We’re Turning Forty
ON LOCATION EDUCATION CELEBRATES FORTY YEARS OF BUSINESS
A lot has happened in forty years of business. We’ve witnessed the entertainment industry grow exponentially and evolve in ways that no one thought possible. We’ve advocated for children’s working conditions on set and watched them improve drastically. We’ve navigated an industry-wide shutdown and began working during a pandemic. And through it all, our excitement for bridging the gap between entertainment and education has only grown. We’re grateful for all that lies ahead, and we look forward to partnering with you in the years to come.
In this feature, we sit down with Founder and President Alan Simon to discuss what On Location Education looked like when it started and how the company has evolved throughout four decades in the entertainment industry.
Then
Dr. Ibrahim Abdul-Malik teaching Keshia Knight Pullman of The Cosby Show at Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens, circa 1988.
What was your background leading up to the formation of OLE?
I began as an actor and substitute teacher in the New York City public schools. Being a sub allowed me the flexibility to teach during the day while ensuring I could make auditions and take acting classes in the afternoon. Needless to say, this was the ideal business for me, and a perfect marriage between my two backgrounds.
Tell us about how OLE started. How was the need for this business identified, and how did you turn this concept into a company?
The notion of teachers on set goes back to the 1930s at the beginning of the talking pictures in California. In the late 1970s, the Screen Actors Guild made a push for educating child actors as part of standard protocol for minors working on film and television sets. In 1980, regulations regarding the employment of minors changed to require on set teachers for any production lasting more than three days.
People who knew my background as a substitute teacher and a performer approached me about making a business of supplying teachers on set. I began reaching out to production companies, and little by little, interest from the industry helped create a demand. We continued to grow little by little in the following years.
What ultimately helped cement the company's reputation was when we picked up two network television shows in the mid 1980s - first, Kate and Allie on CBS, and then The Cosby Show on NBC. We continued working on theatrical projects and began to make our way across the country, and eventually, internationally.
What are the most formative projects you have worked on over the years?
One of the very first projects we did in the early years was a TV show called Nurse which filmed at the Metropolitan Hospital in New York. We were finally starting to have multiple projects at once and we were really working in the heart of the business. I was not only meeting with production staff; celebrities were taking time on set to find me and tell me their demands for the quality of education and the grades they insisted their younger cast members uphold.
In working on The Cosby Show, I learned the importance of building a teaching staff that represents the world we live in. We found teachers from all walks of life, with different skills, lived experiences, personalities, interests, and dreams. We had teachers who were dynamic in the classroom but could respect the entertainment structures and remain flexible to the demands of working on set.
As we began working in other states, we became acutely aware of the differences in child labor laws across the country. This caused our business to begin offering permitting services, and we expanded from just dealing with education facilitation to also guiding production companies on compliance in their work with minors. We also continued honing our skills in on-set educational setup. In New York State, for example, there are 720 individual school districts. Not every single one of them is thrilled when their student joins a Broadway show or a TV series. We accept that teachers in schools have tremendous work on their plates without dealing with individual student arrangements. It was then, and remains, important for us to understand and respect all of the parties involved in the process: the productions, the students, and the students’ schools of record.
As these questions and challenges continued to appear, I realized I was in it for the long haul. This business wasn’t just about supplying teachers any longer. It encompassed all aspects of minors working in entertainment.
When you started OLE, did you imagine it would grow to its current size and scope of work?
When it started, I hung on for dear life. As I realized I was in it, the path became clear.
At the beginning, I flew to productions, introduced myself, and made sure things were set up. I went down to Orlando quite a bit in the 1980s when we were working on The Mickey Mouse Club. One trip when I was down there, I saw billboards for Nickelodeon’s emerging presence in the state. We were already working with Nickelodeon in New York, so I made the connection, incorporated in Florida, and before long began working on all kinds of projects there, eventually venturing out to Hollywood. We also started working with national tours of the Broadway shows byfinding local teachers that could teach throughout a several week sitdown in a city, saving productions thousands in hotels, travel, and per diems. Since then, we’ve continued to expand naturally and now, forty years and a pandemic later, we have a large team who meets via email and Zoom. Challenges have continued to arise and we have learned to adjust and grow with them.
How has the law evolved over the years?
There have been laws on the books for quite some time but, as with most things, change only comes in response to issues. For example, in New Mexico about fifteen years ago, there was a Survivor-like production where kids were alone in the desert. When people started to discuss the conditions the children had been through, the show shut down, the network apologized, and New Mexico changed the law. Suddenly, labor law was once again at the forefront of what we do. Our goal is to constantly work within the letter of the law and keep the productions running.
Over the years, I also began to involve myself in committees that discussed how regulations should evolve and later helped turn these conversations into law. To us, these children matter and their safety is incredibly important. I remember getting in a cab one day right when news had broken about a child star, and the cab driver made a negative comment about her. I remember thinking, “When do we push back on that? What can we do to keep these kids from entering a world of negativity and strife, and instead support them in expressing their talent? How do we help them balance their lives both on and off the screen?” That’s what I see as the core purpose for OLE.
Now
After 40 years, OLE looks much different than it did in its original days. Meet members of our amazing 2022 team and learn more about what they do to make quality education a reality for young performers across the globe.
Click Here to meet our team.
JODI GREEN
What is your role at OLE?
I am the Senior Director at OLE, working primarily on live theatrical projects on Broadway, on tour, and internationally.
What is your favorite memory from working at OLE?
On Location Education served as the educational consultant for The Big Apple Circus and their charter school, The One Ring School House (ORSH), for many, many years. ORSH's charter ran to 10th grade, with students transferring to The School for Young Performers for grades 11 and 12. I was asked to present Christian Stoinev's high school diploma to him in June 2009 on behalf of SYP, OLE and ORSH. Playing a pivotal role in the education of this young man, who hails from Bulgarian and Mexican circus families, from second grade through high school graduation, and then seeing him continue on to becoming a college graduate remains one of the great honors in my over 35 years with OLE.
LAUREN STAMM
What is your role at OLE?
I am currently a Director at On Location Education, where I oversee the academic needs as well as the welfare requirements for child actors in the entertainment industry. I work primarily with television and film productions in Georgia and New York, but I also have experience working with productions all across the U.S. and internationally.
What is your favorite memory from working at OLE?
My favorite memory at OLE would have to be traveling to Georgia to meet the set teachers, Child Labor Coordinators, and production contacts there. Prior to my role as a Director, I worked as a set teacher on TV, film, and theater productions in New York City. I maintained that role for nearly 7 years, so it was really incredible to see beyond the OLE New York “bubble” and meet all of the wonderful people working with children in the entertainment industry in Georgia.
SHELLY COHEN
What is your role at OLE?
I am the Director of Permitting Services! I help productions obtain the necessary entertainment work permits needed for their project (theatre, film, television, and print work).
What is it like working in both the entertainment and education industries?
While we do have contact with the schools, our main focus in the permitting department is not education. We do work very closely with the parents of the child actors, and the productions. I love working with the company managers and stage managers in theatre, since it is a language I understand very well, having spent the first part of my adult life as a performer in opera and musical theatre. I understand and feel the urgency in my cells when there is an emergency cast replacement or addition. I try to take as much off of the productions and parents as possible in those situations, since they are all dealing with enough in those moments!
MADELINE ARCHIBALD
What is your role at OLE?
I work as a Director at On Location Education, mainly covering television and film projects. This involves guiding all parties involved through both labor laws and educational requirements. I also act as a liaison among the production companies, families, schools, and teachers. My role involves not only disseminating information but also ensuring that everyone involved truly understands the implications and reasons behind the regulations and procedures.
What is your favorite memory from working at OLE?
I think it still has to be seeing the very talented students perform in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular!
What is it like working in both the entertainment and education industries?
The entertainment and education industries are two completely different worlds, which presents a unique landscape for the day-to-day of one's profession. We regularly encounter challenges as the chaos and creativity of the entertainment world must gel with the structure and procedure of the education sector. At OLE, we get the opportunity to find the commonalities of these two very different realms and help all those involved understand how they can all be successful and enjoy the efforts along the way.
From all of us at On Location Education: thank you for your support, partnership, and business over the last forty years. We’re looking forward to what the next forty may have in store, and will continue our work to further improve education in the entertainment industry and beyond in the years to come. The words were true then and still ring true today: it’s that simple.