Director Claire Ayoub Is a Piece of Work

Claire Ayoub, the acclaimed writer and director of Empire Waist that made being alternative cool. Much like a character from her film, Ayoub is jovial and larger- than-life, brings her exuberance off screen Her current mission is simple: to unearth nascent talent and inspire future film stars.

Ayoub’s movie with a message

Empire Waist placed Ayoub on a highly coveted map in the entertainment industry. The feature film dramedy won Best FutureWave Feature (Youth Jury Vote) at the Seattle International Film Festival, Best Social Impact and Best Empowerment Film at Sedona International Film Festival, and Best Feature at Coney Island Film Festival.

The film’s message is pertinent to young people navigating the pressure of social media and unrealistic beauty standards. The story follows Lenore Miller, a plus-sized teen with a talent for fashion, as she journeys toward self-worth alongside her friends, family and educators.

In his review for film-authority.com, Eddie Harrison described Empire Waist as a relevant coming-of-age drama, noting that it delivers a “winning, yet thoughtful story of dressing for success” in a way few other films do.

Ayoub co-created a free educational curriculum on body image and self-confidence in collaboration with health and child psychology experts. The Empire Waist Confidence Curriculum includes seven videos and 15 activities designed to help individuals of all ages navigate and process their personal struggles in these areas.

True to life

Her own coming-of-age story happened in the halls of the New Canaan, CT, Public Schools. Ayoub draws on such experiences in a moving way. “My New Canaan upbringing and community shaped my career, as well as the ‘why’ behind my creative writing classes.” Academic and creative opportunities were plentiful. “From directing my first one-act play at 14 to running an anti-bullying program through New Canaan CARES to stage managing musicals,
I was always encouraged to take on responsibility and give back to my community. It’s one of the major reasons why I’m so often on my soapbox about the impact of a well-funded public school and arts programs whenever I travel the country or world speaking about my film.” Ayoub discovered that being a 14-year old theater director humbled her. “You can’t look super cool and aloof when your mom still has to pick you up from rehearsal.”

Tony Pavia, former NCHS principal and one of Ayoub’s greatest educational mentors, advocated for both sports and arts programming to have equal funding. “That decision truly changed the game for me and so many of my peers,” she says. This gave her the confidence at 23 to pursue directing opportunities in New York’s comedy scene and make a web series despite her lack of experience. It also encouraged her to direct the type of film she would have wanted to see as a child.

Street cred

Teaching and mentoring has always been core to Ayoub’s creative work. In addition to screening Empire Waist, and speaking to audiences around the world, she has taught and guest-lectured at educational non-profits, colleges, and libraries. These include Girls Inc., LiveGirl, Wellesley College, New York Film Academy, The New School, FIT, Stony Brook University, Love Your Labels, the New Canaan Library, Westport Library and Danbury Library.

Ayoub began her freshman year at Wellesley College in 2007. After graduation, she embarked on her comedy career with Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls and the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in NYC. She is the founder of Try Anyway Productions, a New Canaan-based production company dedicated to telling stories that combine comedy, education and heart.

Empire Waist in the making

From 2019-2024, Ayoub worked full-time to make Empire Waist a reality. “After doing test readings of the script in 2019 and getting incredible feedback on an awesome industry website called The Black List, I knew I had a script that could really impact audiences for the better.” A layoff from the educational nonprofit where she worked forced her to make a decision: find another copywriting job and have financial

stability, or make a bet on herself and dream to make this ensemble high school fashion comedy film a reality. While she had been directing shows and short comedy sketches, it was never to the magnitude of a feature film. The gamble was personal. She knew the impact such a film would have had on her own childhood, and wanted to put such hope with a film about body image into the universe.

Leap of faith

With her parents’ blessing, she took the gamble and moved back in with them at 30. They were thrilled, partly because the package came with Ayoub’s dog Max. She began a five-year ultramarathon that included 17 live readings across the country, two screenwriting fellowships, having her plans sidelined by a pandemic, and then working with over 200 people on her cast and crew to make her dream film happen. “To say I learned a lot would be the understatement of the century. I felt like I lived ten different lives in those five years, but I stayed curious, pushed myself out of my comfort zone, and focused on creating a safe and supportive environment for my team to flourish.” She now mentors filmmakers, many of whom are taking the plunge to make their own feature films.

Coming home Part II

After the film’s release in 2024, Ayoub spent an additional year pounding the pavement to get the film, and its accompanying education curriculum, into as many communities across the US and worldwide. This involved Ayoub leaving her Brooklyn home and moving back in with her parents, at 35 this time. (Max joined the family so everyone was thrilled.) This past year, Ayoub has been collaborating with libraries, colleges, non-profits, and community organizations to screen her film. Through these efforts, she has worked to demystify the filmmaking process for both students and adults alike.

Ayoub’s madcap adventures led her to realize that there really is no place like home. “It turned out that New Canaan was actually the place for me to stay.” While Ayoub no longer lives with her parents, her own home is close by. Max and the rest of the family are thrilled.

Currently, she is earning her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is drawn to using humor to help kids (and adults) tackle challenging issues.

For more information on Claire Ayoub’s classes, please visit www.claireayoub.com/workshop.

To sign up for class alerts, subscribe for updates at www. tryanywayclasses.substack.com.