She’s come to realize that the traditional research and dissertation approach is not the only way to “bring your research to life.” Her experience creating “Pretty … If You Squint” has also affected how she views her doctoral program. I’ve actually taken the dive in the last couple of months.” “I’m really just trying to meet more people in the comedy world, go to more comedy shows, watch more comedy, read about comedians. “I’ve started to produce more stuff with other people, which is great because there’s so many more things you can do when you have creative minds and capable people in the production process,” Valley says. Whatever her next project is, she won’t be doing it alone. Even before she learned about the Indie Series Award nomination, Valley says she had started to reach out to other creatives and sketch comedians in the Boston area. It wasn’t until weeks later that she posted about it on social media and started to embrace what she had created and how much she had grown in the process. Northeastern law student runs a nonprofit to help LGBTQ+ community members find needed resources ![]() I’m trying to distance myself from this because I didn’t know how it would work.” “I did everything under the name Raven Sinclair because I was like, ‘I don’t need this to be traced back to me,’” she says. 31, 2022, Valley struggled with how much she wanted to put herself out there for the world to see. She had enough confidence to create something but not enough confidence to bring anyone else onboard, she says.Įven after releasing the first episode (“Are Bribes Tax Deductible?”) on YouTube on Aug. From writing the scripts to directing each episode to performing each role, it was a true one-woman show. However, unlike the home videos she made with her family growing up, Valley took on every task by herself. “Even before I had the idea to do a web show, I’ve always had a notepad in my phone of jokes I’ve said in my head and never told anyone,” she says. A nine-episode sketch comedy web series, “Pretty … If You Squint” follows a young woman “who lives at home and doesn’t have much going on in her life, and she finds herself in these comedic situations.” For Valley, it was an opportunity to release all the creative energy and ideas she had built up over the years because she was too shy to reveal that part of herself. “ Pretty … If You Squint” came out of that initial creative exercise. Valley created an acting reel, something that could showcase her talent, but more than anything it was a chance for her to get in front of the camera and start to stretch creative muscles she hadn’t used for years. He’s also one of the world’s best Irish fiddlersĪt least until 2022 when she returned home to live with her parents for the summer and had an abundance of time on her hands. Joe de Georgeo is a second-year Northeastern architecture student. Between her undergraduate studies at Miami University in Ohio, a master’s in Russian studies at Harvard University and now her Ph.D., acting fell by the wayside. in political science at Northeastern, which she started in 2020, is focused on Latin American relations with Russia, China and the United States. I was just so happy to be included.”Ĭoming out of high school, Valley found something else that interested her just as much as acting: international politics. “I wasn’t a good singer, I wasn’t a good dancer, I wasn’t a good actress. She started out making videos with her siblings and cousins before taking part in a musical theater program in middle school where she “never had a real role.” Valley grew up in Pittsburgh with a passion for the performing arts, but she always struggled to get out of her shell. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University I’m glad I just put myself out there because it was really hard.” Taylor Valley, a political science doctoral student at Northeastern University, wrote, directed, edited and starred in “Pretty … If You Squint,” a nine episode web series. “I spent so much time stopping myself, and it’s just so liberating. “I’ve struggled with shyness, and I’m very lucky to be at a point where I feel like if I really want to do something, I should just do it,” Valley says. and more sketch comedy work, Valley has embraced the confident entertainer she has always had inside of herself. Her recent success––and willingness to put herself out there into the world––has changed that. But for most of her life, despite a long-abiding love for acting and filmmaking, she’s struggled with being “paralyzingly shy.” ![]() ![]() Valley, a political science doctoral student at Northeastern University, is nominated for best supporting actress in a comedy at the annual web content awards for “Pretty … If You Squint,” a sketch comedy web series she wrote, directed, edited and played every role in. The last place Taylor Valley expected to be was in the limelight, but when she walks the red carpet for the Indie Series Awards on April 12, that’s exactly where she’ll be.
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