The Anonymous Production Assistant

Whom I Refer

Unemployment 2012 will come to an end on Monday. I finally got a job. In the last few days, I’ve been offered four other jobs. Naturally, I had to pass on all of them, which begs the question… WHERE THE HELL WERE THOSE JOBS WHEN I NEEDED THEM?! The universe works in funny ways. Since I […]

The First Origin Story

I’ve created a Facebook page for TAPA! I’m not really sure what to do with it. Heck, I can’t even figure out how to repost my blog entries on the fb page. If anyone knows anything about that, please send me an email. Speaking of Facebook, some people who seem to know what they’re doing […]

Don’t Be An Asshole

Everyone is going nuts right now because NBC fired Dan Harmon from his show, COMMUNITY. I’m not allowed to voice my opinion in real life, because friends of mine work on that show and because I’m friends-in-law with Dan. So I’m going to blog about it instead. If you’re an asshole who insists on wallowing […]

Can I Take My Computer In There With Me?

Sometimes, a PA task requires you to go into another room and work all by yourself. Prepping wrap gifts and proofreading the script and making ID badges have all sent me to production office exile. I could not – in a million years – dream of asking, “Can I take my computer in there with […]

Interview Prep

I had an interview yesterday for a writer’s PA gig on a new TV show. My last few interviews have gone pretty well, so maybe I walked in a little too cocky. It turned out to be my worst interview in years. Part of it were elements beyond my control. While in the lobby, I heard […]

Origin Story

One of the most common questions I get, especially one someone emails me to use my resume editing service,{{1}} “How do I find my first job, if I have no experience?” The short answer is, as always, work for free (or, preferably, intern before you graduate from college), until you have enough experience to get […]

Female Dress Code

RL asks: What do female set PA’s normally wear on the job? Do I need to get a fanny pack? Cargo pants? Or are jeans ok? Ashley and VancouverPA have already chimed in, but since it’s my pseudonym on the blog, I figured I should answer the question, too. You’re right to ask what a female PA should […]

“In the Next Day or Two…”

As my unemployment comes to a temporary respite, I was thinking about a phrase I’ve heard  a lot lately: Expect a call in the next day or two. Usually, it’s a friend of mine who calls to tell me about a job opening. He (or she) gives me the preliminary info and tells me that […]

A New Way to Network

Walking around the lot today, I ran into a UPM I worked for last year. During that show, she had recommended I read a book that was very important to her life. (She also claimed it was the second most read book in the world, but that isn’t actually true.) Anyway, I had read the […]

Turning Down Work

On my last show, I was bumped up to Production Secretary during wrap. The bump was largely nominal (although I did also receive a raise), since I was performing essentially the same duties I had already been performing. As we were winding down, I was told, “TAPA, you shouldn’t have to PA again. After this, […]