We recently connected with Carleek Owens and have shared our conversation below.
Carleek, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
My freshman year I was gearing up for my first season of college soccer when I found out I would not be cleared to play. I had some transcript issues that was taking forever to get me cleared but on top of that, my EKG test showed a heart murmur that they wanted to make sure was fine for me to play. That also took forever. So one day my team was out of town playing in a game and I was leaving out of a computer lab when I saw that they were holding auditions for a showed called, “You Can’t Take It With You,” I had done a little bit of acting at home as a kid and would write little scripts and make my cousin and sister perform them with me for my mom, so I thought, why not? It had always been on my mind, but being an athlete always came first. Where I am from, sports is pretty much everything, especially as a kid, so for that reason I was hesitant to attend the audition. Of course I ended up going, I had nothing better to do. When I got on the stage I felt a feeling that I had never felt before. It was very weird. Anthony Ramos once said, “Have you ever felt so comfortable that it made you uncomfortable?” That is exactly what it felt like. I was wondering why I felt like I was home on this stage. It immediately became a safe haven for me. I ended getting cast in the play and I even changed my major to theatre the next year. It felt like that was what I was supposed to be doing. Yes, it still feels that way 7 years later.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
What up! My name is Carleek Owens. Pronounced like a car has a leak. I am an Atlanta based actor originally from Portsmouth, Virginia. Shoutout to the 757! I graduated with a theatre degree from Bluefield University in 2020. Obviously that was during covid which had all the theatres shut down, which also meant I couldn’t put my degree to use right away. When that happened, I started getting into the film side of acting. While my heart will always be on the stage, film and tv is great as well. Acting, whether it be on TV or on the stage, is very intimate and you have to be open to letting other people in. You have to trust not only yourself but your scene partners. I think that is why I love it so much. Going on stage gives me an adrenaline rush because if we are being honest, you never know what may happen. If someone misses a cue or forgets a line, right there on the spot you have to figure it out right in front of the crowd. It might sound crazy to actually like that, but I think it makes it all the more exciting. While with film you can cut and edit, it is still very intimate because you have a million people behind the camera watching the scene in person and on the monitor. I know it sounds odd, but there is a difference between that and people watching from the crowd. Both of them are special though because to be able to portray emotions you may have never felt, or being comfortable to feels things you have felt before and express them in front of people is an amazing thing. Not everyone is built for it.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I think three of the things that were/are most impactful for me is: Trusting my instincts, Confidence, and preparation. -Something my favorite theatre professor would always tell me when I first started on stage was to trust my instincts. She said that I have very good instincts but I was not trusting them enough to show it. It was almost like knowing the answers in class but then second guessing myself and not raising my hand or getting it wrong on a test. It was the same thing on stage. I would get nervous and just try to do whatever the scene was the exact way, instead of trusting myself and bringing me to the character. Trusting my instincts has gone a long way not only in acting when it comes to a role or just even auditions but in normal everyday life as well.
-I think the confidence thing speaks for it self. It is normal to be nervous or to think you can’t do something, but confidence works miracles. When it comes to confidence, the smallest of things can get you over the hump… Listening to favorite songs, someone giving you good advice, praying, etc. We all have our ways of getting there but getting there is half the battle. Once we have that confidence, we feel unstoppable and that is how I feel when I am going into auditions or a shoot/show. Confidence is key in this industry. Which also goes hand in hand with preparation. When I prepare I am 100x more confident because I know when the time comes I am ready for WHATEVER is thrown at me. I started out just doing the bare minimum and then when something was changed I was thrown off, but I quickly got out of that habit. That is also something that translates to everyday life.
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
Rebecca Reese. My theatre professor. To be honest, without her (and her husband Charles Reese), I don’t know if I would feel like I had a purpose in life yet. It is really quite simple, her belief in me has always meant the world. From the day I got the role in my very first play she has always tried to make sure I was giving my all and applying myself because she could see something more in me that I honestly probably did not see in myself. She accepted me and met me where I was when I joined my schools theatre program and she pulled so much out of me during my time in school. I will always remember her telling me to trust my instincts and that I am very good I just need to also know that I am very good, especially when I apply myself. We still talk occasionally and sometimes I even send her some self-tapes and ask her what she thinks about them because I know she will be honest with me. I have learned the most about myself and about what I need to do on stage from her and I am forever grateful. I am still learning everyday of course, but I can never forget who opened those floodgates for me. I love you Rebecca (and Charles haha)!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @chiefowens5
- Facebook: Carleek Owens
