NYWIFT Blog

By Kate Dolan

Welcome to NYWIFT, Kyle Hrabe!

Kyle Hrabe is a Brooklyn-based creative currently writing for Scamfluencers from Wondery Podcasts. She has a background in scripted television writing, sketch comedy, and stand-up.

Before moving to New York, Kyle lived in Los Angeles where she was the executive assistant for writer-director couple Angela Robinson and Alexandra Martinez Kondracke. Kyle was also a fellow for Outfest Film Festival’s emerging filmmaker program OutSet.

She received her BFA in Writing for Screen and Television from USC where she showran the campus cooking show, DELISH, despite only eating a bag of chips for dinner every night.

Welcome to NYWIFT! Please introduce yourself briefly to our readers.

I’m Kyle, a writer who loves to laugh and collaborate. Despite a background in writing, I’ve also spent a lot of time producing and 1st AD-ing and generally helping people get their stuff made. I grew up in Arizona (my high school was next to a big empty desert), lived in Los Angeles for nine years (my apartment was next to a freeway), and moved to Brooklyn three years ago (my stoop is next to a bodega).

If we ever meet, I’ll probably ask you where I can get a good cup of coffee nearby. When I’m not reading or writing, I’m usually watching baseball or going to the farmer’s market with my fiancée.

What inspired you to become a writer? 

I attended a Montessori elementary school that encouraged kids to follow their interests. For me, that meant hand writing hundreds of pages of stories about me and my friends. Even if we were stuck inside on 107 degree days, on paper we could go on adventures in underground clubhouses or run wild with wolves through the forest. I spent all my free time at school writing and decided I never wanted to stop.

As a podcast writer, are there particular subjects where you feel your writing flourishes?

I’m the type of person who gets nosy about my friends’ Venmo transactions, so working for Scamfluencers – a podcast about conmen & women – has really encouraged my snooping habit. I’ve found secret Reddit accounts, juicy arrest records, and blog posts airing salacious dirty laundry. Even finding a little detail like a comment left on a Facebook page can make a huge difference in a story, and it always makes my day.

Is there a specific podcast series or episode that you’ve written that has been particularly rewarding or challenging? 

I knew very little about the automobile world when I started working for Donut Media. But the fun thing about writing for Past Gas is that it focuses less on the cars and more on the people behind the cars.

One of my favorite episodes I wrote for them delved into the history of the Mazda Miata – a beloved car with a history built on an international friendship and some serious engineering competition. I can’t tell you what kind of engine a Miata runs, but I can tell you how amazing it is that it exists in the first place.

In addition to being a writer, you are also an educator. Does your work as a science teacher intersect with your writing? If so, how?

I’m deeply curious about the world around me. As a teacher at a summer camp/afterschool program, I’m lucky enough to get some questions answered for myself that I never would have thought to ask — and I get to learn what the kids are curious about, too.

My writing and educating have remained separate for now. Though I have gained a LOT of material for an Abbott Elementary spec that I may or may not write one of these days…

You have a background as an executive assistant: What did you learn from that experience? Has it informed any of your present projects? 

My biggest takeaway from assistant life has been to get on the phone! There are so many problems that can be fixed by talking to a human being in real time instead of exchanging emails or text messages. That may seem like an admin answer, but it has creative implications. I feel more emboldened to call up friends and ask for their opinion on story issues or reach out to sources if I have a research question. Talking to people is always the answer.

Are there any projects you would like to work on in the future?

My writing niche for so long was pure fiction, but my non-fiction podcast work has gotten me interested in the “based on a true story” genre. I’ve read some AMAZING biographies lately about some badass ladies that would make for great biopics. 

Where can readers find out more about you and your work?

My online presence is amorphous, but I have a Spotify playlist that I update with my work as it comes out. You can find it here– happy listening!

(All images courtesy of Kyle Hrabe)