MAR. 2018 14 PARIS BERELC
on her new show alexa & katie + portraying a sensitive subject
04 KAYLA MAISONET
20 TEGAN MARIE
34 BEA MILLER
on the importance of representation on television
on learning how to write songs + her goals for 2018
on carrying the weight of the world + finding strength in music
06 LOGAN MILLER
22 DANIELLE SAVRE
44 LUNA BLAISE
on his upcoming film, love, simon + the types of roles he looks for
on her new series, station 19 + not being an asshole
on balancing touring with her role on fresh off the boat
10 HANNAH ZEILE
26 OLIVER STARK
48 BENJI AFLALO
on the success of this is us + staying grounded
on slowly climbing the ladder + his role on 9-1-1
on finding his place in comedy + working on alone together
32 CAITLYN SMITH
on her debut album starfire + letting her music be genreless CATHERINE POWELL
publisher, editor, photographer, designer, writer
CARLY BUSH writer
ELIZABETH FORREST writer
IAN HAYS writer
RACHEL HILL writer
MARISSA JOHNSON writer
NICOLE MOOREFIELD writer
VANESSA SALLES writer
OLIVIA SINGH writer
kayla maisonet Words by VANESSA SALLES Photos by CATHERINE POWELL
If Kayla Maisonet isn’t already on your radar, it’s time to get to know her. The 18-year-old actress, who’s best known for her role as Georgie Diaz on Disney Channel’s Stuck in the Middle, shines onscreen and is poised to have an incred04
ible career ahead of her. Born and raised on the east coast, Kayla found her love for acting as a young tween in New Jersey. “We commuted into New York almost five times a week for auditions,” she recalls. “Around 7th grade, I made the decision
to pursue acting full-time, which meant putting all other activities on the backburner. I started homeschooling and we made the move to Los Angeles in 2011; I love it here.” Though her love for the California sun is strong, the rising ac-
tress plans to divide her time amongst both coasts. “I want to be bi-coastal,” she says. “I think both places are great.” As the story goes for anyone successful in the entertainment industry, Kayla’s rise to fame wasn’t one that happened overnight. “I remember being here for a couple months and having nothing happen,” she adds. “It was frustrating but I knew that it was common. I ended up meeting with a manager who wanted me to read for a role on a Disney XD pilot and I ended up booking it! That was six years ago and that’s what made me think to myself, ‘Maybe I can do this after all’.” Fast forward to about two years ago, Kayla scored her breakout role on Stuck in the Middle, a show she knew she wanted to be apart of from the get-go. “I was immediately drawn to the show because it’s shot single-camera and most Disney sitcoms tend to be multi-cam,” she reveals. “There hadn’t been a Disney show that was shot that way since Lizzie McGuire so everything about it was intriguing; the script was unlike anything else and I loved how it focused on a big Latino family.” Kayla’s onscreen character, Georgie, is very family-oriented (much like the actress) and, now that she’s the oldest Diaz sibling at home, she finds herself as the new leader of the pack. “The new storyline is very fun to shoot,” Kayla shares. “Georgie has good family morals and is always helping out. She’s beginning to realize
that she needs to step up to the plate more often and make sure that she cares for the younger Diaz kids.” Stuck in the Middle, while a feel-good show that’s packed with laugh-out-loud moments, is also packed with something that’s always needed and appreciated on television: representation. “It means everything to me that the show focuses on showcasing that,” Kayla says. “There’s been a huge gap between Stuck in the Middle and the last Latino Disney family, which was on Wizards of Waverly Place. It makes me so happy that kids can watch my show and see people that look like them. Growing up, whenever I’d watch TV, it was mostly kids with blonde hair and blue eyes onscreen but never anyone that looked like me. Representation is so important and I think Stuck in the Middle does a great job at including it! We often show traditional cooking and the family speaking in Spanish but my favorite was when we showed the cultural tradition of having a Quinceañera – it’s things like this that people have commented on and reacted so positively about.” With such a hectic work schedule, Kayla hopes to make the most of her time after the season wraps. “I want to branch out into writing more,” she says. “I’d also love to learn more about directing and producing; I love all the behind the scenes work!” Of course, in between all of that, the busy actress still needs to set aside
time for schoolwork. “I’m in college right now,” she explains. “It’s definitely hard to balance work and school but it gets done! When I was younger, my schedule was easier to follow and easier to incorporate time for school. Now that I’m older, I have to focus and commit to getting everything done on my own – it can be a little challenging.” The bright side of balancing work and school? The lessons tend to overlap! “I think it’s always smart to further your education in anything,” Kayla says. “I really want to go to school for film but, for now, being on a set everyday is my film school. I get to further my knowledge by being around experts; I count everyday as an acting lesson and a lesson in what it is I want to be doing in this industry.” As for what’s to come with the rising actress, Kayla’s open to taking risks. “I think my dream role would be something opposite from what I’ve already done,” she says. “I think it’d be so much fun to play an edgy character. I look younger than what I am so I can still go for those young, crazy roles that I have so much fun watching; playing a mean girl would be so cool! But, for now, I’m focused on Stuck in the Middle. I want to finish out the season strong and just be present, have fun, and enjoy every moment of it. I also want that to apply to my day to day life; I want to travel more and go to more concerts! Of course, booking a movie would be pretty cool too.” NKD NKDMAG.COM
05
06
logan miller Words by ELIZABETH FORREST Photos by CATHERINE POWELL
Logan Miller’s journey from Hasbro commercials to the upcoming film Love, Simon has been anything but ordinary. With a father that worked for a soup company and a stay-at-home mother, Logan describes his childhood as “average” but often moved from city to city. As a child, he loved to dress up as cartoon characters, which was partly to blame for him upsetting the family’s status quo. “I said, ‘Hey, I want to do something weird and kind of fucked up. Let’s try acting’,” he remembers. From there, he found an agent in Dallas and began acting in commercials. His first big movie was Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, performing alongside Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner.
That was when Logan truly fell in love with acting. He felt that were was a magic behind it all. As an inexperienced kid, it was a dream to work around so many actors that were already professionals and were industry veterans. Along with working with Matthew and Jennifer on set, he worked with Emma Stone and Michael Douglas. “It was kind of a no brainer that I wanted to keep it going after that,” he says. At 16, he left school in order to pursue acting full time. For all his success, Logan admits that he isn’t too picky when it comes to accepting roles. To him, the most important aspects to consider are whether the film has a voice and is not simply being produced to the masses for no NKDMAG.COM
07
HANNAH ZEILE Words by CARLY BUSH Photos by CATHERINE POWELL Glam by EMILY DAWN
10
Hannah Zeile’s life has taken an unexpected path. The daughter of former Major League Baseball player Todd Zeile and Olympic gymnast Julianne McNamara, Hannah presumed she would carry on the family tradition and pursue athletics with as much passion and drive as her parents. She was a natural at sports, and “always loved” playing competitively in her younger years. But it was the stage, rather than the stadium, that beckoned Hannah. A spark of interest in acting developed, and soon blossomed into a full-blown obsession: Hannah recalls learning not only her own lines, but everyone else’s, in her elementary school plays. Born in Valencia, California, and raised in nearby Thousand Oaks, Hannah is a born-and-bred Angeleno, “Which,” she says, “Isn’t exactly that common in the industry.” However, being in the orbit of professional entertainers throughout her childhood was undoubtedly crucial to her realizing her dream earlier in life than others. In her teenage years she began to take her craft more seriously, enrolling in an immersive acting class. “I completely fell in love with it. It was the first thing that ever really kept my focus.” Fortunately, her family was supportive. It was the stereotype associated with being an athletes’ child, rather than her parents’ direct influence, that she had to fight against.
On the other hand, they didn’t encourage her to avoid the athletic world, either—if that had been her dream, they would have been equally determined to help her succeed. “I wouldn’t say they pushed me in any direction,” Hannah says. Everything was going well for a while, but the long hours on set conflicted with Hannah’s academic pursuits. After two recurring appearances on Anger Management in 2012, Hannah decided to put acting on the back burner until she graduated high school. “I wanted to do it independently,” she says, stating that the labor laws for adults versus minors played a major role in her decision not to be a full-time child star. Perhaps in another life, a more athletically ambitious Hannah Zeile would have represented the United States in the Winter Olympics this past month. In this one, she recently finished wrapping the second season of a wildly popular drama series, and at the tender age of 20, has already obtained a Screen Actors Guild Award. The series, of course, is This is Us – the critically acclaimed NBC drama featuring a star-studded ensemble cast, including Milo Ventimiglia and Mandy Moore. Hannah plays the role of young Kate Pearson, whose teenage years are depicted through flashbacks. Where was she when she received the call? “I was working at Chipotle,” she recalls
with amusement. The small gap in her CV from the time she had taken off to focus on school ultimately didn’t matter much—her audition had convinced the show’s producers of her talent and credibility. Seemingly, Hannah was meant to play this particular role. Newly 18, she had only recently reconnected with her agent and begun auditioning again. “This is Us was actually my first audition back,” she remembers. “I was working a shift at Chipotle. I got the call. They wanted me to come in.” During the second round of auditions, Dan Fogelman, the show’s creator, wanted to personally meet with her. “I walked out of my shift and never went back,” she recalls. Joining the cast in this way—with the expectation that she not only brings something new to the table but ensure that the beloved Kate character was represented accurately—was an intimidating experience, especially considering how suddenly the spotlight was placed on her. The entire cast was “so welcoming” her first day on set. “I remember Milo saying, ‘Welcome to the family!’” she recalls. She was encouraged to approach Chrissy Metz, who plays the character of Kate in present day, with any questions relating to their shared role or “just to get to know each other personally.” However, the piece of advice that stuck with her the most was the simple reminder to NKDMAG.COM
11
paris berelc Words by NICOLE MOOREFIELD Photos by CATHERINE POWELL Glam by EMILY DAWN
20
MARIE
Words by MARISSA JOHNSONE Photos by CATHERINE POWELL
TEGAN
14-year-old Tegan Marie is taking the country music world by storm. When she was 3-years-old, Tegan picked up the microphone of her dad’s old karaoke machine and never turned back, and after posting covers on YouTube, at the age of 7 she was picked up by Sweety High, an all-girls media company. “Sweety High made my dreams come true, they’re teaching me how to be an artist, I’m teaching them how to be young” and laughs about sending her manager, Veronica, gifts to make sure she stood out, the first being a photo of herself from the first time she went to Nashville to record. “Veronica put it on her desk and she was looking at me for three or four years straight so I was kind of manifesting her to bring me to Los Angeles”. Sweety High eventually brought her to L.A. to meet their team for the start of a whirlwind partnership. Growing up in Flint, Michigan, Tegan dreamed of one day making the move to Nashville. “Even when I was younger and I loved country music so much, the first thing I thought, and I think with every country artist what they think is ‘I’m going to move to Nashville because Nashville is the home of country music’,” she recalls. Now, she’s spending a majority of her time there learning how to write music and working with songwriters like Nathan Chapman and Jason and Nelly Reeves, who are taking time to teach her how to come out of her shell and not be afraid to express herself through her music. Though she hasn’t quite convinced her family to fully make
the move to Nashville, she’s certain that a move is in her future now that she’s fully immersed in the creative process there. After persistence from Sweety High and their intense belief in her talents – she jokes that her manager “likes to say she was kind of stalking Scott Hendricks [producer and VP of A&R at Warner Music Nashville]” and performing in showcases for Warner Music in Nashville, Tegan’s management flew to her hometown to surprise her with a record deal, which was a dream come true. “It was a miracle, Warner Music Nashville is like a family,” she says. Now, Tegan looks forward to the day her picture will be added to the Warner Music sign in the Nashville Airport – a sign that she’s always seen and wanted to be a part of and shares her excitement about seeing her photo in the lobby of the Warner Music Nashville offices. Earlier this year, Tegan released her first single, “Keep It Lit”, a song about having fun with your friends and family that has quickly gained attention of people all over the world. After the success of her covers online, she says that she “was really, really stoked because [she’s] had this music for so long” and felt like “Keep it Lit” was the perfect fit for her debut single because she walked into her first writing session and the first thing she said was, “Okay guys, let’s keep it lit” which sparked the inspiration within her and her writing partners to create a song that she says is one of her favorites. The “Keep It Lit” music video has already amassed almost 1 million views and depicts Tegan rid-
ing around the country in a bus picking up all of her friends and family for one epic journey. Now, with performances on The Today Show and her very first sold out, hour-long ticketed event at the Opry City Stage in Times Square, Tegan is very excited for what’s to come, sharing that her fans, or “Teganites” can expect a lot of new music from her in the near future. “I think we have enough songs for like, three albums if we wanted to,” she admits. Despite her newfound fame, Tegan has made an effort to keep up with her education by attending school online and doing her homework in between TV appearances and shows, and even goes back to her regular school in her hometown when she can. It’s a balance she says has been made possible with the support of her family and friends at home in Michigan. Tegan hopes that in the next year she will get her first No. 1 song and a chance to join a tour, with her dream tour being with country superstars like Garth Brooks, Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood or Kelsea Ballerini. “Performing live is my favorite thing. Seeing the smiles on their faces in the front row and just hearing them sing the songs is my favorite thing ever,” she says, also sharing an idea for future meet and greets that include a petting zoo with mini animals. As for now, her main goal is to simply inspire others saying, “I really want to be a role model for all the young girls, or anyone really, who want to follow their dreams, or do anything, just to not give up,” she says. NKD NKDMAG.COM
21
danielle savre Words & Photos by CATHERINE POWELL
For 13 years Grey’s Anatomy has been enticing fans with their over-the-top medical situations and dramatic doctor-to-doctor relationships. With the new spinoff, Station 19, things are about to get a lot hotter – literally. And star Danielle Savre is up to the task. Danielle started acting as a child, with her first gig being for Mattel toy commercials – meaning she got to play with Barbie dolls and My Little Pony figures all day. “The actual dream,” she jokes. She booked her first TV pilot at age 12, and while the show never went to series, it did ignite Danielle’s passion for acting beyond commercials. In an effort to fully focus on her dreams, Danielle fast-tracked her education and graduated high school at 15. She booked her first major reoccurring role on the WB’s Summerland, and things have been moving steadily ever since. On March 22nd, Danielle’s latest venture, Station 19, will premiere in the coveted postGrey’s Anatomy time slot as part of ABC’s TGIT campaign. Working on the show has been one of the best experiences of Danielle’s career – partly due to Shondaland (Shonda Rhimes’ production company)’s “no assholes” policy. Actors who join Shondaland shows are vetted to make sure
they’re good people, which leads to a very positive on-set atmosphere. “Most shows, you’re never lucky enough to have that. There’s always one bad seed,” Danielle admits, “But with our show they made sure. They called people we had worked with before and asked, ‘How do you like working with this person?’” The March 1st episode of Grey’s Anatomy will serve as the first introduction to some of the Station 19 characters, though Danielle herself will not appear until the first episode of Station 19. “You do a lot of projects and you expect the best, and it was so awesome to see the pilot and we all looked at each other teary-eyed because we were so happy to be a part of it,” Danielle says, “And we’re playing real-life superheroes.” By superheroes, Danielle of course means firefighters and first responders. The show will focus on the Station 19 firehouse in Seattle and the unit that works there. Danielle feels that the show is a highly accurate representation of these people and the jobs they do, as they had multiple technical advisors on set making sure things were as true to real life as possible. “They are always keeping us in line, making sure we look like firefighters,” she says. With the exception of actually running into flames, Danielle and
her cast mates do everything else, like running up the stairs in 40 pounds of gear or chopping doors with axes. Danielle plays Maya Bishop, a former Olympic gold medalist who now works at Station 19. “She keeps the walls up and is there for everyone else, and she’s everyone else’s cheerleader,” Danielle admits, “But when it’s time for her own personal life, she puts the walls up and blocks everything else.” Danielle says that as the show progresses you will learn more Maya’s backstory and why she is the way she is, but she’s sworn to secrecy at the moment. “She’s a lover of life – I always like to say that,” Danielle adds. Getting into the head of someone who is an American hero in two senses of the world has been a welcomed challenge for Danielle, who is happy to be playing a woman with multiple layers to her. “She thrives under pressure,” Danielle says, “The tougher it is, the more she thrives.” The immense pressure of saving lives and the unique pressure of representing her country as an athlete are welcome feelings to Maya – at least on the surface. “For her though, there’s a difference between being an Olympic athlete and then being a firefighter, simply because winning that medal was for her country, but it NKDMAG.COM
23
oliver stark Words by IAN HAYS Photos by CATHERINE POWELL
caitlyn smith
Words & Photos by CATHERINE POWELL
32
Caitlyn Smith has finally arrived. After years of writing hits for artists like Meghan Trainor and Garth Brooks, Caitlyn released her debut album, Starfire, in January. During a week of promo in New York, Caitlyn and I meet at a hotel café in Midtown. She’s exhausted – rightfully so – but her face lights up when she starts talking about her record. At the beginning of 2017, Caitlyn signed with Monument Records, a division of Sony Music, and spent the year putting the finishing touches on her debut album – most of which was written prior to signing. “There definitely was a shift,” Caitlyn says of her songwriting priorities. While she’s had countless success writing for other artists, she felt it was time to fully embrace herself as an artist. She typically went into writing sessions with some certainty as to whether she would be writing for herself or writing for another artist that day. The first introduction to Starfire came in the summer of 2017 when Caitlyn released an EP of the same name. The five songs were a brief synopsis of Caitlyn’s story, and the full album fills in the missing pieces. When she originally recorded Starfire, she recorded a full album but opted to only release half at first because she was “very pregnant” at the time and couldn’t tour to support it. “The plan was to release the other half, but then the label came along,” she says, “And within that amount of time I had written a ton more with the intention of saving those songs for myself.” Some of the later additions to the record include “St. Paul”, which is Caitlyn’s story of growing up and driving into the “big city” and how it shaped who she is as a person. “East Side Restaurant”, which Caitlyn describes as a “dramatic, sad song” is
about all of Caitlyn’s past boyfriends rolled into one, and “Don’t Give Up On My Love” – which Caitlyn penned by herself – is her love song to her husband. Her current single, “Starfire” is “the cornerstone of the record”. Caitlyn has dubbed it her theme song, because the journey she’s had has been “long and winding”. “It’s my anthem to never give up, and to not care about what other people think about the art that I’m making and just do it,” Caitlyn says. Caitlyn’s journey reached a crescendo on January 19th when Starfire was finally released to the world – which brought on a range of emotions for Caitlyn. “First emotion was overwhelmingly happy and excited that this day was finally here, and I did feel a little emotional just finally having my song babies out in the world,” she says, “A lot of pride and gratefulness. It’s a very overwhelming process.” Now that the record is out and Caitlyn is not – as she puts it – “super pregnant”, she will be heading out for her first headlining tour this spring. Her husband plays in her live band, so their almost-2-year-old son will be joining them on the road. “He is just happy to be wherever,” Caitlyn laughs, “I don’t think he really knows what’s going on, but it will be the norm for him – just rolling around in a tour bus.” While Caitlyn is in a very exciting point in her career, she describes becoming a mother as “the biggest blessing” – both for her personal life and her career. “It’s allowed me to gain this perspective of what is truly important and what is truly worth my time, and what’s not,” Caitlyn says, “There’s almost an automatic balance that came with having a baby.” She admits that some weeks are harder than others, and balancing time can be difficult
sometimes, but she and her husband always make it work. “But the fact that he comes on the road and we get to do it together helps,” she says. Having a child has also influenced how Caitlyn picks which songs she’s going to record, as she knows that he’ll hear them all one day – but only to a point. “It also has opened this new door of inspiration,” she says, “I’m able to draw from this new love and understanding that I wasn’t able to before.” Starfire may still be brand new to most listeners, but Caitlyn promises that there will still be more music this year. There are two additional songs she tracked for the record that didn’t make it that will be available exclusively on the album’s vinyl release. One is titled “Breakfast in the Afternoon”, which was written on a train trip to Tacoma, and the other is “If I Didn’t Love You”, which is Caitlyn’s favorite song to sing live. She’s hoping the vinyl will be released on Record Store Day this year. Caitlyn has been heavily immersed in the artist side of her career the last few months, but she is still exercising her songwriting muscle with other artists when she can, and has been working on a few songs for different movies, which is a new challenge she’s had fun tackling. And though she is a Nashville resident and most of her songwriting cuts have been by country artists, Caitlyn has been dipping her toe into the pop waters lately and is biting her tongue on some exciting news. “It’s really exciting that Nashville is on the map for not just country,” Caitlyn says, “The red thread of the music coming out of Nashville is that the songs are strong, whatever genre you’re listening to.” Caitlyn describes her own music as “genreless”, and is eager for more pockets of the world to discover it. NKD NKDMAG.COM
33
BEA MILLER Words by IAN HAYS
Photos by CATHERINE POWELL
luna blaise
Words by RACHEL HILL Photos by CATHERINE POWELL
44
You may recognize this onthe-rise teen from the silver screen, your nearest concert hall, your TV set, or even Jacob Sartorius’ hit music video “Sweatshirt”. Regardless of how you know her, Luna Blaise is taking the world by storm. The 16-year-old L.A. native began acting professionally at
Off The Boat. Nicole, the Huang family’s sassy next door neighbor, came out as a lesbian this past season. Luna’s portrayal of this sensitive matter was deemed Entertainment Weekly’s online show BingeWorthy’s performance of the week in November 2017. In order to prepare for and accu-
reveal, Luna turned to social media. “I didn’t know how people were going to respond, but it actually kind of made me very proud of my generation,” she affirms, “Everyone was super supportive and everyone was like, ‘This is amazing’.” As for where a possible Season 5 will take Nicole, Luna predicts
“If it’s a script or if it’s a scene in a TV show that doesn’t really fit with me and I don’t really connect with it, I’ll pass on it because I don’t want to waste their time. And I don’t want to waste me own time.” the age of eight. Armed with a theatrical manager and agent, Luna booked roles in the 2008 movie Vicious Circle and the indie film Memoria, produced by James Franco. Her big break arrived in 2014 when she was cast in the recurring role of Nicole in ABC’s television series Fresh
rately depict the slew of emotions and inhibitions a young person faces when coming out to their loved ones, Luna teamed up with the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). Anxious to know what her fans and Fresh Off The Boat viewers thought about Nicole’s
new love interests and a journey into figuring out who she really is. All actors and actresses have a system of reviewing scripts they come across, whether it be audition for anything and everything or only going for compositions that match their interests. Luna believes con-
NKDMAG.COM
45
benji aflalo Words by OLIVIA SINGH Photos by CATHERINE POWELL Grooming by SIMONE
Benji Aflalo calls himself lazy, sometimes lacking in self-worth, and filled with self-doubt. He’s incredibly self-deprecating, but he’s also persistent and passionate about comedy. And despite all his perceived shortcomings, he is currently the star, co-creator, and writer on Freeform’s latest comedy, Alone Together. Benji was born in Los Angeles, California and says he was raised by his four older siblings, housekeeper, and parents, who he describes as “grinders” – hardworking people who came from humble backgrounds. Benji always wanted to do comedy, and he participated in several plays in high school. After getting an agent during his senior year of high school, he booked a guest starring role and then a second audition, but decided that he didn’t want to continue. Instead, he wanted to go to college. At the time, he didn’t realize that hopeful actors often struggle, constantly getting denied until they can even land their first role. “I was 17, I didn’t really understand that it was a big deal, and everyone was going to college and I was like, ‘Oh I’ll go to college now, too,’” Benji explains. “It felt like a summer camp choice.” Neither of Benji’s parents went to college and all his siblings dropped
out, so by the time he made the decision to continue his education, his parents were “disillusioned.” Benji just wanted to get out of L.A. because “the idea of being around all the high school people again ate me up inside,” so he went to the University of Arizona. His experience there was one marked by isolation and it was clearly an environment that he didn’t fit into, but at the same time, he didn’t want to go back to L.A. After applying elsewhere with the help of his sister, Yael, Benji got accepted to New York City’s Marymount Manhattan College. “I obviously probably belonged in a liberal arts school in New York, but because I didn’t have any guidance, I ended up at the University of Arizona,” Benji says. As he was nearing the end of college, he started participating in open mics. He initially wanted to be a musician, but felt that he didn’t have the chops for it. Plus, the crowds at open mics responded more to him as a comedian than a guitarist. “I don’t think it’s an easy road for anybody,” Benji says. “But I was insecure, and I think standup actually gave me that immediate satisfaction.” Impressed by seeing comedians like Jim Norton and Jeff Ross at The Comedy Cellar in N.Y., Benji went to L.A. and attended a comedy show
at The Improv – but was unaware that the people doing standup that night were amateurs. Thinking that the comedians in L.A. didn’t measure up to the high standard set by those in N.Y., Benji moved back to L.A. in the hopes of easily making it big as a comedian. He did bringer shows in L.A. for several years, where he was able to perform standup if he brought people to the venue. Then, he got a job working at The Comedy Store, which he describes as being “empty all the time,” “lawless,” and “fun” – but it was also the place where Benji met Esther Povitsky, who would become one of his good friends and co-creator of Alone Together. After working at The Comedy Store, Benji continued doing more writing gigs, but he and Esther realized that if they wanted to progress in the industry, they had to develop original projects and pitch them. The problem was that neither of them was confident in their ability to pitch material, especially in a city filled with other talented comedians. “You’re either competing with celebrity comedians in L.A., people with experience we don’t have, or at the very least, you look at the Workaholics guys,” Benji explains. “They had a whole web series and all this content. A lot of our other friends who had gotten some success, they had that too, so we were like, ‘We
have to do our own thing to prove to people that we can have the things we want.’” They put together a short film that led to their show on Freeform. It was written in December 2013, filmed the following summer, and pitched in December 2015. The pilot for Alone Together was filmed in August 2016, and the entirety of Season 1 was filmed in 2017. “I’ve had my heart broken a million times over the course of that,” Benji says. Alone Together focuses on Benji and Esther as the main characters. Their characters are exaggerated versions of themselves and lines, themes, or scenarios in the show are often inspired by their real-life
experiences. Benji considers himself “lazy” and “disinterested,” so naturally his misfit character shares the same traits. On the show, Benji and Esther are strictly platonic friends, and they’re firm in their stance that the characters will remain just friends. Alone Together is not intended to be a show where viewers speculate as to whether or not the two main characters will become love interests. Alone Together was renewed for a second season in October 2017, before the show aired in January 2018. Benji credits the success of the show to his partnership with Esther, who has been a massive help in getting them to the stage they’re
currently at. “Having a show before is something I’ve never done before,” Benji says. “I’ve never even worked on a scripted show or acted in a show. No one would have me forever in any capacity, as a standup, as an actor, as a writer. It’s all been denial, rejection. If I was dealing with that completely on my own, I probably would have had no chance.” Even though a second season is underway, Benji doesn’t take any of his achievements lightly, because it’s the result of hard work. “I didn’t get a TV show because someone handed it to me,” he says. “At the end of the day, we had to do a lot on our own and I think everyone has to.” Going forward with Alone Together, Benji feels a little surer of himself and the show – even if there are moments when he’s “crippled by self-doubt.” “I feel like Season 2 has to be better just because I’m more experienced and know more about what I’m doing, but maybe I’m wrong,” Benji says. “Maybe that’ll work against me, who knows.” “With a season of experience under our belts, as much as I think the first season is awesome, I think there’s no way the show can’t get better,” he adds. In the future, Benji hopes that he can return to standup, and possibly do a tour with Esther. “Standup is so hard that it requires a lot of dedication, so I’d love to have some time to really dedicate to it and see what that looks like,” Benji says. “And then after that, I’m kind of putting everything I have into this and standup and then after that, I would just be spreading myself way too thin.” NKD
NKDMAG.COM