Lessons on taking Creative Control from Degrassi star Andrea Lewis
Andrea Lewis is a Creative powerhouse.
She has the titles of Actress, Producer, Filmmaker under her belt and is just getting started. She and I chatted on The Joy of Acting Podcast about how to build the Creative Life of your dreams.
Andrea Lewis has been a part of the film and television industry for most of her life, best known for playing Hazel in the seminal coming of age Canadian, teen drama Degrassi, Andrea went on to star in cadet Kelly on a Disney channel, soul food, the TV series and her own series, which I am a big fan of black actress.
I'm thrilled to have Andrea on because she is one of the most consistently creative people. I know it's so inspiring. She has such a great perspective about what it means to build a lifelong career in the entertainment industry. And she's sharing tips on how to not burn out while pursuing your goals.
Why is it important you think to set goals for yourself as an actor?
A: I believe that it is important to set goals for yourself as an actor, because it will give you a sense of direction. Mm. There are a lot of ways to be an actor there's actors for film, for television commercials. There are actors who do theater there's actors who do, uh, video games or voiceover. Like there are so many ways to go about it within this business and not all of it is for you. You know, like even though, yes, we all have this skill set and we are working very hard to be able to use our tool and to present and to perform. But ultimately there are only gonna be a handful of things within the business that you're really going to love and you're gonna want to do, and you're gonna wanna spend your time and you're gonna wanna be paid to do that thing.
J: How do you think an actor can take control of their career outside of just getting to audition?
Andrea:
I think the only way to take control of your career outside of auditions is to focus in on the things that you actually do have control over. And that can be, uh, your craft, sharpening your tool, um, staying present within your actual gift and the thing that you love to do, uh, your headshot, your professional kit on, on a whole, just like, you know, your demo reel and your voiceover reel, your headshot, um, anything like that, that people will use to actually see you as an actor. Um, and then also just like the art, the, the actual creative of being within this business. Um, if you've had a chance to read a book like the artist's way that actually encourages you to, to go out on, um, little creative dates every week, like just to take yourself out, to go see a show, to go see a play to, um, just to do things, to keep your creative juices flowing.
Click the image to listen to the full episode!
J: So you've been in this industry since you were a kid, how have you been able to navigate the ups and the downs of this industry?
Andrea:
I have been very fortunate to have, uh, I'd like to say survived the industry since, uh, I was a child navigating that space from child actor into adulthood, into adult actor, adult creative, and the way that I've been able to do that is, um, really having an awareness and an understanding that this is a marathon and not a sprint. I learned that as a kid. And, um, and it was just from seeing creatives, honestly, just from seeing people in the business that when I would find out like, oh, they started when they were 10 or they started when they were 11 or 12 or whatever age. And here they were at 22 and 32 or 42 when they were still in the business and still loving it and still very passionate about it made me realize that there's, um, that this is a marathon and not just any marathon, it's an, ultra-marathon like it's a hundred miles or more.
Andrea:
Okay. Like you've really got to build up your stamina and recognize that everything in it is a lesson, uh, the good stuff, the bad stuff, all of it is to teach you to move forward to the next level, next chapter, next phase, whatever that may be within this business. And so having that awareness will, um, help you because I think when you think that you're just supposed to like get rich quick or get successful right away, um, you'll get so disappointed. And when you recognize that, like, no, I I'm, I'm gonna be in this forever. I'm gonna be figuring this out for the rest of my life. And so let me just take my time, let me breathe. Let me, uh, you know, gather my breath, whatever that may be. Um, it really does help you just to, to be able to navigate through and to recognize that it's, it's not just navigating, it's sometimes pivoting.
J: And last question. What advice do you have for a new to the industry actor and what advice do you have for an industry peer?
So the advice that I would have for an new to the industry actor is, um, is in understanding that this is a marathon, like I had said before. I, I think that that helps you the most and knowing that you are going to have to have a well of energy for yourself to go back to all of the time. And I say that because so often I meet new actors who are like, um, from college and they're, they're gonna move to a major city of some sort, LA Atlanta, New York, one of those, and they're just, they're ready to go. And, um, and they're just like immediately thinking, you know, I'm gonna book a series right away. I'm gonna book that film right away. I'm gonna, I'm gonna just like make it right away. And for some that happens, but for most it doesn't, and it can really deplete you.
Click the image below to see our picks for the perfect self tape kit for traveling!
