We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Karen Cecilia. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Karen below.
Hi Karen, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?
Confidence may wane and wax as situations arise in your professional career. Setbacks happen, but when they do, going back to your core beliefs are what will keep you going.
Take time to discover what your beliefs are outside of external influences. Think about what you truly admire and the way you want to exist in the world. At the same time, be open to other thoughts and ideas. It’s a tricky balance. One that may be a lifelong activity. And, most importantly, spend less time on your phone!
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
As a writer and a performer, I am always looking to develop new work, teach what I have experienced in my career, and help other artists by assisting in the production of their work.
There are a few upcoming projects that I have been working on that I’m excited about.
This summer, I am teaching a creative writing/acting workshop in Athens, Greece. It could not be more appropriate to be in the birthplace of theatre. Check out my website for info about it. www.karencecilia.com
Additionally, myself and a co-creative have developed a show that is a performance duet of sonic verse, dance & audience experience. We call the show “Timestamp.” In this performance, I play the theremin and recite self-written verse as Emilee Lord (co-creator www.emileelord.com) dances a vocabulary of movement based on an engagement with the audience. This piece hopes to ask the audience about their expectations in their own lives while merging the use of several art forms.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Be professional. Be flexible. Be curious.
Getting your work out there is vastly built of referrals most of the time and professionalism is key. The aspects that most producers/companies grapple with is someone not responding to emails, not showing up on time or coming prepared. These things are the cornerstone of your career. Take them as seriously as you would take your work.
You have to be willing to be a problem solver and be creative and flexible when challenges arise because more often than not, things do not go as planned. Your mindset about challenges during projects also contributes to your professionalism.
If you approach every situation with curiosity, then there is not space for judgement. Curiosity keeps the doors open to your creativity.
If you knew you only had a decade of life left, how would you spend that decade?
One major challenge creatives are facing now is finding affordable spaces to perform and/or display their work. With the increase of the cost of rentals, artists of all disciplines are struggling to get their work put up. It is not for lack of space, but rather the costs have increased exponentially in the past couple of years. This creates a barrier for new work to be seen and established performance companies to keep their seasons going. Artists have had to become more creative on how they show their work. This has lead to more unconventional spaces being used, but whether or not this is sustainable is the bigger question and is an ongoing concern for the arts in the future. Culture and the arts depend on visibility and accessibility to thrive.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.karencecilia.com
- Instagram: karen.cecilia6
- Other: https://youtu.be/m3qADS-5_YE This is a video I directed by the artist Kate Dulcich.
