Student from the Southeast transitions into professional life…

A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Heather Leslie began her education at Southeast Missouri State University solely as a theater student in search of acting opportunities. That soon changed when Leslie was hired as a production assistant for 16-hour days on Discovery Channel’s “Street Outlaws: Memphis” and “Street Outlaws: No Prep Kings.”

After appearing on several televisions, “the people with the walkie-talkies” piqued her interest, Leslie said. That led to her double major in television and film while also learning the ropes from Professor Fred Jones in the television and film department at Southeast.

“One of my good friends posted on Facebook that he needed some last-minute help on set and if anyone could help,” Leslie said. “I thought, ‘Oh, I’m just learning this.'”

She showed up for the audition on the first day, Leslie said, and kept getting called back.

Leslie was chosen because of her “very positive attitude,” which makes a difference on set, she said.

“Street Outlaws: Memphis” was filmed in late March to early July, Leslie said, and “Street Outlaws: No Prep Kings” was filmed in late August to early November. “Street Outlaws: Memphis” focused on drag racing, as did its sister show “No Prep Kings,” which took Leslie from coast to coast.

Discovery Channel was one of her first hands-on, fast-paced jobs, she said.

“Get in, learn it quickly and do it well,” she said. “There wasn’t really time to adjust. … It was about two and a half months of constant travel,” she said. “We were in New York, Chicago, Arizona, Denver, Texas, North Carolina, Ohio – everywhere.”

Leslie served as a production assistant for the release, handling media and legal releases so people could be filmed in crowd scenes without having to blur out faces, she said.

“Because it makes a difference in television because you can tell,” Leslie said.

Heather Leslie “fights the heat” in Tucson, Arizona.Submitted photo

It’s different on every show, Leslie said, but the fundamentals of her job are still the same. She referred to herself as the one who did all of the “gopher work” for the production, including sourcing food or equipment for the crew.

Everything the production needed, Leslie did – including a lot of paperwork.

“I would be the liaison between production and the people we would be interviewing,” she said. “And we were also drag racing, so we had to make sure our drivers and their crew and the people accompanying them understood the risks and liabilities,” she said.

“Cars go fast and sometimes people crash,” Leslie said.

“We want to ensure that production is not held liable; We’re just filming,” she said.