Lakeside School

Inspired by the works of Tatiana Maslany in a binge-watch of “Orphan Black,” Pearl Mei Lam left Lakeside’s orchestra in 10th grade to join drama and try her hand at acting. Encouraged by teachers Alban Dennis and Carol Roscoe, she added film to her business major at the University of Washington and gained acting and improv experience through UW’s undergraduate theater society. In 2016, she began posting comedy on YouTube, eventually gaining 34,000 subscribers and amassing more than 1.5 million views.

If it is really calling to you, you're gonna end up doing it. And you're going to suck at it. You're going to fail. You're going to have to get those reps in, in order to keep growing. That's part of the process. - Pearl Mei Lam ’16
Two years ago — tired of “appealing mostly to 12-year-old boys” and feeling burned out in her marketing day job — Lam quit YouTube and the office to pursue creative work full-time, focusing on her acting, comedy, and independent film. She received a 2024 Gregory Award for her Seattle Public Theater performance in “Unrivaled.” Her most meaningful project yet is “Wild Ragerz,” a film she wrote, directed, and starred in, currently in post-production. Pearl credits Lakeside with instilling in her a strong sense of professionalism. “Lakeside taught me to treat every step of the process like its own project,” she says. “And give it the attention and devotion it needs.”