It’s 8 pm on a Thursday night, and
the absurd ramblings of NBC’s 30 Rock character,
Tracy Jordan, can be heard coming from the television set. The picture and sound fill the living room of
a North Wales household and are shortly accompanied by bursts of laughter. For most people, watching a TV sitcom such as
30 Rock is just a passive activity
that offers a half-hour escape from everyday life. For others though, it acts more as a source
of creative inspiration than a mere escape from reality.
Last Tuesday I had
the opportunity to sit down and talk with my fellow Writing Workshop classmate,
Cassie Borchers. On the surface she
might seem like your typical 21-year old Temple student but the more she
talked, the more I was able to find out about her what inspires her and what
she hopes to accomplish with her life.
From her fear of spiders to her admiration of Tina Fey, there was much
to discuss with Cassie.
To
begin to understand who Cassie is, it was important to understand where she
came from. She grew up in Lansdale, a
suburb about 45 minutes outside of Philadelphia, until about two years ago when
she moved to North Wales. She says that
the move wasn’t too big of a deal since North Wales was only a short distance
away from Lansdale. When I ask her to
describe growing up in Lansdale she explains, “It was a pretty normal suburb,
there was a main street with shops and restaurants but pretty much pretty
normal.”
While
growing up she didn’t have much of an interest in sports but instead took
interest in music, particularly classic rock.
“First band I was into was “The Who” but then I was introduced to Led
Zeppelin.” Apparently she liked Zeppelin
so much she contemplated getting a tattoo but chickened out at the last
minute. Her taste for the classics is
also apparent in her book choices as she informs me that, “The Grapes of
Wrath,” by John Steinback was the last book she read.
With
this type of interest of the past it was no surprise to hear that her original
major, upon entering Temple University, was History. Though, this was not meant to last. “Well I was a history major which I hated,
then swticthed to film, didn’t like it because I like TV more than film,” she
explains. Her interest in TV, particularly
TV writing, led her to switch majors to the Broadcast, Telecommunication, and
Mass Media department where she concentrates on TV production. She said she would rather concentrate on
writing for TV but since there’s no specific program for that she figures
she’ll get more well-rounded experience with the overall production aspect of
television.
Although
she is interested in the production and writing aspects of television, I found
out that acting or being on camera would not be her forte. She said that she prefers working behind the
scenes when working on her production class assignments. “I don’t enjoy being the center of
attention,” she exclaims.
Since
she seemed to be interested in writing and producing television, I wanted to
know what kind of TV interested her. Parks and Recreation, Community, and The Office pretty much anything on NBC Thursdays,” she says after I
ask her what her favorite shows are.
Besides those three, the show 30
Rock is her favorite TV show at the moment.
“There’s something in every episode,” she explains.
Turns out she is a
big fan of Tina Fey, the actress and writer on 30 rock, and also Mindy Kaling, an actress and writer for The Office. She has read both Fey’s autobiography and
Kaling’s recent comic memoir. “I really
like the perspective of female comedian types,” she exclaims. This explains the enthusiasm she possesses for
these NBC sitcoms that are written and directed by women such as Fey, Kaling,
and Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation). She also mentions how Aziz Ansari, an actor
from Parks and Recreation is
currently her favorite stand-up comic.
Her love for
comedy also extends to her taste in movies.
Although she says it’s hard to find quality comedy movies these days,
she was a fan of the movie Bridesmaids,
which was just released last year. Although she liked Bridesmaids she did admit that it was bit crude but she still found
it enjoyable. “I like the blend of
sophisticated and ridiculous comedy,” she explains while adding that she
doesn’t care the “gross-out” comedy genre.
If there is one
thing that is sure to gross her out, it’s spiders. She admits that even recently she found
herself in a situation where she had to wake her dad up in the middle of the
night to come dispose of one of her eight-legged nemesis. Aside from spiders, there are a couple
aspects of her everyday student life that she’s not too fond of. Like the mundane routine of taking the train
back and forth between North Wales and Temple everyday. Also, she would much rather read a book for leisure
instead of being obligated by reading assignments that must be completed for
class.
Before our
interview began, Cassie Borcher was just another stranger who is part of this
immense population of Temple University.
By the time it ended, I saw her as an individual who enjoys the writing
of John Steinback, likes the songwriting of Led Zeppelin, and finds the antics
of Kristen Wig hilarious. With these
kind of influences, and her sincere passion for comedy, I definitely see her
becoming a great comedy writer one day.
