“In the Envelope: The Actor’s Podcast” features intimate, in-depth conversations with today’s most noteworthy film, television, and theater actors and creators. Full of both know-how and inspiration, “In the Envelope” airs weekly to cover everything from practical advice on navigating the industry, to how your favorite projects are made, to personal stories of success and failure alike. Join host and Awards Editor Jack Smart for this guide on how to live the creative life from those who are doing it every day.
A television showrunner is many things: always a writer, sometimes a director or editor, and usually credited as a producer of some sort. Multihyphenate creators like showrunners tend to collaborate closely with the creative forces at the heart of a TV series while also keeping track of any number of its day-to-day logistics.
The one certainty about a showrunner’s job description is the ability to wear multiple hats, as exemplified by Ben Sinclair and Prentice Penny of HBO’s “High Maintenance” and “Insecure,” respectively. Both provide a glimpse into some of the artistic and practical aspects of their job—or jobs, depending on the day of shooting or episode—on this week’s “In the Envelope” podcast spotlighting showrunners.
Want to Become a Showrunner? Take Notes From These 12 Power Players “When we’re writing, the biggest thing that I think my responsibility is,” says Penny, “is keeping the trains going, keeping the stories going.” A lot of his “heavy lifting,” he says, during four, going on five, seasons of “Insecure,” is stepping in and out of his somewhat separate roles: executive producer, writer and showrunner, and occasionally director.
For Sinclair, it’s more like wearing every hat at once. Each step of the well-oiled machinery of bringing “High Maintenance” to the screen involves intimate collaboration with his co-writers, including series co-creator (and ex-wife) Katja Blichfeld. “The secret to success is when the inspiration comes, you write it down,” he says of the process. “You just get it out of you. Ideas are very fragile, and inspiration is very, very fragile.”
The other hat Sinclair wears on the set of his show is actor; born in suburban Arizona and active in theater at Oberlin College, he only began learning about filmmaking as a means of creating acting opportunities for himself and friends. First a hit Vimeo web series, then as of 2016 a half-hour anthology series on HBO, the Writers Guild of America Award–winning “High Maintenance” features snapshots of modern New York City life, each episode featuring Sinclair as a cannabis courier known only as the Guy. The rest of Sinclair’s résumé is peppered with such guest appearances as “Wild Eyed Guy,” “Lunatic,” and “Drunk #1”; the prospect of creating his own roles and stories set him on the path to learning film editing and more.
“So much of acting was about validation and approval,” says Sinclair. “I found the most fulfilling approval comes from within, from one’s own self. So once I started learning how to do more than just acting, which is being like a paint color for a director, just being a tone...the directing and the producing all stemmed from that as ways to give me an opportunity to act.”
Penny, born in Los Angeles and trained in filmmaking at the University of Southern California, got his start in Hollywood writing on Mara Brock Akil’s hit sitcom “Girlfriends.” He then spent years contributing to the writers’ rooms on, and often producing episodes of, “Scrubs,” “Happy Endings,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” and more. By the time he became showrunner and executive producer of creator-star Issa Rae’s “Insecure” (now nominated for eight 2020 Emmy Awards including outstanding comedy series), Penny had seen enough writers’ rooms to know the secrets behind great collaboration. This year, he wrote and directed the acclaimed Netflix film “Uncorked,” starring Mamoudou Athie, Courtney B. Vance, and Niecy Nash.
Both Sinclair and Penny also offer insights into their relationship with actors. “A scene is like a sandwich,” proclaims Sinclair. “The actor brings the bread, they bring the beginning and the end, to get us into the scene. Then the meat is all written, so to speak. Sometimes you can improvise within the meat.... The script is just a document to get everyone to show up. It’s a manual for how to put the show together.”
“I always look to see what actors do when they’re not talking in the audition,” says Penny. “If you can’t give me anything while you’re listening, and I just feel like you’re just waiting to talk or you feel kind of empty, then I just go, ‘I’m limited now.’ Because now I’m cutting to save a performance, as opposed to letting the camera go.”
To hear more about these two showrunners’ processes and journeys through the biz, tune into their remote “In the Envelope” interviews at any of the podcast platforms below. Sinclair and Penny’s interviews begin at 6:27 and 41:18, respectively.
Listen now on:
Looking for remote work? Backstage has got you covered! Click here for auditions you can do from home!