Brittany Cope graduated from Otterbein University with a BFA in Acting and a minor in Dance but pursued a career in television development instead of acting. She worked her way up from a casting assistant to her current role as Coordinator of Comedy Development at Disney/ABC Television Group. In her job, she helps develop new comedy shows from initial pitches to their premier on TV. Cope's training and experience as an acting major prepared her well to relate to actors, writers, and directors. While she enjoys her current work, she hopes to eventually work at a smaller production company and explore development for digital outlets.

1. Acting Alumna Pursues Career in Television Development
By Eva Zielinski '15
Brittany Cope ’08, graduated from Otterbein University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting and a minor
in Dance. Rather than heading to Hollywood to pursue an acting career, Cope, after two years of working
as a casting assistant, discovered her true passion for working in television development.
Cope landed a job assisting an executive director at DreamWorks Television in 2011. After a year in the
position, she knew she wanted to focus more closely on comedy programming, and took a job as the
assistant to the vice president of international and domestic comedy development at the Disney/ABC
Television Group. Within a year, Cope was promoted to her current position as Coordinator of Comedy
Development.
“My job is rarely the same from week to week,” Cope said of her work responsibilities. “I help develop the
new comedy shows you see on ABC from the moment a writer comes into our offices to pitch a new idea
for a show, to the moment they premier on TV a year later. I prepare presentations, keep extensive
records, read hundreds of scripts, give notes on scripts and cuts, and help all of the
departments involved in the creation of a show stay in contact with one another. I am also constantly
going to comedy shows around town and meeting with new writers and directors to try to find new talent
for our programming.”
Cope has been involved in the creation of many movies and TV shows over the past six years,
including How To Train Your Dragon, Kung Fu Panda 2, Lincoln, The Help, Falling Skies, Smash, Trophy
Wife, The Goldbergs, Black-ish, andSelfie.
While at Otterbein, Cope completed an internship, as part of the theatre department requirements, with
Universal Feature Film Casting and Color Force, which is the feature-film development company of The
Hunger Games.
Cope said that being an acting major in such a strong theatre department prepared her well for her job.
“It might seem like what I do now has nothing to do with the training I received to be an actor, but it's
actually given me great insight into the creative process and makes it easier for me to relate to the actors,
writers, and directors I deal with every day,” she said.
“I love working in television and plan on continuingto work in comedy development. I hope to end up
working at a smaller production company eventually, but working at a broadcast network is where I need
to be for now to learn as much as possible about who I will hopefully be selling ideas to in the future as a
producer. I would also like to start to explore development for digital outlets in the future.”
When asked if she had any advice for graduating seniors, Cope said, “Be honest with yourself about what
you're willing to work your hardest for. Going after a career that you think will pay the most or sound the
most impressive is setting yourself up for failure. You have to truly be passionate in order to grow in any
field or you will burn out before you reach your goals.”