Peg Board

communicator, which I admired, and it’s
what I have to be every day in this job.”
Bob got the hang of network entertainment
and he’s been working at CBS
ever since, rising to senior vice-president
of CBS Media Group and helping
CBS dominate network ratings for 13 of
the past 14 years with shows like The
Big Bang Theory, NCIS, The Grammy
Awards, and Survivor.
This time, he totally stuck the landing.
—Sam Harper
Emma Berley ’05
The Right Makeup
Emma Berley ’05 describes her high
school persona as “angsty and kind of
checked out.” Coming to Darrow from
Dobbs Ferry, New York, as a sophomore,
she left to return to public school,
then decided to return to the Mountainside.
Although she was happy to be
back, her downfall was frequent tardiness,
which often resulted in detention.
“My parents didn’t know what to
do with me,” she remembers. “They
thought Darrow would be a better
environment for me. It was strange at
first because it was so small, I felt like I
was under a microscope; but it taught
me about discipline and accountability
for my actions.”
Where she really discovered a
pas sion was in art class with teacher
Brooke Bull, who encouraged and
inspired Emma to go to art school. She
also enjoyed working with the Darrow
Theater Workshop. “Art and theater
were things that made me excited
about school.”
“(Darrow) taught me about
discipline and accountability
for my actions.”
—Emma Berley ’05
Emma Berley ’05 does makeup for Late Night host Seth Meyers.
After a year at community college,
she was accepted at several art schools
but wanted to pursue another passion
she cultivated at Darrow: makeup. “I was
always doing makeup for people,” she
remembers. “I loved darkroom photography
and loved doing makeup and
costumes for the photos we were doing.”
Encouraged by her older sister who
is a makeup artist, Emma attended the
Make-up Designory in Manhattan, an intensive
five-month program in makeup
artistry. Her very first job as a makeup
artist came one summer for Fox News,
filling in for her sister who worked for
a Fox production company.
“It was my first job, I’m 22 years old,
and I’m doing makeup for Bob Costas
and Tucker Carlson,” she said. “It was so
cool; in a way I felt like I hit the jackpot.
My sister said, ‘All you have to do is
make sure they’re not shiny and that
their hair looks good.’”
Following up her Fox News gig, she
worked on several low-budget student
films for New York University students,
who were able to refer her to more
work once they moved into the field.
She now works freelance, largely on
commercials, some films, and for Internet
content sites like College Humor
and Funny or Die.
“The Internet work is very professional
and is treated the same way as a
movie or television set,” she said.
The downside to the business,
Emma said, is the gaps between jobs.
“Right now I’m in between bookings
and it’s quiet, but two weeks ago, I was
working every single day for 10 days
straight. During the downtime, to keep
myself busy, I like to paint with acrylics,
something else I learned to love at
Darrow.”
She’s is considering a move to Nashville
because of the strong glamour
industry in the country music capital.
She also recently came out with her
own stationery line, available through
her Etsy shop (starletta andclem@Etsy),
and has her own makeup artist website
at www. emmaberley.com.
“Darrow definitely encouraged me
to become an artist,” Emma said, “while
also becoming a more disciplined and
responsible person.”
—Steve Ricci
DARROW SCHOOL 25