We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Shea E. Butler a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Shea E., we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
I have always loved reading and watching television, being transported into amazing worlds of imagination and adventure. I would sit and watch television with my father in the evenings. His favorites were the old John Wayne Westerns. At bedtime, my mother would read to my sister and me every night. She instilled in me a love of reading. I became one of those kids who would stay up all night reading a book with a flashlight under the sheets.
Between watching television with my father and reading books with my mother, creating stories and fictional worlds seemed like magic. I started creating my own, writing my first fictional story at the age of eight. I was hooked. But I never seriously considered that writing and creating fictional stories, characters and worlds was a career and I certainly never thought about going to Hollywood. Despite that, I knew I wanted to have a career that incorporated writing. So, I veered toward journalism. I got my BA in English and Literature then got accepted to San Diego State University’s graduate program in Journalism. Our first semester we were required to take an elective course. I signed up for Writing for Television and Film. I thought it would be a fun class to take. Little did I know how that decision would impact the rest of my life. After my first class, my whole being was flooded with creativity. I loved it. I walked out and straight to the Registrar’s Office. I immediately changed my major and received my master’s degree in television and film. The rest, shall we say, is history.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I am, at heart, a storyteller. I am a storyteller in many different fields: a television writer, a published author and an award-winning director/writer/producer for my short films and web series. I was born in Cairo, Egypt to American parents living abroad and am a US citizen and Permanent Resident of Canada. My love for traveling and exploring worlds and cultures was ignited at a young age by my parents. My most awe-inspiring trip was a horseback riding safari through the Okavango Delta in Botswana. Nothing like being charged by two lions to get one’s creative juices flowing!
Traveling, horses and being out in nature and around animals brings me joy. But I am also a homebody enjoying reading, crafting my stories, gardening, working on my house, and playing pickleball. I also like doing needlepoint. While being a total amateur, I love taking photographs especially when I travel.
My “day job” is being a script supervisor on television and film sets. I love being on set, However, script supervising is a very intense, all encompassing, left-brain job. It is not creative. While I really enjoy being a script supervisor and interacting with every department on set, I miss using my right brain, So, in between working jobs as a script supervisor, I am actively pursuing my creative endeavors in writing and directing. Currently, I am working on three writing projects – a murder mystery short story, a thriller novel set in the swamps outside of New Orleans, and a dramatic short film script I plan to direct in the spring. I am actively pursuing opportunities to direct my first episode of a prime-time television series. It is especially thrilling and gratifying that my script for the half-hour science fiction television series I created has been accepted in numerous film festivals and won several awards.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I think three of the most important qualities to have in life are perseverance, to always be open to learning and experiencing new things, and to pursue happiness. These pertain to both one’s personal and professional life.
Life’s not easy and one will always encounter roadblocks whether it’s not getting a promotion, health issues, a breakup, etc. Life’s a journey which means putting one foot in front of the other no matter how hard it is. One should never give up whether it is in everyday endeavors or in pursuit of a dream. I’ve been following my creative dreams for years. I had some failures and some successes. If I had stopped following my dreams and given up the first time one of my projects was rejected, I would never have become a published author, a member of the Writers Guild of America, or an International, award-winning writer and director.
Life is also an adventure. It’s important to be open to exploring and expanding your horizons, to experience new things, and to meet new people. It’s what makes life interesting, fun, and rewarding. It is how we learn and expand our horizons.
Lastly, happiness is a gift and a choice. If you are unhappy in your life, figure out why and work at making a change. At the same time, I believe one should look for the small moments of happiness and joy that surround us every day if we would only take the time to look for them. The shaft of sunlight causing diamond sparkles to glitter across a pond, the laughter of children, or the antics of a playful dog are gifts. It is important to recognize and enjoy the small, not just the large, moments of wonder that can be found in the world around us.
Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
A book that I found interesting and extremely helpful to me both in my professional career and in my personal relationships is “You Just Don’t Understand” by Deborah Tannen. It was on the New York Times Best Seller list for four years. The book explores, with examples of real conversations and scientific research, how men and women interpret the same conversation differently. The author showcases how gender influences how someone decodes the meaning behind a sentence and how males and females can hear the exact same sentence and interpret it differently. This book made me aware of that incongruity and taught me to look beyond the surface of what someone is saying and look for the subtext and hidden meaning behind their words.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.Thebutlerdiditproductions.com
- Facebook: Filmmaker Shea E. Butler
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/troublecreek
Image Credits
The Butler Did It Productions, LLC
