When Tara Sickmeier graduated from Cal State Long Beach (CSULB) with a degree in Film & Electronic Arts, little did she know that she would eventually harken back to her initial major of theatre—and face the biggest theatre audience in the world: the one along the Great White Way. Well, slightly off-the Great White Way by way of producing the already–buzzing Heathers: The Musical—Ben Brantley even liked it—based upon the 1989 cult film favorite which turned Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, and Shannon Dougherty into stars.
Heathers is her big adventure. In fact, Sickmeier’s perpetual need for adventure—or what some of the furrowed-brows out there might describe as indecision—led her to success.
Having graduated in 2007, Sickmeier went to Hollywood to pursue acting, ending up on a handful of commercial TV spots and soap operas—and then switched. As in 180-switched to the behind-the-camera endeavor that is marketing for TV and film clients for an advertising agency.
“They transferred me—that’s how I ended up in New York City,” Sickmeier said. “But going from the creative side to the marketing side made me miss the creativity of acting. I was never fully satisfied in marketing because it was too much business and not enough creativity. But then being an actor was too creative.”
Thus, her newly-developed Act I as producer was born, one which she describes as the perfect balance between business-savvy oversight and off-the-cuff imagination. And even better: offers the combined power of her own talent and her fiancé, Rob.
“We just decided to start our own production company, Hipzee, that focuses on stories—we’re storytellers, with both our brand and our productions,” Sickmeier said. “He had a creative beginning where he was a writer and then got his MBA, doing finance for theatre. We have this perfect combination of talents.”
Heathers, which premiered off-Broadway on March 31, marks their first stage adventure—impressive considering the musical garnered two Drama Desk nominations, including one for Best Score. The “House of RENT“ New World Stage production (which had a 2 week run in Los Angeles at the Hudson) fits the type of stories Sickmeier says Hipzee is specifically interested in: stories which are “proactively nostalgic.”
“We want stories that are kind of edgy but have a familiar quality,” said Sickmeier. “Heathers was exactly that… But future stories, well, that is the precise quality we will be looking for.”
Their hybrid approach to media—producing, financing, and marketing—is already garnering a busy future for the pair. They are optioning musicals, doing an R.L. Stine-like TV show (remember Goosebumps?) called Spooksville, creating claymation shorts, and about to make a film about a phone app that comes alive to take photographs of their genitals to determine whether the person has an STD or not so one can engage safely with the person sexually. Yes, Sickmeier wants you to laugh.
Even more, she wants artists and creatives to know that there is no single option that guarantees success.
“Going to school opens you up—no doubt,” Sickmeier said. “School got me my opportunities. More than anything, just go with your gut. That is one most people just can’t argue with.”
For tickets to Heathers, click here.
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