We were lucky to catch up with Traci Hays recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Traci, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
It all started when I took a trip to the eye doctor and was informed I had dyslexia. I left with Elton John’s red-trimmed rose-tinted glasses. The tint relaxed my eyes and helped me read…which up to that point in my life was very little. I couldn’t read until I was 10 and spent hours after school painstakingly working with a tutor. When it came to taking tests, it took me twice as long as the average kid to read and process information because of my learning disability. But what I didn’t realize (until much later in my life) was that my disability helped form my relentless work ethic. From making flashcards to underlining everything in yellow to re-checking my spelling, I found ways to combat my disability.
I also attribute my work ethic to my parents who juggled raising four rowdy children (me being the oldest). My dad was the sole provider to a working-class family and my mom homeschooled us through middle school. When my dad wasn’t at work, he was coaching soccer practices or games. Through playing club soccer for 15 years, I developed teamwork and leadership skills which I apply to my career as a film and television director. When it comes to my work, I hold myself to a high-quality standard always looking to elevate the given project.
Above all, I have an innate desire to never stop improving myself, and am curious about everything. While I don’t need to wear my Lois-Lane-vibe glasses anymore, I am forever grateful for the obstacle I overcame and in doing so engrained a work ethic in myself that I’m very proud of.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I spent the first three weeks of my life in the NICU. I was born with a rare heart defect and underwent emergency open-heart surgery using a recently discovered breakthrough procedure. Despite the scar running down my chest, my childhood felt pretty normal. I was the kid in ripped jeans and a dirty t-shirt running around outside exploring, curious about everything and everyone. I grew up the oldest of four in a church-going family from Northern California. As a teenager, I developed new heart complications which led to my third open-heart surgery. Bedridden for months, I escaped physical pain by watching films and television like, THE WIZARD OF OZ and ANNE OF GREEN GABLES. I identified with Anne and Dorothy’s passionate, resilient, and resourceful personalities that lifted me from depression and ignited my imagination as a storyteller.
It wasn’t until I took the backlot tram ride at Universal Studios for the first time and saw how movie sets were put together that I realized I could become a filmmaker. The moment I turned 16, I enrolled in my community college’s only film class and directed my first film on black and white 16mm.
Then came film school – I went to Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts to study directing. After taking an elective design class with the late production designer Lawrence Paull (Back to the Future, Blade Runner), I discovered I have a knack for visual storytelling through production design.
Over the last decade, I’ve designed 30 feature films such as A LITTLE WHITE LIE starring Michael Shannon and Kate Hudson, the Emmy-nominated television series DARK/WEB for Amazon Studios, and commercials for brands like Nike and Honda.
My feature directorial debut, TANGLED, a romantic comedy based on the series by New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Emma Chase, premiered in 2022. The film stars Katherine Hughes (My Dead Ex) and Josh Plasse (iCarly) and is available on Amazon.
I’m beyond thrilled to share that my next feature, a dark comedy thriller, BLOOD, SWEAT AND CHEER, inspired by real events, is now streaming on Tubi. It’s about a suburban divorcée (Tammin Sursok, “Pretty Little Liars”) masquerades as her teenage daughter (Monroe Cline, “Teardrop”) in a twisted attempt to make the dance squad at a local high school. From the moment I read the script that echoes the work of John Hughes, I knew I had something special on my hands, and with the help of an incredibly talented cast and crew was able to bring this film to life that puts a unique spin on the tropes of high school which has already garnered rave reviews from press such as Rotton Tomatoes, Fangoria, and MovieWeb.
Ultimately, my mission is to craft stories through authentic performances that reflect the human experience of an underserved audience so they can find their onscreen “Dorothy.” Not only did I make it to the other side, I’m thriving telling stories that resonate with me such as fear of being an outsider, female empowerment, and the fragility of life.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
My journey is still in process and I have sooo much to master but hopefully by sharing a few things I’ve learned along the way can help an aspiring filmmaker or two.
Thinking back to when I first graduated film school and was looking for work, I was so desperate to be on a film set, I said yes to everything. Over time, I began to realize that some people took advantage of my time and talent on a number of projects. Working an 18-hour day with a 9-hour turnaround without getting paid for every weekend and after-hours call/email I answered, is not normal. While I would stand up for my crew’s rates, kit fees, and 6 consecutive days worked, I forgot to take care of myself. It’s beyond important to know your worth and what you bring to the table. That’s not to say you won’t pay your dues and go on occasional coffee runs, etc, but there comes a point where you have to be honest with yourself and evaluate what is worth your time and effort.
The second thing I discovered was not to be afraid of making mistakes. Neil Gaiman puts it so perfectly, “Make new mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody ever made before. Don’t freeze, don’t stop, don’t worry that it isn’t good enough, or it isn’t perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life. Whatever it is you’re scared of doing, DO it!” Since I was a teen, I knew that I wanted to be a filmmaker directing film and television. In a blink of an eye, a decade flew by and I found myself with no time, working back-to-back jobs as a union production designer. While I was simultaneously developing and directing content over that period, it wasn’t until I confronted my own fear of transitioning from designing to directing full-time that I began to see a shift in my reality. If you’re not willing to take a risk on yourself, then why should someone else? I was afraid to put myself out there and tell every person I ever worked with that I’m transitioning into directing. The thought, “Will people still take me seriously and respect my work?” perpetually swirled around in my head. But the more people I told, the more I believed in myself, and the easier it became and now there’s no doubt in my mind.
The third and most important skill I’m constantly checking and rechecking is trusting my gut instinct. Plenty of people will offer advice, tips, and ways of going about what you’re looking to do, but you have to listen to that little voice inside. Every choice I make (which is usually hundreds while I’m on set directing) I’m checking in with myself. When I feel something isn’t sitting right, I explore that feeling more to get to the bottom of it. Sometimes the answers come faster than other times, but the main thing I try to remember is to be true to myself.
Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
While I have no interest in becoming an actor, I read, “The Intent to Live: Achieving Your True Potential as an Actor” by the renowned acting coach, Larry Moss, after auditing one of his many workshops in LA. He’s one of the most influential people I’ve ever met who transformed my way of breaking down a script, talking with actors, staging, and a myriad of other essential skills I’ve added to my tool kit. I didn’t fully understand the craft of acting until I took his class. He breaks down the process of acting into simple, yet powerful intentions, finding the authentic human truth in every moment. For anyone looking to direct or act, I highly recommend reading Moss’s book (hopefully more than once to let it all soak in).
Within my coffee-stained, highlighted, notated, and dog-eared copy of his book are endless quotes and pieces of advice I’ve taken to heart and applied to my craft and personal life. Here’s a few of them:
“Good competition is healthy, but when winning becomes your identity, it stops you as an artist, because it stops you from taking risks since you’re more interested in winning than in growing.”
“Everyone wants to be picked, but we need to pick ourselves.”
“When you try and not feel the pain, you stay in the pain.”
“Fully commit and leave your ego out of it.”
“Your career is how you educate your life.”
Moss instilled confidence in me to push through my fears, doubts, and pain, and by doing so I’ve grown as an artist and human being. I’m so thankful for his commitment to helping people unlock their full potential and ultimately making the world a better place. He deeply cares about his work and is overflowing with kindness, thoughtfulness, and true passion for his students and everyone he meets.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tracihays.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/traci.s.hays/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tracishays
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/traci-hays/
- Other: IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3490382/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
Image Credits
Photos 2-4 were taken by Erik Scherb
