Inspired by my deep love for sitcoms, creating a comedy series based on my experiences at Smith College has been a goal of mine since I first started filmmaking as a college sophomore.
Historically Women’s College follows Ariana “Ari” Valenzuela, a late-starting first-year journalist hell-bent on transferring out of Hawthorn College, a fictionalized member of the “Seven Sisters” elite women’s colleges. After being forced to join a struggling student newspaper called “The Perspective” by her academic advisor, Ari meets Eleanor, Darcy, Jordan, and Wren who make up the ensemble cast of this series.
I created Historically Women’s College as my senior Special Studies project at Smith under the guidance of writer/director Anaiis Cisco. Filmed over two months in collaboration with Director of Photography Em Judkins, Historically Women’s College aimed to combine the styles of Western hard comedy series such as Community and Derry Girls along with the Japanese “club room” anime genre. In addition to the pilot episode, I raised over $1300 for the project and created a full pitch deck for the series’ future episodes.
Creating Historically Women’s College was no easy feat, as I took on the role of producer, director, writer, and editor. The process included extensive casting, numerous production meetings, countless setbacks, and sleepless late-night editing sessions. Historically Women’s College is my proudest accomplishment, as I was able to successfully complete a full half-hour episode. My determination to complete Historically Women’s College speaks to my mission of bringing female voices to the forefront of the comedy genre.
Historically Women’s College stars Mayte Sarmiento, Jillian Lehosky, Ryan Graley, Nubia Udoh, and Grayson Hawthorn. The series also features Sam Hopper, Phi Mustone, Nanci Young, and Sally Memote.
