Culture & Entertainment Notebook: Southeast student shifts into career sparked by Discovery

Memphis, Tennessee, native Heather Leslie started her education at Southeast Missouri State University solely as a theater major looking for acting opportunities. That soon shifted as Leslie was steered to being production assistant working 16-hour days for Discovery Channel's "Street Outlaws: Memphis" and "Street Outlaws: No Prep Kings."

After being on multiple TV sets, "the people with the walkie talkies" sparked her interest, Leslie said. That led to her double major in TV and film, while at the same time learning the basics from professor Fred Jones in the TV and film department at Southeast.

"One of my good friends on Facebook posted saying that they needed last-minute help on set and if anyone could help out," Leslie said. "I was like, 'Oh, I'm learning about that right now.'"

She showed up to auditions the first day, Leslie said, and kept getting called back.

Leslie was chosen, she said, because of her "very positive attitude," which goes a long way on set.

Heather Leslie at Thunder Valley Raceway in Bristol, Tennessee.Submitted photo

"Street Outlaws: Memphis" filmed late March through early July, Leslie said, and "Street Outlaws: No Prep Kings" filmed late August to early November. "Street Outlaws: Memphis" focused on drag racing, along with its sister show, "No Prep Kings" -- the one that took Leslie coast-to-coast.

Discovery Channel was one of her first hands-on and fast-paced jobs, she said.

"Get in, learn it fast, and do it well," she said. "There wasn't really time to adjust. ... That was about two-and-a-half months of on the road constantly," she said. "We were in New York, Chicago, Arizona, Denver, Texas, North Carolina, Ohio -- all over the place."

Leslie acted as the release production assistant, handling the media and legal releases so people could be filmed within crowd scenes, avoiding having to blur out any faces, she said.

"Because that makes a difference when watching TV, because you notice that," Leslie said.

Heather Leslie "beating the heat" in Tucson, Arizona.Submitted photo

It's different for every show, Leslie said, but the basics of her job were still the same. She labeled herself as doing all the "gopher work" for production, which included picking up food or gear for crew.

Anything the production might need, that's what Leslie did -- including lots of paperwork.

"I would be the liaison between production and the people we would be interviewing," she said. "And we were drag racing, too, so we had to make sure our drivers and their crew and people with them understood the risks and liabilities," she said.

Cars are fast and sometimes people crash, Leslie said.

"We want to make sure the production isn't liable; we're just filming it," she said.

"Street Outlaws" also is the No. 1 show on Discovery Channel right now, she said, adding she's had some amazing experiences.

"When it comes to me and doing paperwork, I am very thorough," she said. "I always make sure I have everyone's paperwork before they start racing, just in case something like that does happen. There were a few crashes and wrecks, but no one was seriously injured."

By early November after filming, Leslie was able to take a week off before looking for some more jobs, she said. Then almost instantly, she got a job working with Lifetime Network on a show filming in Memphis before the TV industry's Christmas break.

And right before Christmas, Leslie acquired a three-day job on an Investigation Discovery show, where she and the rest of the crew followed an "incredibly fascinating" murder investigation.

She also has worked with Super Bowl commercials and a Hallmark movie that debuted last summer, which was No. 1 for the Christmas Season, "Christmas at Graceland," she said.

Leslie's ultimate career goal, as of Thursday and is subject to change, she said, is to be a unit production manager or a line producer.

"I really enjoy the management side of the TV and film industry," she said. "I want to be a person, or on the team of people, that have the solution to the problem before it's a problem."

jhartwig@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3632

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