You can’t contain Mary Kay LaBrie. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native grew up in an archetypal American home, in some respects, and the roots of her passions begin there. The Orlando, Florida resident has spent much of the last three plus years writing at a furious clip and, as well, parlaying her culinary loves into popular food blogging and even gainful employment. These seemingly disparate paths share common ground – LaBrie’s success depends on a keen understanding of human psychology.
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Labrie’s two decades plus of experience in staff development and leadership positions places her in an unique position to succeed. The former signals she has the necessary skills for working with like-minded creative teams while her leadership experience allows her to take a vanguard role in any project. It’s rare to find individuals capable of setting a tone for their cohorts while relishing the collaborative process.
Her culinary writing netted her a spot in 2019 with the online publication Menu Innovator, an increasingly popular stop for chefs. The bulk of her writing, especially during the pandemic, has been focused on developing future projects for television and film. Her recent run began with penning mystery/comedy series The Monongahela Mysteries and she followed that with two holiday inspired screenplays and three romantic comedies.
LaBrie’s developmental deal with producer Jessica Russell, a creative force behind WiseGirls and Boys Klub, shows Hollywood’s powers that be are noticing her more than ever. Talent is an important part of the equation, but far from the only one. Her discipline is attractive. Whether you are writing high tragedy or screwball comedy doesn’t matter when it comes to needing the requisite creative energy to sit in front of a screen trying to stay fresh, smart, and funny every day. Mary Kay LaBrie has that energy and there’s no hint of it dimming.
Her food blogging will, undoubtedly, increase her public profile. It’s a big ticket in entertainment unlike ever before.
Once a staple of only a few wealthy nations, cuisine as recreation or play is a staple of the global diet. Her comedic talents enhance her potential appeal in the food blogging world as she brings a tremendous amount of personality to bear on any project she’s involved in. The parallel lines she’s running along, screenwriting and food blogging, are uniquely positioned to feed off one another’s success.
This sort of multi-faceted approach to building a career will be more and more important in coming years. Creative people with the talent for excelling in more than a single area will enjoy greater commercial and critical success in an increasingly fragmented musical landscape. Moreover, the serio-comic elements present in her writing are another strength. Audiences generally do not want to watch dire dramas no matter how true to life, particularly after two years of a global pandemic, but outright farce quickly wearies audiences as well. LaBrie’s work, instead, aspires to and achieves the ever-elusive goal of balance. She’s meeting the world with a fully formed presentation. The personal touch present in her work gives her work a sparkle lacking in others and makes her pending projects must-see reading and viewing. It’s always nice
Garth Thomas