Cara grew up in the GTA of Canada, with a mother who really looked out for her well being. She was almost “overprotective”, but a game changer in her life when it came to helping her believe in her dreams and goals.
Speaking of those goals, she is a successful actor and this started when another role model became a big influence in her life. She had a teacher see something special in her ability to act and helped her get started.
We touched on some heartfelt topics about being able to integrate as creatives and some of the history of racism in the culture of creating content, such as Shakespeare. It was so fun to think that the real goal should be to come together to share creative experiences.
Lifelong Learning As A Creative
Cara is an intelligent and curious creative. Most importantly she loves to learn. She has a skillset beyond acting, as she also creates in spatial computing, music, NFTS and social media content.
We often get in our own way when it comes to being an artist because we try to stay in our own lane. She shares a very healthy mindset when it comes to this because she never stopped learning new ways to be creative.
Cara shared what it’s like to have fans, and a reputation as an actor. She also broke down the difference between video game, theatre and acting on camera.
If you are someone with an interest in acting, then her tips will definitely be both entertaining and helpful.
15 Things We Learned About Acting
- Definitely the number one tip is practice a lot. Just keep practicing in whatever way, or combination of methods that you like.
- As an actor you are running a business. If you are going to be successful, you are selling yourself and selling your art.
- There are fewer and fewer gatekeepers, so don’t wait for permission to create. If you don’t have a current project, you can film something yourself, or with a group, that could become a feature, but no matter what will allow you to practice.
- Never stop improving. Acting is different than writing, or painting. You can’t create start to finish on your own and sell your product. As an actor, this will sound bad, but it’s a reality. You are a tool, to be used as a part of a bigger project. Remembering to be a tool that people want to use more and more will help you stay humble and achieve more opportunities.
- Networking is often underrated. The ability to be on people’s radar when they are casting, or putting together a project is valuable. It also helps that all stakeholders enjoy working with you. The more enjoyable you are to work with, as long as your art is good, the more work you’ll have.
- Build a community, or group of like minded, similar level creators to grow together with. Mentor, ask questions, solve problems and bounce ideas off of each other.
- Read scripts if you are serious about acting. This will help you learn to read what is trying to be conveyed in the writing. You will feel more comfortable connecting lines to the story, as well as memorization and comparing projects in general.
- Theatre is supposed to be a moment that you create, and then it’s gone. Theatre is awesome because you can feel energy while creating in a theatre, and a live audience lends itself to all kinds of actual reactions of 100’s of people in the same moment, like gasping, or crying. You don’t get that in film.
- In any live acting scenario, such as theatre, you can not fake knowing how to act. You have to know your lines, or be solid at improv, you have to know how to position yourself, and use your voice effectively. But, all of these things can be manipulated and supported when making a movie.
- In film, that’s different than theatre however, you will move people and have an impact, but they will experience that more privately, on any timeline, and then you may, or may not hear about it. They might reach out to say thank you about a project you shot seven years ago that they just watched.
- In movie making, if you have a strong story, director, director of photography, cinematographer and editor, then you don’t need good acting to create a powerful scene. This is why you can add a celebrity, or model to a movie, even if they have little experience and skills, and the shot will be fine. That is not the case with theatre.
- Sometimes a trained actor may over act, in which case it may be better to fill the role with a non-actor, just anyone random, but at the same time this can be a valuable lesson for seasoned actors to not try too hard to make something specific happen. Just know your objective and be more real.
- As a video game actor, it is unique as well because people feel they get to know you on a far deeper level, if they are playing you, or competing against you in a game, and so they form strong emotional connections and opinions. Some people hate you and some people love you.
- Books, resources, coaching, courses, it all can help. You don’t need it, but if you are serious about your craft, it could definitely help.
- Give your script, or lines a scaffold for you to anchor to. This is especially important in theatre when you need to be able to recreate a character, or a scene for eighty days in a row. But, it goes for all acting. Don’t just try and remember words, remember the real objective of each moment in ways that you personally connect with.
Memorable Quotes
“There are never any real answers. There are answers that will work for a period of time, there are ones that make sense for a bit. But, there are no right answers.”
“Don’t wait, network. Create with others. If you want to make movies, if you want to make plays, or you want to write a story, get a group together and create.”
“You can’t successfully produce unless you have a community to do that with.”
“It’s your privilege that allows you to not see the race.”
“We all are human. We're just having our own interesting journeys.”
Guest Bio
Cara is an award winning actress, artist, director and producer. She has been working in the field of entertainment professionally since 2007, and spatial computing since 2016.
As an actor, she is best known for The Homecoming, Anne With An E, The Resident and the video game, Far Cry. She has also had success in the theatre and music.
She is going deeper into the study and building of Web3. Currently she works with Fame Lady Squad, Metacitizen, Indie Village in Decentraland and advising people on NFTs and Metaverse concepts.
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