#117: Pierson Blaetz & Whitney Weston - How Broke Actors Created LA’s Most Famous Market: The Melrose Trading Post
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Episode Description
It began with a simple catering gig. Pierson Blaetz and Whitney Weston were struggling actors bouncing from job to job in Los Angeles when they stumbled upon each other and found that they were both looking for the same thing- a meaningful community. At first, they worked together on improv shows and original works, fundraising door to door for production fees and donating their performance proceeds to nonprofit organizations. However, the pair soon saw an urgent need for funding at their local Fairfax High School and came to the administration with the idea to host a marketplace in their parking lot. Though they struggled at first with reaching the school and building a trusting relationship with the surrounding neighborhood, eventually Pierson and Whitney opened the market to great success, marking this as the opening of the now-famous Melrose Trading Post. Listen in to hear how they expanded the market from a one-off event to a quintessentially LA cultural hotspot and eventually made their own space for creatives through the Greenway Arts Alliance. From setting up lemonade stands on the block to building a brand new theater out of an abandoned building, these two thespians know what it takes to put on a good show.
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