Student Interview: Cassie Borchers *Updated

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.