potential pitfalls, we want to help you do that as well.
So, NPTF is a lot. Over 100 years old, we have a children's center, we have a behavioral health center for people over a certain age, and that's for people, it's a short-term stay. So if you, let's say you're going through a really severe grief moment, you're having a small mental break, you're having bad medication interactions, there's a place that you can come and be helped through that in a short-term way. Here on the campus, there's independent living.
where people have their own cars, they're still auditioning, they're still pitching their scripts. We have assisted living, we've got skilled nursing for people who are bed bound, who have a greater level of care that's needed. We have a dementia care unit. And the thing I love about the dementia care unit is sometimes people will come here as a couple because they know one person is eventually going to need to be in that space. So they are still able to share a life here on the campus, even though they're not sharing a roof.
Cris (43:53)
don't know if I mentioned it ahead of it, but this summer a job got delayed and I went through the system because someone was like, you should call them. And I'm like, okay. I had done the entertainment fund during the.
COVID, I had done that, but I hadn't actually really heard of that arm of the Motion Picture Television Fund. And they were so nice. They were so nice. And talk to a social worker first, and they're so understanding, and they care so much, and really walk you through the stuff you need to show. And there's no judgment. They're just there to help. And I know that the LA fires just happened, and I was sharing the posts about being able to reach out to them for help.
for that as well. And it's just such a responsive group for our industry. I just, I, when, this opportunity came up to do a podcast and to reach out to a nonprofit or a, or a charitable group, I immediately thought of this group. And then I remembered that, I know, I know Jen, I know someone who works there and I'd like to talk to her. You know, it was just this good little marriage of things. And so please, like when you go back.
everyone know that I said thank you, whoever's listening. also, you also can help, like we talked about it a little earlier, but my friend Josh Margulies directed a film called Thelma that people may or may not have seen. has June Squibb in it, which to see a film that has a lead that's a woman who's in her nineties was just so amazing, but also the care with which he took because it was based on his grandmother. And I did have, at some point you'll hear my conversation drop for Josh.
because I did have him on the podcast. I don't know if you remember that line where she said, I just thought I'd never lived on my own before and I just thought I'd get the chance to do it a little longer. And I was like, do you have any idea that that's the crux of this film? Because I don't think he did realize when he wrote that line, just how pivotal that line was to that story. But what was that like? How did that come to you and how did MPTF come to help them? I think-
I think they would say it too, that what they received in support from you enabled them to actually make the film.
Jen (45:48)
It was an honor to work with them. When we get approached about using the campus as a location, I insist on reading the script because the campus is magical and there are certain areas of the campus that we won't film in because they are sacred spaces to us. There are certain areas that are sacred spaces, like we have the John Ford Chapel here on the campus, and depending on the intention of what's being shot there, we'll open it up. So I'm always very cautious about who can come and what is it that you're ultimately filming.
filming, what's the, it's got to be hopeful. One of the producers is a member of our Next Gen group who are advocates for NPTF. They're telling people about what the charity does and they have this great summer party. If you're in Los Angeles and you're young and up and coming in the industry, join Next Gen. It's $10 a month. It's super cheap and you get like membership perks and invitations to mixers and this summer party that happens. So at the summer party, one of the Next Gen members was like, hey, I've got this
script really think it'd be great to shoot out there and I think that the themes of it really mesh well. So he sent it to me. Shout out to Benjamin Simpson. And it was this wonderful script that really put, I mean you've seen the film. It glorifies the opportunity to
be at that age and some of the challenges that come along with it, the crux of it is she gets scammed. And we talk about that with the residents who live here all the time, that there are people that are looking to take advantage of you in all of these different ways and not to have shame associated with that. And certainly Thelma does not. Like she leans in, she gets that money back. Thelma takes the bull by the horns and that's what we encourage people to do here every day.
you are still manifesting your own destiny. And when you come to a place like this or an age like this, oftentimes you may feel like everyone wants you to just surrender, to just go with the flow of whatever everyone else is telling you to do. But no, you still have the opportunity to make the decisions for what's next for you. So how many times when people move onto a campus or specifically to this campus, we give them the space to sit in that new reality because you're in
of a very vibrant community here. Whether or not you choose to partake of that right away, it takes a minute, takes a minute to adjust to it. But once they do, we make sure that they understand you are not warehoused here. Your drive, your creative spirit, your purpose in life is still valid. And we honor that. We honor that to whatever extent you want that honored because you're still in the driver's seat. And that line in Thelma is about that.
For me, because I work here, I understand our philosophy on the people that we're honored to work with who live here may be different from 90 % of the places that people are gonna retire to. I hope that it isn't, but it probably is. So for me, when she says I just wanted to live on my own a little bit longer, it's heartbreaking.
because I see how people thrive once they are plugged into this community. There was a couple that moved in here. He walked her through every stage of her dementia until she finally passed. But part of his journey in living here is he had scripts that he wanted to get produced, which he produced here. He found actors and he reinvigorated their lives by giving them that platform once again. There is such an opportunity for that.
that collaboration that you are accustomed to in this industry. Nobody does stuff completely on their own. So once this gentleman was tapped back into that creativity and validated, his wife passes, his children say to him, you don't have to stay there. And he goes, why would I leave? I'm acting again. I'm directing. I'm sitting in post-production. People are waiting for me right now.
I'm going to move back to a four room empty condo and wonder what I'm going to have for breakfast the next day. No, this is this is where I'm living now. And that's something I'm really proud of for what we as this little TV station has been able to contribute to this community. It's not where people come as their last act. It's where people come to live their next act. That's awesome. And by the way, shout out to Chris, Zoe and Josh, because it was such a pleasure to work with them. And when we screened the film here, the
opening weekend, they were really generous and said that they should have given me a producer credit because I contributed so much to making that film happen and I have it on tape. So at some point, if you eventually want to give me a producer credit, I'll take it. That's awesome.
Cris (50:23)
They're so cool, all of them, but they also they all speak very highly of you and of the campus and they're like even like the police station, you help them find new locations.
Jen (50:33)
Yeah, that was in my office.
Cris (50:35)
That was awesome. TV and film magic. So you and I have, like we established in the beginning, hadn't chatted in a minute. And I have since written a script. I wrote it in 2019. It's called Alone Girl. It's coming a middle-aged story wrapped in an unromantic comedy. And it's based on me because I like being single, which you probably already knew. But that's not necessarily something that women are as we've seen in the last election cycle. Single women with cats. Somehow I became.
a target. But anyway, it's the rom-com we've all wanted to see where she says no. And I've taken it, the rom-com, and it's both a love letter and a deconstruction of it. And also you'll be happy to know that almost everyone in like the lead, her name's Sam, she's in her late 40s, early 50s. And all of like almost everyone is in that age range. It's not, it doesn't start 20 year olds or 30 year olds. And it's been a struggle to sell it in Hollywood because
Jen (51:26)
It's a journey!
Cris (51:27)
Well, they also like their rom-coms to end with a couple, you know? Sure. But also, it's just I've been learning so much and as you know, my background, I ended up in Unscripted mainly for...
When we have cheese and wine, I'll tell you how that happened. But A, it made me a much better writer when I did start writing my future because I've had to sit for hours and listen to people speak and speak poorly because we all speak poorly, so my dialogue's really good. Or I've been present for ups and downs of all kinds of things around the world. So I have this treasure trove to pull from because of that background, which I did not have when I moved here in 96 with my X-File and my Northern Exposure spec scripts. But what I was wondering, and now we've learned just how much of a
an amazing hustler you are with everything you do and being ready to just jump in, which I love. And I've been working the last few years to get back to my eight-year-old, nine-year-old self that would just kind of be fearless about stuff. What kind of advice would you have for me that you might impart as I'm on this journey to get my film made?
Jen (52:27)
Well, failure is great. No's are awesome because it's the suspense of living between the is it yes, is it no, that is killer, right? It's better to just get to the no. Just tell me no so I can move on. And if you're gonna take a big swing, take a big swing because those work sometimes, right? You don't wanna two weeks later say, man, I should have taken that big swing, because who knows? And that should be the tagline of Hollywood, who knows?
Cris (52:53)
One of the reasons I was following Thelma too, I don't know if you know this, they attached both June and Fred before they had financing, which was something that I have been told. Huge. Well, no, it was something that I had been told by, I've had a couple different sets of producers attached. No one's attached at the moment because it's a marriage and at a certain point, you know, but they kept telling me that you had to have money before you approached actors. Why? That's what I learned by getting to know Josh and Chris. So I've already started operating under that.
Jen (53:14)
Nope, that's a
Cris (53:20)
mindset. But it takes that journey to learn those things. But also, I don't know that if I'd acted on that instinct three years ago, I would have been ready to have the conversation that I am now with, you know, like, I am living and breathing this film and why I'm doing it and who it's for. And I was not as versed in all of that three, four years.
Jen (53:41)
So my fiance, who for many, years I was single and blissful, and I'm not saying that's not the happiest road because I know many people here at MPTF who never got married, never had kids, lived a very long happy life. Like very, very long. So I'm in full support of the mission of your film. But as it turns out, one of my dearest friends who I met on Timecode, the very first movie that I worked on when I came out here, we were friends forever and then
16 years into the friendship started dating and now it's this when Harry met Sally thing. One of the things that he says often, which is something a friend of his told him, is time may not be your friend, but timing is. And your timing right now feels like it's really in the pocket.
Cris (54:28)
I was telling someone the other day that, I wrote it in 2019, but I thought 2020 was its timing. I actually think this is its timing. There are all these random little things that are happening and connections that are being made.
that I am in complete financial freefall. And I've told myself, I'm going to be completely transparent on this podcast. Everyone's going to learn all kinds of things, but I am, if anyone's been watching my IG, they know. I am like, I'm two months behind on my rent right now, whatever. But I'm still like, no, this thing is happening and I'm working on it. And the timing feels like you're saying like something's happening and I'm not going to let that pass. But yeah, it's this interesting what you're saying. so I...
Thank you for saying all that, because we get in our heads, especially when you're a writer-director who doesn't have a producing team around you, you're just yourself trying to will this thing, and so you get in your head and you need to reach out and talk to people. So really quickly, do you have any advice for listeners out there?
Jen (55:26)
Yeah, I don't know if you've turned into this because you care about the entertainment industry or because you're single and celebrating that. I celebrate that with you. There is one set of eyes that you experience the world through. And sometimes it's great to have someone who you're able to share those experiences with. But ultimately, it's your experience. So to embrace that and to celebrate that is a wonderful thing. And if you are doing that in a way that is also good for humanity and good for those
in your community, you're not, it's not sad. It is blissful. It can be a celebration every day. If you're listening because you want to know more about the entertainment industry, one of the best pieces of advice that I was given before I moved here was you have to move here because the opportunities when they come up, they come up fast and you have to hop in. It's not,
a carousel that you're going to get a chance to get on that horse one more time. It's a speedboat race and they're moving really quickly. So you have to be dynamic, you have to be creative, and you have to also know when to say, yeah, that may be a really fast boat, but that's not the one I want to get on. There is a beauty in the patience and not the desperation of like, I'm going to take any boat. You got to know which boat fits for what the destination is that you want to get to.
Cris (56:43)
That's
awesome. All right. Do you have any questions for me? It's my turn the tables moment.
Jen (56:47)
I do and it may be that we have to do a couple of these again over cheese and crackers. But knowing you are in a situation right now that is fueled by passion, but is a very frightening moment. How are you dealing with the balance of keeping your passion ignited and not, think I know part of this answer and that's why I'm asking it to set you up to talk about the amazing things that you're doing. But how do you keep that darkness at the threshold, keeping that
away.
Cris (57:17)
I have this unbelievable optimism that I'm just gonna make through no matter what. I don't know how to explain it.
But what I didn't, I don't think I mentioned before we started recording, my cat of 15 years was my sole cat. He passed away on January 2nd. Then the fires happened and I was evacuating with my other two cats. Then my job went away that I'd had lined up. And so yeah, you're right. It's a very dark moment that people listening and I don't want to minimize that. But if I were to allow myself to simply wallow in it, I would never move, right? And so what I do and it's something my mom I think taught me just by teaching me how to
bake and do good things and to give something to someone is do the small thing day by day. Do I have bad days where I'm just sitting on the couch and I watch something? Yes, I absolutely have those moments. I'm totally ADHD and I have way too many things in my head trying to get done. But in doing the small things, what you were alluding to is I've become an accidental organizer.
with everything that's going on. And I ended up organizing a protest in our national park here in Los Angeles, because I didn't see it on the list. And the group that was organizing what they called the 433 protests at each park on March 1st, when I texted them saying, about LA? I know we have one here. They said, well, you can organize it. JFK's voice rang in my head and said, if not you, then who? And if not...
now than when and I'm like, you're right. And I'm a producer and I'm not actually, I mean, I'm doing a lot of things because I'm still working on getting my film made. I'm still working on a of other things, but I thought I was going to show up at that park with a sign and myself and 110 people showed up and it shows you the power of one. And that's what keeps me going is knowing that
Despite my own situation, I can still do things for others that make me feel the light and the optimism still in here. And do I still need to figure my way out of my own hole? Yes. Do I know how that's, I mean, have, like, I've got things that I'm trying to sell. I've got, I just don't know how, like, my entrepreneur skills are not the greatest, so. But I will work on that and I will get my film made and I will continue to fight for those that I believe in.
and the things that I believe in. And if you do that, if you put your, even if it's a walk and you smile at a stranger and put a smile on their face, let me tell you, it will bring you out of your dark place. And that's what I do. Do you have anything you want to shout out before we go?
Jen (59:35)
Yes, 100 % agree.
so many people along the journey because as I said before, this industry is very collaborative. So even if it's one person who's pushing that the Suficient Boulder up the hill, once it gets up the hill, it takes an army of people to push it down the other side.
So certainly our mutual friend, MJ Miller, always shout out to her. I am really proud of some of the things that I got to create here at MPTF in moments of crises. There's a live interactive show that kept the residents interested and engaged called Creative Chaos. And we do a fun thing called the Instant Film Festival. Go to mptf.com to learn more about that. Go to YouTube and check out Be Prepared to Stop and do a small thing for other people today and think of Chris while you're doing it.
Be blissful while you're doing it.
Cris (1:00:24)
Yes,
be blissful. Thank you so, so much, Jen. This has been awesome and an awesome catch up. And I didn't know half the stuff you told me and I love that. And I think what the work you do is just awesome. Thank you so much for tuning in to Blissful Spinster. If any of these conversations are resonating with you, please consider following, rating, and leaving a review on whatever platform you're listening on. It really helps more folks find the show. And if you'd like to support my work,
Jen (1:00:36)
Thanks.
Cris (1:00:52)
or get access to extra content like behind the scenes journals, deep dives into my guests, and updates on all things life, accidental organizing, and of course, getting a lone girl made, check out my brand new substack, The Blissful Spinster. For just $5 a month, you'll get all of that and more. Of course, when I find time to create it all. Seriously though, this show is a DIY labor of love and your support helps keep it going. You can also find me and Blissful Spinster on Instagram, Pinterest, and
at blissfulspinster.com where you can also find some pretty cool merch if you're into that sort of thing, which I really hope you are. Thanks again for being on this journey with me and until next time, go find your happy.