I’m an incredibly passionate and driven person, and I credit my ambition for motivating me to excel in all of my artistic and academic endeavors. I really care about the work I do, as is evident by the work I put into all of my work on and off the stage, which makes me a reliable and consistent employee and actress. My most valuable strength is in my compassion and empathy for others, which makes me a great member of any team, cast or crew, and more connected to my colleagues and audiences.

In 5 years time, I see myself stepping into the industry as a fresh-faced actress after successfully completing my Bachelors in Fine Arts for Acting. The goal is that during my time in university, I learn to hone my craft and in my growth, amassed a sizeable portfolio of performances and production credits, and having made valuable connections via my graduate showcase in front of casting directors and alike. I see myself working to make my dreams come true, taking on theatre and film gigs as a professional actress, and supporting that passion through other creatively fulfilling projects like commercial work and character acting until I find my place at a reputable agency.

I can be a bit of a perfectionist to a fault, as mentioned previously, I care very deeply about the work I do, and in turn I can spiral into a bit of a burnout trying to reach the outcome I want. It’s an ongoing journey for me to accept all of myself, the perfection I strive to achieve AND the more human reality, and to advocate for myself when I need help or need a break. I’m consistently working on improving these faults and I know that with the guidance of my mentors and support system I can overcome them.

My greatest accomplishment is one that I become prouder of every day as I continue to improve, and that is my recovery from Anorexia Nervosa. Overcoming my eating disorder is a battle I’ve been fighting since 2016, and it’s been a journey that at multiple points put my future at risk. Learning to find motivation in the possibilities a healthy life could give me- theater, school, higher education, work, friends, relationships, travel- was very difficult, and I had to make the choice between my illness and the life I want to live. Recovering was the right choice, and I’m so proud I made it. Every day is different, and I’m still working hard to get better, but I’ve come a long way and I’m motivated by my future to keep going.

I’ve learned to keep moving forward. Whether it be a critical note from a director during a theatrical production, a reprimand from a manager at work or teacher at school, or even an interpersonal conflict with a friend, I’ve had to learn the hard way that sometimes you just have to move on. Instead of profusely apologize, come up with excuses or explanations for why I did something, I’ve realized it’s more beneficial to take direction from mistakes and move forward trying to fix whatever the issue was proactively.

When I’m in a situation where I feel especially stressed, I try and ground myself and reflect on the root problem causing whatever the issue is, and whether or not that problem is in my control. If the circumstances causing the stress are outside of myself, I can do my best to be proactive in improving the situation, be that my Improving my personal performance or communicating effectively with someone who can help. If the problem lies with a mistake I made or something I am doing wrong, I can retroactively work to fix my mistake and help those around me.

Working and performing in many productions from a young age, I had to learn the hard way about not “stepping on the director’s toes”. I had to learn to respect the directors’ artistic vision and to take direction with no if, ands, or buts. However, having learned this a long time back, I was conflicted when -in a community theater production during my senior year- I had to watch the show I had been working so hard for, seemingly crash and burn in front of my eyes.

The rehearsal schedule was very rushed, and every rehearsal felt less and less organized as we got closer to show, with new things being added constantly and some cast members still not off-book. When “hell-week” approached and problems became increasingly apparent, we ended one rehearsal with a long talk with cast and crew about how we need to get our act together and we would be adding an extra rehearsal, stating that anyone not present may have their scenes cut from the show. When asked for suggestions, I remembered my childhood habit of “stepping on directors’ toes”. I bit my tongue, but I wasn’t going to let my scenes that I had worked so hard on, to get cut. So, I talked with the production team after we wrapped.

They agreed and even asked for more of my ideas! In the end the show turned out to be very fun and well-worth the stress, but if I hadn’t advocated for myself there, it may have turned out differently!

One of the best things, in my experience, about pursuing the arts is that you never stop improving. I want to work and perform in an environment that challenges my perspective, I approach every role by relating to my character, but I’m obviously limited by my own experience and would love to learn more about how other people see the world.

In my job as a “Party Princess” character performer, I have a manager who approaches auditions and training for specific roles by asking me questions to gauge my perspective. “What do you think this character would say in this moment?” or, “How would this character move their limbs as they dance, are their movements sharp or flowy? Why do you think that is?”. These questions allowed me to better understand the character as I saw it, and encouraged me to change how I thought about them. She gave me new perspective by allowing me to discover it myself, putting me in the shoes of my audience.

Similarly, when rehearsing for a dance, she doesn’t give any notes at first, but she records it and shows it back to me so that I can see how I look and asks me what I think I should do differently. It’s experimental, it allows me to take ownership of my performance by gently pushing me in the right direction to make changes. I love that in a job, I don’t feel like I’m being rejected, nor do I feel like I’m being coddled, I’m learning how to see things through my audience’s eyes and craft my performance to match that.

I definitely dislike conflict and always try my very best to avoid confrontation, but I’ve discovered that sometimes interpersonal disputes can help to resolve problems that would otherwise affect the performance of the collective group. In times when I’ve felt some sort of intervention was required in a team setting, whether work or theatre, I always try to be proactive in validating everyone’s perspective and finding common ground to move forward.

Of course, all of what I said before comes with the control I have with a hypothetical. When it comes to unforeseen conflict, in the moment, I am often overwhelmed and need to take a step back and remove myself to gather my thoughts and process the situation so that I can make the right choices in resolving it.

I offer an unmatched commitment to character and story, I see myself as a storyteller in every art form I pursue, so in working on any production, I put all of myself into actualizing the creative vision of my director/employer. I put extensive time into character study and quick memorization, I’ve learned to quickly master accents and pick up choreography, and to mold my performance to meet the needs of the production.