Robbin Phillips - ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR (with Peter Bergman, Jack)

On The Job Since: 2002

Can you explain what an associate director does? “I basically help the director get the shots that he has in his script by working with the cameramen and the stage managers. I say I’m kind of an air traffic controller because I’m trying to make everything go smoothly. On my headset, I’m constantly talking to the cameramen and the stage manager and making sure the director is getting what he wants.”

How did you wind up in this line of work? “I didn’t go off to school for this; I was a Child Development major with a minor in Psychology. The year I graduated from college, I started working as a receptionist for the show WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW! and I stayed there for a couple of years until I was hired at Y&R. There was this new law where you had to show proof that you are a U.S. citizen, so I did all the paperwork for the extras that were hired. I stayed for 10 years and during that time I became a backup production associate, which got me into the Directors Guild. I went over to PORT CHARLES when it was starting and I was there for two years before going over to PASSIONS for three-and-a-half years. I then got a call from Y&R and I’ve been back here for almost 20 years as an AD.”