After over two months, the Writers Guild of America has decided to end its strike. When Hollywood Director Caroline Stephenson first heard about the strike, she knew productions would shut down, and she would have to pivot.

“You want to stand with people, I knew that when they went on strike that I would not be working. And again, it's just one of those parts of the business that you have to deal with,” Stephenson said.

What You Need To Know

  • Hollywoood writers reached temporary agreement with studios last week

  • Murfreesboro native Caroline Stephenson has worked in the film industry for 30 years

  • Stephenson has a nonprofit helping give back to Hertford County youth during the strike

  • Her production of "The Addams Family," with kids in Ahoskie, debuts in November

The Murfreesboro native moved back to Hertford County from California several years ago. She made her career directing projects like "The Fantastic Four," "Empire" and the "Jack Ryan" series. 

“I was here in Hertford County, which is where I live, and I just said, 'well, let's see how long this will last. But in the meantime, I'm going to keep busy with the nonprofit that I run,'" she said.

She founded her nonprofit called The Cultivator back in 2016 to give back to the community that helped foster her love of film and creative arts.

The organization focuses on helping with food insecurity, and literacy in Hertford County. Stephenson says with limited activities for youth in the area, she thought doing community theater would be a great way to inspire kids and help with literacy. 

Over the summer, the students did a production of the "Wizard of Oz" and their fall production is "The Addams Family."

“Theater is literacy in action. Theater really checks a lot of boxes, especially for kids who may not have other positive outlets in the community. Growing up here and then living here as an adult, living here as a parent who was raising children, you know, you see there's a lot of inequity. A lot of it is very historic inequity. You know, things that have not really been rectified from a long time ago,” said Stephenson.

The mayor of Ahoskie, Weyling White Jr., is also a supporter of her work in the community, and Hertford County schools has partnered with her to help make each theater production possible.

“Retaining our talented youth and encouraging to come back and build up our community because it's tough for us to do without expertise of our youth. Because they're smart kids," White said. "We just want to be able to give them a platform and opportunity to thrive here and beyond as well."

With a new deal for the writers and one for actors in the works, Stephenson says things are moving in the right direction, but a lot still needs to change about the industry.

“AI affects so many aspects of our life that we don't even really realize it fully. So I think going forward that those that needs to be addressed, you know, so that people don't lose work because of that, and that people are compensated for the work that they're doing,” Stephenson said. 

Stephenson’s production of the Addams family will debut in November in Ahoskie, North Carolina, and she hopes to continue to inspire local youth to follow their passions. For more information about the cultivator and Caroline’s projects, click here.