Wripple is partnering with Spool to connect agencies and brands with access to the exceptional talent of WGA Writers. What started as an opportunity to create work for the striking writers, has unveiled a longer-term opportunity in which the worlds of entertainment, film, and TV partners can collaborate with marketing in all capacities.

This month, we're excited to spotlight Cate Freedman, a talented writer-actor-comedian. With a decade immersed in Hollywood's creative landscape and a flair for creative consulting, she brings a wealth of experience to the world of marketing.

1. First, tell us a little bit about your background.  Where are you from and what kind of work do you do?  

Hi there, I’m Cate! I’m a born-and-raised Chicagoan who, as a writer-actor-comedian, has called Los Angeles home for the past decade.  

I also work as a creative consultant specializing in copywriting, ideation, and comedic punch-ups.

2. What do you love most about your work?

What I love most about my work is that it makes sense of my 20+ years of experience in comedy and the 100s of sketch and improv classes I made my mom pay for.

I also love that storytelling and comedy unite us, highlighting our shared human experiences. When we laugh at something in an audience or at home on our couch, we, in an instant, become creators of this beautiful common ground relating to one another – often in these instances we are relating to people who, on paper, we’d be sure we’d have nothing in common with. To me, comedy is the great uniter and the ultimate dynamic route to getting products and ideas out there in such a way that people will stop and take notice. Regardless of demographic, everyone speaks the language of a joke. It feels good to BE with people and to connect, especially now more than ever.

On a personal level, I’ll always have a fiery passion for comedic writing and acting because as a super shy kid who started taking sketch and improv classes at 13 years old, sketch and improv taught me how to be able to share my voice in a fun way I didn’t feel limited or intimidated by, while also showing me that I (and everyone) can belong, regardless of how weird the kids at school are telling you you are. As an adult, I still find that writing and acting remain the most effective ways to communicate all of my ideas, whether that be funneling an idea into a TV show pitch or writing up a :45 spot for a product.

3. What are the highlights of your career thus far?

Recent highlights that really take the cake for me are getting to work with Bobby Farrelly in a Farrelly Brothers movie coming out later this year and writing copy for a best-selling beauty product’s current campaign for a worldwide legacy company.

4. Clearly at this point in your career you’re facing a challenging period with the strike.  How are you managing through this time and what do you think is most important that others, perhaps not close to the industry, understand about why you’re striking?  

Like many unions fighting for workers today, being without work or without enough money to survive solely on a writer’s or actor’s salary is all-too familiar territory for us, even when there isn’t a strike going on. Especially for those of us still emerging. We’d really like to change that as the system in place here doesn’t feel right, doesn’t compute, and simply isn’t sustainable moving forward. Even for a writer-actor like me who hasn’t succeeded in math since honors algebra I can clearly see there’s a much more equitable way to cut the pie shared with the AMPTP.

As a lifelong fan of TV and film, I view the writers of my favorite shows and movies as angels whose hard work and hard thinking created the backbone to the stories and characters I love to watch for entertainment, inspiration, and, more often than not, for comfort. What’s better than binging your favorite show after a long day? Talking to people about that season finale you just CAN’T BELIEVE? Storytelling holds a very sacred place in our society. Not only do I want our stories to be kept human and not written by AI, but I also want to see the tellers be appropriately recognized and compensated. Plus, I feel like we’d only just begun relishing the incredible works of never before heard from voices – there are far too many stories still waiting to be told! And I want to hear them.

I’ve been managing through this time by continuing to write and continuing to Google ‘Bosch Legacy Season 2 release date’ because I just don’t know how much longer one can wait!!! It’s TOO GOOD!

5. What would you do if you weren’t a writer in the entertainment industry?

I’d be slinging undies at the mall or working in association management. Likely both. (I’ve held these jobs in the past and consistently call upon my experiences at both.)

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If you have any questions regarding the Spool/Wripple initiative or interest in working with WGA talent, please contact us at TalentTeam@wripple.com