Assistant Highlights: June 2024

By Regan Lavin, TV Lit Assistant, UTA & Artistic Curator, The Hollywood Assistant

June gloom has officially hit and we are feeling it over here in LA! Perhaps the one time we are jealous of NYC weather… Fortunately for our West Coasters, I’ve got a new installment of assistant highlights this month that should hopefully bring some joy & inspiration to your day. Please see below for our June assistant artistic pursuits!

I’m Regan, our new Artistic Curator, and I’ll be putting together this list each month. Projects include (but are not limited to) short films, scripts, plays, creative salons, stand-up shows, podcasts, band performances, improv, EP drops, and more! Have a project you want to have highlighted? Submit HERE!

Upcoming, LA: LINES

by Katie Dragone (Producer Hub) and Stone Fruit Arts

Stone Fruit Arts, an experimental theater company founded by a group of recent Stanford University graduates, will be making its festival circuit debut at the Hollywood Fringe Festival with meta-comedy LINES. Written and directed by Stone Fruit Arts co-founder Katie Dragone, the play revolves around a dysfunctional family as they wait for their matriarch to pass while attending to the mundane bureaucracy of dying: paperwork, packing up her things, long hours at the hospital—a real drag as they say, until it isn’t. What ensues is a fourth-wall-shattering, meta-comedy exploring life, death, family, and the creative process with cheeky irreverence and unapologetic sincerity.

Click HERE to buy tickets. Shows are at the Hudson's Guild Theatre space, 6539 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90038 at the below dates/times.

Thursday, June 6th at 6:45pm

Thursday, June 20th at 6:45pm

Friday, June 21st at 5:45pm

Monday, June 24th at 6:45pm

Saturday, June 29th at 6:45pm

Two of the cast members in LINES, Olivia Cade and Jordan Knapp, work as assistants. Cade is an assistant to two independent film directing partners. After graduating from NYU with her Masters, Cade began working as a production assistant on various productions. She eventually moved to LA during the early days of the pandemic and began working as a second AD before eventually meeting her current bosses. Cade noted how grateful she is to have an assistant job that helps pay the bills while allowing her to learn from mentors, see how they work, and have time for her own artistic pursuits, such as LINES or producing her next feature.

Knapp has been working as a personal assistant for a piano teacher since the end of 2022. She attended the New York Film Academy (NYFA) in Los Angeles where she built up an artistic community and network of relationships in LA. In Knapp’s words, she wants to create work that makes someone feel better on their worst day. Alongside her assistant job and LINES, Knapp is currently in production for a feature she is starring in and producing, “The Novel”, directed by longtime collaborator and friend Kellen Gibbs.

Upcoming, LA: Curson n' Screamin' Presents... "Daddy's Day Off"

by Kiki Prager (Alcon Entertainment) and Curson Comedy

Founded on Curson Avenue in Mid-City Los Angeles in 2022, Curson Comedy produces, promotes, and operates live comedy events. Our events blend traditional stand-up with a rich variety of entertainment that includes multimedia elements, live sketches, and more, creating a vibrant tapestry of comedic styles. From our monthly Curson n’ Screamin’ stand-up show to our weekly open mic, live theater productions, and more, we offer a platform where both seasoned comedians and emerging talents can shine. Prior to our shows at our home venue, Art & Space LA, we set the stage with an outdoor art market and the fun often extends into the night with live music and after parties. In 2023, our play, Soulless, was selected out of over 300 pitches and performed in the Elysian’s Spaghetti Fest. Join us at our next Curson Comedy event, where community meets creativity, offering more than just laughs but a true celebration of what makes Los Angeles unique.

Click HERE to buy tickets. Shows are at Art & Space Event Rentals, 5555 Washington Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90016 on Saturday, June 15th at 8pm.

Saturday, June 15th at 8pm (till late)

5555 W Washington Blvd

Midcity, Los Angeles, CA

Open mics weekly 

Every Wednesday at 7 and 8pm PT

Open Mic Link

All info for upcoming events is on our Instagram @cursoncomedy

Prager works as an assistant at Alcon Entertainment for the COO and other executives, but is also in charge of social media marketing for their TV shows and building the company’s new website. She has a theater background and engages in artistry through acting, sketch and standup comedy performance, writing, filmmaking, editing, and associate producing short films. While it’s been a challenge to find the balance between being an in-office executive assistant and more creative endeavors, Prager set goals and deadlines for certain projects and uses time management skills to set aside time to go over to-do lists and game plans. For example, she uses lunch breaks to discuss creative projects with partners and has weekly team meetings for her comedy group.

Upcoming, LA / Streaming Everywhere: NO INVITATION SUMMER DARTY

by No Invitation feat. assistants Ethan Ebenezer (UTA) and Matthew Jaysen (UTA)

No Invitation is a band that was started in Los Angeles as the byproduct of three dudes from Arkansas, Pennsylvania, and California who wanted to show their mailroom class how to rock. They recently released their debut EP, available on all streaming services! They will have a 1 Year Anniversary House Show at 1pm on June 22nd.

Click HERE to RSVP to their upcoming Summer Darty on Saturday, June 22nd. RSVP required for location. Follow them on Instagram at @no_invitation_ and stream their latest EPs on Spotify HERE.

Saturday, June 22nd at 1pm PT

Two of the members of No Invitation, Ethan Ebenezer and Matthew Jaysen, work as assistants at UTA. Ebenezer notes that while balancing being an assistant and pursuing your own creative endeavors definitely has its challenges, the key has been not to find time, but to make it—From late night practices after work to giving recording notes at lunch.