For Cameron Burrill ’22, what started as a fifth-grade obligation to his mother quickly became his biggest passion.
All it took was a role as the emperor in The Emperor’s New Clothes to convince Burrill that musical theater was for him. Growing up in California, he was surrounded by an active theater community that supported him as he explored his creative abilities.
“I became a true theater kid, and I couldn’t get enough of it,” says Burrill. “I fell in love with all of it—even watching movies and films from the 1940s and 1950s that were musical-based.”
During high school, he attended a nearby ballet school and took part in its summer program. When college rolled around, the teachers helped him through the process of applying to and auditioning for nearly 30 schools. He chose to attend the University of Hartford because of its career-ready focus, and he earned a BFA in musical theater.
During his junior year, Burrill’s plans seemed to be coming together as a performer. He had found an agent, landed a professional contract, and was planning to continue undergraduate work remotely. But then the pandemic hit, and theater seemingly disappeared, along with his performance opportunity.
“During my senior year, we still weren’t allowed to do main stage productions on campus, so we came up with our own solution,” he explains. “I convinced the school to give us the sum of money that would’ve been spent on the rights to a production so we could create a self-written, self-produced piece of work. I put together a budget, schedule, and milestones for deliverables, and that was my first introduction to producing.”
It was through this process he realized that he loves the art of coordination and planning just as much as he loves the art of performing. This revelation inspired him to consider graduate programs that could help him explore this newfound interest.
“When I read the description for the MS in Leadership for Creative Enterprises (MSLCE) program, there was no turning back,” says Burrill. “It was exactly what I wanted to do: build technical skills in the creative industry. I’m so happy I went this direction.”
He knew he would need a strong background in business to work on the production side of the creative industry. So, he was more than ready to learn hard skills like creating budgets, reading P&L statements, and setting up production schedules to deliver results.
He says the Entrepreneurship in Creative Industries course, taught by Adjunct Lecturers Jeff Smith and John Greene, was a highlight, especially since he appreciated any opportunity to do hands-on work. In this case, he and his team were charged with building a theme park based on Game of Thrones. They pursued the idea just like they would in the real world: establishing and working within a set budget, researching food vendors, and even setting up meetings with roller coaster design companies to discuss what it takes (and what it costs) to bring rides to life. He says the experience offered a great way to see the pieces involved with constructing something creative from the ground up.
“At that point, I was still hurting from the fact that I wasn’t going to be a performer,” explains Burrill, “but the experience really solidified that I love working within the bounds of reality and figuring out how to accurately budget and plan. This lets the people doing the truly creative work focus on what they need to.”
To get even more hands-on experience, Burrill also completed two internships: one at a talent agency, where he secured talent meetings and drafted contracts, and another at a content production studio, where he served as a production coordinator. (He still does freelance production work for the company today.)
These experiences helped him realize which direction he wanted his career to go: toward production. So, with his MSLCE in hand, he joined production company Hogarth. It handles commercial production for well-known brands like Coca-Cola, Nestlé, and Mondelēz.
Starting out as an experience associate, he took care of clients and sat in on weekly production meetings. After a year, his work shifted to include content creation. As a creator and production coordinator, he developed social content for brands while serving as a production coordinator.
Last year, he was promoted again and is now a fully funded producer at Hogarth, working on Coca-Cola’s traditional flavors.
“It’s been a wild ride and a massive breadth of work, and I love it,” he says. “I get to do everything from working with creatives who come up with extravagant, unbelievable ideas to working with accounts that only give us a certain amount of money. We’ve all got to come together to make it happen. MSLCE was amazing at emphasizing that creativity and practical skills are not opposing foes. They need to work in tandem.”
In this role, he says the practical knowledge he gained in the MSLCE program is more useful now than it’s ever been. For example, he uses corporate finance lessons from Adjunct Professor Cory Sandrock in Economics of Creative Enterprises every day. The ability to understand taxes and accounting often gives him an edge in his role.
And while he’s built a successful career, he isn’t the only one from his cohort who’s thriving. “It’s amazing to see where everyone has ended up. I have such a strong network of people in a variety of positions. I have friends who work for companies like Nickelodeon and Paramount, who are in high-level positions at nonprofits, and who lead film festivals. Building this amazing network is worth the price of admission alone.”
Between the skills he gained through MSLCE, the connections he made in his classes, and the experiences he’s gaining in his full-time role, Burrill is well on his way to becoming an executive provider. “My boss, who is also my mentor, handles an incredible amount of traffic while also being a great leader. My goal is to be a leader who’s just as respected and productive as she is.”
Building Bridges that Last
Cameron Burrill ’22 says the support he received from MSLCE professors and other students extends well beyond the classroom—and beyond graduation. Three years after receiving his degree, he still relies on the support system he built at Northwestern.
- Connections everywhere: On a recent trip to New York City, for example, Burrill was able to meet up with several people he knew from the MSLCE program. He now has connections in various industries across the country.
- A hive of resources: “If there’s something I need that I can’t find or remember, I can reach out to former classmates and ask them,” says Burrill. “ ‘Does anyone have that worksheet on speaking to a vendor properly? Can you send me a copy so I can prep for a meeting?’ ”
- A solid sounding board: He says his cohort gave him a solid sense of direction that helped shape his career path. As they worked together, they were able to identify their strengths, their weaknesses, and what they still needed to learn.
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