Alumna Turns Art Degree into Successful Career in Production

Although she didn’t know exactly what she wanted to do with her life, Lauren Olinger BA’17 knew one thing once she graduated from high school: she needed a change.

“I grew up in Houston, and I wanted to go somewhere else and expand my horizons,” Olinger said. “I had friends that went to UT Dallas, and that was a big drawing point for me.”

Olinger joined her friends as a freshman at UT Dallas in the fall of 2013 and originally decided to major in biology. But a realization helped her change course and become a student in the School of Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication (ATEC). 

“I grew up in and around the arts, and I knew I needed to do something in that realm,” Olinger said. “ATEC was a really unique program that I hadn’t seen at other schools.”

Olinger was a self-declared “theater kid” in high school, so it made sense for her to double major in arts and technology and arts and performance. She spent her undergraduate years working behind-the-scenes as a stage manager for local theater productions such as Shakespeare Dallas and the Junior Players Guild, roles that helped develop her experience in the technical world of the entertainment industry.

“That was really valuable to me,” Olinger said. “I was meeting a lot of people, and I knew that’s what I was going to pursue once I graduated.”

While stage management work helped fine-tune Olinger’s post-college plans, the sense of community ATEC provided contributed to the skills she developed while taking classes on lighting and animation.

“The environment at ATEC was really collaborative,” Olinger said. “Students would work in the labs late at night, trying to teach each other and troubleshoot problems we were having. That collaboration was a really great life skill to learn.”

In 2017, Olinger received her bachelor’s degree in 3D modeling and theatre. Shortly after graduating, she moved to Los Angeles and secured her first job at the AMDA College and Conservatory of the Performing Arts. Olinger worked there for two years before becoming a production assistant at Wild Canary Animation. Now, as a production coordinator for the company, Olinger helps run “Mira, Royal Detective,” a new animated series on Disney Junior.

“I oversee episode production from beginning to end, from pre-designs to post and delivery,” Olinger said. “I make sure our artists and directors are meeting production deadlines and essentially track each episode as it makes its way down the pipeline.” 

Inspired by Indian culture and customs, “Mira, Royal Detective” features the first South-Asian protagonist on a Disney Junior show. Mira, the main character, is given the role of royal detective by the queen in a fictional kingdom called Jalpur. The animated series debuted March 2020 and its second season premiered this past April.

“Our team really cares about creating a show that’s diverse to Disney Junior and making sure we’re representing the culture correctly,” Olinger said. “It feels so good to hear people who love the show, who say they feel seen and represented.”

Olinger credits her introduction classes in ATEC for helping her navigate a career in the entertainment industry and implementing the things she learned to become a more versatile production coordinator.

“All of that knowledge has really helped in a behind-the-scenes kind of way in being able to understand technical limitations or knowing why something turned out different than we originally pictured,” Olinger said. “The things I learned at UT Dallas were integral to my success.”