Alum Spotlight: Breaking In with Sydney Baloue
Sydney Baloue (he/him/his/gurl!) is a writer, producer, director, dancer, archivist and journalist. He was Co-Executive Producer on HBOMax’s LEGENDARY Seasons 1 and 2. In 2022, he was the first Black trans man in the Writers Guild of America after working as a staff writer in scripted TV on THE VANISHING HALF (HBO) and TOM SWIFT (CW). Sydney is an author of a history-memoir tentatively entitled, Undeniable: A History of Voguing, Ballroom And How it Changed My Life (And the World).
Sydney’s accolades include being the recipient of the Martin Duberman Award at the New York Public Library in 2022-23 and being listed on Condé Nast’s Now List 2020 on THEM. He also was a 2020 Artist in Residency at The Laundromat Project and a 2020 Sokoloff Arts Fellow. He is currently a 2026 Winner of the Scholarship in Memory of George Ophelia from the Unicorn Authors Club.
How He Landed His First Opportunity
"The first show I worked on after Script Anatomy was The Vanishing Half on HBO. The show didn’t get the green light in the end, but I learned a lot while in that writer’s room. I landed this show because I had my first pilot ready to go as a sample and it was the project I worked on in Script Anatomy’s Televisionary course. I had connected with a TV writer on Twitter, who was Black and transmasculine like me, my dear friend and peer mentor, Van Ward. We had a Zoom coffee to talk shop as I was still trying to break in and was looking for advice and then months later, they texted me to tell me that there was a new show that was looking for Black transmasculine writers as there was a character with that profile on a new TV show. I told my reps at the time to look into this lead and they got me the meeting with the showrunners. I quickly read the book that the show was based on, wowed the showrunners in the meeting and had a proper sample to show them that I knew how to write.
This process showed me that success is where preparation meets opportunity. I was glad that I had a sample ready to go that demonstrated my voice and showed that I knew how to write for television. It also showed me that you can’t really rely on your reps to get you gigs. I have found way more success through my natural inclination to get to know people in a genuine way (like reaching out to Van randomly on Twitter for a Zoom coffee). I’m a natural networker. Many of my opportunities have come through pure curiosity and openness to getting to know others."
The Turning Point
"I knew I was a working writer this year when I had to take on odd jobs in-between writing gigs. I was very lucky in that I worked on three shows back to back when I first broke into the business before the WGA Strike. It was only afterwards when I realized that I needed to keep up with my craft and find creative ways to stay afloat. Through all of this I realized that yes, having to hustle to make a living when you’re not on a show is actually part of the work of being a working writer. It’s truly a long game."
A Game-Changing Piece of Advice
"Reps are helpful, but they’re not everything. You’re still going to have to do the legwork of finding work for yourself and this comes from genuine connection with others. In the past, I found my reps to be more like bloodhounds. If I gave them a specific task, they were super efficient in getting it for me. But, when it came to my actual career, I found that my personal sleuthing and information gathering was way more effective for actually getting booked on TV shows than the general meetings they got me. Ultimately, you’re the driver of your own career. The reps just give you an air of credibility to showrunners and executives if you’re new and they can be helpful in making the connection for getting into writers rooms. It’s important that you’re also looking for the opportunities that you want and that means networking in the style and fashion that makes sense to you."
What Made a Difference
"Script Anatomy is phenomenal for structure! I was amazed to learn that a lot of writers, who work on streamers don’t know how to do the basics of Act 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and occasionally 6. Knowing where to put act breaks and how to move scenes along was also something fundamental that I noticed a lot of “big ideas” people lacked in certain rooms. I always felt so well-equipped in every room I walked into after doing Script Anatomy because I knew the fundamentals of how TV works."
Daily Habits
"I keep a journal and do morning pages. My writing mentor, Chloe Castellon, first told me when I was breaking in that, “writers write every day” and regardless of whether I’m working on a new script or not, I’m always working on my craft by working through my own ideas. A journal helps me hone my voice and it makes writing second nature to me."
Pushing Through Resistance
"I do ten minutes a day if I struggle to get started on something. Even if it’s just me staring at a screen for 10 minutes, (which it never is), dedicating the time signals to my brain that I’m putting in the work and this gets me going. I also use a TomatoTimer regularly because I believe measuring time input is better than judging myself by page output. I might struggle to start, but once I’m going, the pages come pouring out."
What Inspires Him
"Killing Eve was one of my best teachers. When I was applying for the network diversity fellowships years ago, I wrote a spec based on this show. The pilot available online is an early draft that Phoebe Waller-Bridge wrote and didn’t line up with the final cut, so I meticulously watched the show, starting and stopping it and I boarded the entire thing. This helped me see the beauty and flow of how the show worked so seamlessly. Specs are a great way to learn quickly!"
📍Connect with Sydney: @sydneybaloue on Instagram and TikTok
www.sydneybaloue.com
Sydney shows us that building a career is about initiative, community, and staying ready!
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