SDA kicks off their Multihyphenate Masterclass series with Mindy Kaling

Bing Theatre bustled School of Dramatic Arts students Saturday as they awaited the arrival of Mindy Kaling, creator and writer of Netflix’s “Never Have I Ever” television show. Kaling made an appearance as part of the kickoff for a 10-week intensive Multihyphenate Masterclass series, where she received the inaugural Multihyphenate Award, which recognizes artists who have taken on multiple roles within the entertainment industry and made the field more inclusive. The Masterclass event series invites USC students to learn about storytelling and supports them on their own creative journeys.

At Saturday’s event, Kaling was joined with other multihyphenated artists serving as guest panelists. Producer, entrepreneur and cultural commentator Franklin Leonard, artistic director, actor and theater-maker Sean San José, and film and television producer and executive Paula Wagner discussed how they contribute to storytelling efforts for inclusivity, what it is like being a multihyphenated artist and how they became multihyphenates. 

“Multihyphenates are unique because they create their own opportunities and diversify the stories we experience in entertainment. I thought a panel would demystify the process of becoming a multihyphenated artist for our students so that it seems like something achievable for them – because it is achievable for them!” SDA Dean Emily Roxworthy wrote in an email to the Daily Trojan. 

Emmy Award winner and USC faculty member Colman Domingo led the panel and kicked off the event by describing his journey as a multihyphenate. He explained how his initial desire to pursue photography changed after taking an acting class in college — leading him to explore different roles within the entertainment industry. 

“I learned that progress for most artists is not linear and to definitely expect that for my career when I enter the entertainment industry, … [since] being a multihyphenate artist is all about trying new things,” said Maya Reddy, a freshman majoring in theater  who attended the event. “Everybody has that end goal in mind and wants to get there the fastest way possible, but it doesn’t always happen that way. Sometimes, the end goal changes, … but it’s inspiring to know that you can take the non-traditional route and still end up in a place of incredible success, just like Paula Wagner and Colman Domingo and all of these artists.” 

The program’s sessions were designed to help train students at the highest level and prepare them for careers in the arts and entertainment industry. Roxworthy said that some of the most successful young artists, including SDA alumni like Gabriela Ortega, who works for Disney, and James Morosini, who created his own feature film, are multihyphenates. 

“By diversifying their creativity and creating their own content, SDA students can create their own opportunities, so they’re not waiting by the phone for that big break to come calling,” Roxworthy wrote. “I’d say the number one goal of the program is to expose SDA students to the different skill sets they can take on, so they don’t have to wait by the phone ever again.” 

Students learned how to become multihyphenated artists and were exposed to different opportunities in the entertainment industry.

“I found the content and what I learned pretty inspiring because everybody who spoke came from a different background, … [yet] they have all been met with a lot of success,” Katie Klaskin, a sophomore majoring in theater, said. “[It was cool to know that] I don’t have to only do one thing within the industry for the rest of my life. I can explore my different interests.”

Many guest panelists, including Kaling, discussed representation in the entertainment industry and what it is like to be a minority in the field. When Kaling worked for NBC sitcom “The Office,” she was the only female writer on the show and had to adjust to the environment. Still, she wrote more episodes than her male counterparts over the show’s nine-season run. 

“She’s genuinely my idol,” Reddy said. “I feel very lucky as a woman of color, as a brown woman, to be entering into an industry in her wake because I didn’t see myself represented when I was growing up, but now, because of her work, I do, and I’m happy to be coming into an industry where I feel like she’s made a space for people who look like me.” 

In the coming weeks, students can look forward to hearing from artists like Rodric David, the founder of Thunder Studios, and Sibyl Wickersheimer, an associate professor of scenic design, who will also be featured in the Masterclass series. 

“I felt really fortunate that USC provided SDA students with this opportunity because there’s really no other school that has such great access to these people,” Klaskin said. “I think it was really great for us to be able to listen and learn from them and take what they say and try to apply it in some way to our own lives.”