Building a pergola from scratch while cameras follow your every hammer and nail? For Kayleen McCabe, that’s reality TV.
McCabe never aspired to be a celebrity or to be on camera at all, for that matter. Always skilled at handiwork, she had worked as an occasional gun-for-hire handywoman for almost a decade when she caught wind in 2009 of Stud Finder, DIY Network’s search for a new series host. Even after becoming the lone female among five finalists, she figured an appearance on NBC’s Today (in which she showed Hoda Kotb and Piers Morgan how to screw into hardwood without a pilot hole) would probably mark the height of her proverbial 15 minutes – she was wrong.
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With her DIY series, Rescue Renovation, headed into its fifth season, the former contractor spoke with us about lessons learned so far and why she owes everything to… a table.
How does a contractor land a hosting gig on DIY Network?
In 2006, I had just come home to Denver after a few years in Philadelphia, where I’d worked on some industrial films, a local dating show, and home design shows mainly as a production assistant and associate producer. I was getting on my feet again, not sure exactly how I’d make a living, when a friend of mine told me about a co-worker looking for help flipping a house. He ended up hiring me as, essentially, the foreman just based on the fact that he knew I was handy. That led to word-of-mouth gigs helping with additions and renovations for a few other friends of friends.
A momentum really started to build, with both the amount of work coming my way and my own enthusiasm. I had lent a hand on renovation projects before more informally, but this time I realized I was waking up earlier and earlier each day and was just legitimately excited to get to work. So, I started taking steps toward getting my contractors’ license.
It was around this time that I heard about Stud Finder. The winner of the show would receive their own home renovation show on the network. On a complete lark, I shot a submission video. In it, I planed rough-cut lumber, which is when you take off a dimension at a time and make it smooth, and turned it into a table. Another friend edited my video into something coherent and I sent it in. I still have the finished table in my bedroom. It’s crazy to think that table landed me a TV series!
| “The fact that DIY isn’t the highest-profile lifestyle network bought me the window for a learning curve.” |
Did the fact that there are relatively few female contractors ever deter you from pursuing contracting as a career? Why or why not?
Not at all. My grandfather was ridiculously handy. He built a working pipe organ that ran on a vacuum cleaner’s suction, and a train that we kids could ride around yard. He let me play with the tools in his garage and, at least from my standpoint, taught me the same things he would have taught a grandson. There was no air of, “You’re a girl, so you don’t need to know this stuff.”
My dad always tells a story of coming to pick me up at my grandparents’ house when I was five or six, walking into the garage, and seeing me behind a band saw. His impulse to get me away from it was replaced with the thought of, “Well, my dad raised five handy kids, and we all have our fingers!”
What training or qualifications do you have? How relevant were they to your success on Stud Finder?
At the point that I applied to Stud Finder, I didn’t have any formal training beyond what I’d grown up doing, what I’d picked up on a few construction sites I’d visited, and what I’d learned through helping people with projects. Honestly, I think my success on Stud Finder had as much to do with my understanding of production as it did with my basic know-how. I’d only worked on a few TV projects, but it was enough to give me an idea of what it takes to create television.
On that note, we met when you were in Philadelphia working in production. Which skills from those gigs proved helpful in your transition to on-camera work?
I knew going into Stud Finder that a show host needs to be able to talk in 30-second bytes. I knew there’d be a lot of “hurry up and wait” moments on set. I knew I’d have to be consistently energetic whenever it was time to roll, whether I was feeling energetic or not. So, it wasn’t so much skills picked up from my production work that helped me, because I’d never appeared on camera, as much as the ability to anticipate what was coming my way. I didn’t have any delusions of sitting pretty in a director’s chair. I knew that shows generally operate with much smaller budgets than viewers realize. On my first day of Stud Finder, I packed my lunch, because I wasn’t even sure we’d have Craft Services! I was so excited when we did; that’s how far I’d gone in removing any delusions of grandeur.
DIY Network isn’t as well known as other lifestyle networks like HGTV. How has that affected what you can do on your show?
Looking back on the early episodes of Rescue Renovation, I can tell I’m not relaxed. I’m awkward! I really don’t know if I would have made it on a larger network. The fact that DIY isn’t the highest-profile lifestyle network bought me the window for a learning curve.
| “Honestly, I think my success on Stud Finder had as much to do with my understanding of production as it did with my basic know-how.” |
What do you think would surprise aspiring television hosts about the realities of hosting a series?
That it takes an army to do it and that it’s anything but a one-man show. We have a crew of 20 or so people, not including the camera and audio crew, and everything from logistics to permits to design takes a ton of manpower and preparation. I feel guilty all the time over the fact that I get to be the face of something that requires so much sweat equity and time and energy from other people. I would give them big hugs every day, but I think it’s against the PDA rules, so I just bake for them instead.
Even knowing what I knew, though, I went home at night and cried after each shoot day during the first few episodes. Putting myself out there, learning to articulate the process while working – it was incredibly draining. Things began to click for me around the fifth episode. I knew I was over the hurdle because I wasn’t as tired at night. And wasn’t crying!
What’s next for you professionally?
I want to do so much. I would love to be sponsored by a tool company, because I legitimately love tools and tool culture. I want to branch out into branding. I want to teach people. I want kids who loved Bob the Builder as toddlers to grow up and pick up the trades. Between school and after-school activities and sports, so few young people learn welding and carpentry, and that depresses me. There’s such talent and artistry behind these skills that have been stigmatized as blue collar. It’s becoming a lost art.
Kayleen McCabe’s tips for breaking into lifestyle television:
1. Be yourself. I know it’s clichéd and sounds super lame, but it really is true. Being on-camera is draining enough when you are being yourself; I can’t imagine trying to maintain energy and consistency being something other than me.
2. Adopt a “mail room to CEO mindset.” With few exceptions, people who’ve achieved their professional goals have worked grunt work in the past. Do whatever it takes to get yourself into the fold, and if you’re eyeing up a career as talent, don’t expect to become talent without first dabbling in other aspects of production.
3. Research production companies. Familiarizing yourself with networks is important, but most networks farm out their shows to production companies. Many unscripted series originate at the production company level, so that’s as good a place to start making connections as the networks themselves.
4. Don’t get too settled down. Live like a college student for as long as possible. It will free up your money and will give you autonomy for when the right offer comes down the pike.
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