Andre du Broc
Editor for humor cards
Where are you originally from?
The Deep South – Louisiana.
What do you do at Hallmark?
I am an Editorial Director working mostly on cards with doohickeys (i.e. Cards with Sound, Light & Motion, etc.)
Where did you go to school?
I studied Theatre Performance and Music Composition at the Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University in St. Louis, Marymount Manhattan College’s Theatre Dept. and Louisiana State University, BFA (Bachelor of Fun Arts) in clowning from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College.
The three words that best describe you:
Astute, Clever, Cutup.
How does your job make you feel?
My work at Hallmark often makes me feel rewarded. Especially when I get a call from a family member who has seen a card in a store and they just knew that I had written it because it sounded like something I would say.
How does your own personality affect the cards you write?
I have a penchant for humor that borders on sardonic and so I enjoy writing for the Alternative Humor line and for Maxine. I often deal with bleak situations with humor. It’s pretty evident in some of the cards I’ve written or conceptualized.
What inspires you?
I draw a lot of strength from observing how people cope. At the end of the day, life is a struggle. How we deal with that struggle shapes us as friends, parents, sons and daughters, husbands and wives, etc… People ask me where I got my sense of humor. I tell them I grew up gay in an all-boys Catholic high school in Southern Louisiana and I didn’t know Karate. I dealt with my struggle with humor.
My creativity is due to:
A basic human instinct. I believe all humans are naturally creative. I think people who don’t consider themselves “creative” or “artistic” are measuring themselves in terms of what society deems creative talent. (i.e. dancing, singing, writing, drawing, etc.) I think that creativity and artistry stretch beyond social definitions into broader fields. I’ve met people who approach parenting, cookie baking, teaching, and even philanthropy with creativity and artistry.
Which living person would you most like to meet?
I have always admired Stephen Sondheim. He is a musical genius and a master of lyrical craft. He understands the economy of words and how to marry them with music and emotion to not only narrate what is in the human heart, but make it sing.
What makes you cry?
The naked truth can make me cry. When someone talks about the loss of a loved one and speaks less about the loss and more about the love, there is tremendous truth in that simplicity and I totally lose it.
Why do you do what you do?
I have had many opportunities in my life that have taken me down unique career paths. Like so many others, I have enjoyed and endured hardships and successes and have lived a full and exciting life in my youth. I’ve always been open to new opportunities and have often taken the leap of faith into new adventures with hopes that I would land someplace where I could be of value. Hallmark was a happy chance meeting and has provided me the opportunity to work along side some of the most talented people I will ever know. A human life is often defined by moments. Births, deaths, celebrations, and challenges – I like to think that the work Hallmark does in some small way helps to honor those moments and make them special. I am glad to be part of that mission.