"so, tell me about yourself"
This is the question that I was told was absolutely essential to answer the moment I left drama school. The question that was drilled into me over and over that I was just supposed to smile and succinctly, eloquently, relatably, precisely, movingly, casually answer. In 90 seconds or less.
As someone who's grown up rebelling against the idea that people are anything but one thing and must limit themselves to a single choice or path or passion, this question did not sit well with me.
"Well," I would've answered in high school. "I am a gymnast and an actress. I want to take AP English and AP History. I want to have cereal for breakfast and dinner. And maybe lunch, too." I was never willing to compromise, never willing to sacrifice one thing in pursuit of another. So why would I do that in my career?
It's taken me quite a bit of time and more than a sprinkle of self-exploration and confidence to finally navigate how to answer this question truthfully and meaningfully, so, if you'd like to stay a bit, let me tell you a little bit about myself.
📍hampstead heath
My Story
I grew up all over the country, lived in four different states, attended 13 different schools by the time I graduated high school. But the story really starts when I attended Oregon State University and majored in Theatre (you guessed it) AND English. I did minors in Business AND French. AND I wrote an Honors Thesis on prison systems in the UK and US.
It was sometime during my junior year of college, between gluing in vampire fangs and DIY-ing my regency era bangs that I decided acting was more than my hobby. It was then that I made an appointment with my mentor, Elizabeth Helman, one of the most incredible teachers, directors, professors, and human beings I have ever come across, and said, "Hey, how do I do this for the rest of my life?"
It didn't come as a big surprise to my parents, who'd watched me dress up in various costumes and act out and dance around to whatever 'script' I could get my hands on throughout childhood (I was a killer Clara from The Nutcracker with THE perfect elephant nightgown), and they have wholeheartedly supported me ever since.
My Story
I'd visited London twice during my time in school, and absolutely fell in love with it. So, when my time came to don my graduation cap and gown, I knew my next journey was to be found across the pond. I sought out acting programs and found my home at Drama Studio London's 1 Year Professional Acting Diploma.
"So, tell me about yourself," directors would say. At that point, it was enough to say I was American and revel in the "Oh, wow. Your accent is so weird"-ness of that. But soon, they started pressing for more.
"What do you play? What kinds of projects do you want to do? Who are you?" And my answer was always, I can do and be anything. I'd played everything from a mime to a honey badger in college and my versatility was just being reinforced in London where I was switching from Shakespeare to period piece film to sitcom to radio with great feedback! See? I don't have to choose anything!
But the question kept coming up.
all the roles i played in college
It was during my second trip to London that I discovered my love (or rather, distaste) for the prison system. It was there that I visited Brixton Prison and had my first conversation with one of the inmates in The Clink charity program, where inmates work at an upscale restaurant as bus boys, servers, and chefs. This was the first time my concept of what someone who'd gone to prison looked like was challenged and my passion for reform was on fire.
I sought out other ways to get involved when I returned to school, and ended up having some of the most incredible hands-on experiences of my life. I spent time with incarcerated youth in a juvenile detention center, sat in on trials and had Q+As with DAs and defendants, and ultimately took an Inside Out class with my Thesis mentor, Michelle Inderbitzin, where I spent 10 weeks in class with life-sentence inmates at Oregon State Penitentiary - the maximum security prison in Salem, Oregon.
It was through these experiences that I developed a burning desire to get these stories beyond the bars. So I wrote a series of monologues based on the people I met and the experiences I had to present as my Undergraduate Honors Thesis.
Link to my Thesis:
https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/honors_college_theses/cf95jj91d
I broke down sobbing on the phone with my mom the night before I defended my thesis.
"What are you crying about?" she asked. "You've already done all the hard work!"
"These stories just so important," I choked out between sobs. "I need to do them justice and get people to understand."
I've come back to this phrase throughout my acting career. Every new role I perform, every show I audition for, I can finally put a name to the itch inside me that lights my fire and makes me want to do the work. These stories are important and I need them to be told.
This is why every actor does what he or she or they do. They found something in humanity that they wanted to dive into, understand, and present, and I am no different. I just know firsthand now why it is so important that happens.
dsl showcase rehearsal at the harold pinter theatre
In 2022, following my return to the states and (COVID-delayed) professional debut at Oregon Contemporary Theatre in Eugene, OR, I packed up my Nissan XTerra and made the 14 hour drive to Los Angeles, where I now live and work.
Outside of acting, I am religious about my gym schedule, love pursuing anything creative (bullet journaling, crochet, calligraphy, and embroidery are some of the hobbies I've picked up over the years), and genuinely enjoy my side hustle as a barista. I also recently began writing a screenplay about the way my parents met and got together, which is a fascinating story, so stay tuned.
As for the age-old, terrifying question, I can now answer 'so, tell me about yourself' in a more concise and palatable way - I bring voice to the voiceless and explore the humor and dry sarcasm in gritty, realistic stories with a classic and sophisticated charm.
But why limit myself? I'm pushing everyday to try a new character, a new genre, a new direction, and I don't plan on stopping that exploration anytime soon.
