Channeling Cool: Alexandra Wyman '09

For Alexandra Wyman ’09, staying cool and collected is all in a day’s work. In fact, when guests of The Martha Stewart Show recall interacting with the production assistant, Wyman’s composure under pressure gets mentioned time and again.

“The recurring theme is, ‘I was so nervous, and you just calmed me right down,” Wyman says of e-mails she collects from past guests such as Lynda Resnick, the entrepreneur behind POM Wonderful, Fiji Water and Teleflora, among other notable brands. “They’re always impressed by how calm my team and I can be in what seems like this world of chaos.”

Interacting with guests who have included gardening expert Anna Pavord and interior designer Bunny Williams is part of what Wyman loves most about her job. But she does much more. In her two years with The Martha Stewart Show, the alumna has produced segments on topics such as decorating and business. While many production assistants get stuck with mostly logistical tasks, Wyman has taken on creative duties like pitching segments and writing scripts.

A typical day of show taping starts around 7:30 a.m. Wyman is off and running: greeting guests, giving pep talks, helping guide rehearsals, providing feedback, and taking notes that will translate into script changes. During recording, she holds up cue cards so Stewart and her guests know the time remaining and which discussion points they should address. 

“It can be a very high-stress environment,” she says of the show, which airs daily on Hallmark Channel.  “But that’s part of the excitement.”

With majors in Information Design and Corporate Communications (IDCC) and Liberal Studies, Wyman got her entrée into the television business as a Bentley senior, through a chance encounter. She met a Martha Stewart employee on the street outside her parents’ home in New York City, and asked for the woman’s contact information. A subsequent meeting over coffee led to an internship with the show, which eventually became a full-time gig.

Wyman credits IDCC and media arts courses with helping to hone the creative and practical skills she needs to excel. In January, she showed about two dozen Bentley students how they might follow in her footsteps. She helped arranged a visit where students watched a rehearsal and learned about the television industry, from production to public relations.

“They got to learn a little about the different options out there when they graduate,” Wyman says. “And I got to give back to my school, which is nice, because Bentley gave a lot to me.”