Entertainment spotlight on Marlene Sharp

• By JOHN STARR
• Special to 2theadvocate.com
• Published: Jun 17, 2009

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Breaking into the entertainment industry can be extremely difficult. Every year, thousands of people head to Hollywood, determined to see their name in lights.

And every year thousands of movie star wannabes find themselves waiting tables.

Louisiana native Marlene Sharp followed her dreams to California, but unlike the multitude of others who have taken that same journey, she has managed to find her niche.

Sharp is now preparing to launch her first animated series, “Priscilla,” produced by her very own production company, Two Twigs and a Berry.

Even though Sharp trained throughout high school and college to be an actor, she took a very different approach in reaching her goal of becoming a part of the entertainment industry.

“I never wanted to go the route of being a starving artist. I didn’t want to wait tables and audition,” Sharp explained. “I wanted to work in all aspects of the business. I was interested in writing and producing, as well.”

Sharp applied for jobs that dealt with the behind-the-scenes aspect of Hollywood.

“My first job out of grad school was at a talent agency in Orange County, and one of the perks of the job was getting to represent myself,” Sharp said.

Although she found quite a bit of success through the agency, Sharp soon realized this was not what she wanted to do for a living.

“In retrospect, I did really well,” Sharp said. “But after a year, I became really burned out and depressed. I started to hate actors, and I started to hate the business.”

Sharp needed some time off and decided to return to her roots.

“I moved back to New Orleans for a year and a half,” Sharp said. “As soon as I moved back, I knew it was kind of a mistake career-wise, but I didn’t know what to do at that point. I wasn’t happy, and I felt as if I had given up. I was kind of at a crossroads.”

Eventually, Sharp made her way back to California and found a new home as a director of development at Renaissance-Atlantic Films, which made many animated and live-action projects, including “Power Rangers,” “Digimon” and “Mystic Knights.”