Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sophia Gutchinov. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Sophia, thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?
I did the Artist’s Way book in 2020 during the pandemic on Zoom with like-minded women, like a book club where we read a chapter every week for 12 weeks. This book greatly changed my life and set me up for many similar things I have done since. Since then, I still practice my Morning Pages every morning upon waking up, before checking my phone. I do not always do three pages, it really depends on what I want to write about, some days I will write half a page, others I will write ten. This helps me to get my day started, from a place of grounding myself as opposed to being in fight or flight depending on what is going on with the outside world when I check my phone for the first time that day. It allows me to take charge of my day. I have gotten many of my best creative ideas this way, as I am not influenced by anything else except my free-floating mind, upon waking. I also remember my dreams because I write them down in the morning as well. I also practice meditation, I do Transcendental Meditation in the first half of the day. I also get a lot of creative ideas this way, by sitting in stillness and practicing my mantra. I am a mover and love to exercise, I find this is a fool-proof way to get out of your head and into your body, so cycling, swimming, or going to the gym for me is another way for me to be creative and let the ideas come. I try to do creative endeavors like visiting museums, seeing movies, traveling, and exploring a new neighborhood or trying a new food. All these are ways to be creative! It is unique to every individual, but most important is that you enjoy it most of the time and that you genuinely look forward to doing it!
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I’m bi-racial and spiritually mixed as well because my mom is Italian (Catholic) and my dad is Mongolian (Buddhist). I’m actually indigenous Mongolian, from a tribe called Kalmyk. This influenced my life and therefore my creative work/career so much so where I can’t see things as one thing. I like to always see the balance between things, and don’t like to look at things as black and white.
My project that I am most focused on right now is my one woman show that will premiere next season at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in NYC. I am so excited as this is my baby that I’ve been working on for almost 2 years! “THOSE WHO REMAINED” is about healing, transformation, and finding your voice. It’s a multimedia work about the limits of love, told through indigenous ceremony, survival, and confronting our roots. The style is immersive as the audience is asked to participate and look within to transform themselves, in a tea ritual format. Vignettes are used to bring the audience on a healing journey and experience different art forms including stand-up comedy and a participatory art installation with music. The power of ceremony, spoken word, and gratitude release our experiences.
Questions that are brought up are: Where do women and AAPI/BIPOC people stand? What does it look like to move forward from trauma? How do our parental relationships manifest in our romantic adult relationships and our attachments?
More info on my show can be found on my website, currently I am fundraising and looking for a producer.
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?
Three things that are most impactful for anyone who chooses to be a freelance creative are: the business and marketing side of your industry, learning financial literacy, and understanding that you are not any less of whatever it is you do if you do multiple things. I teach webinars on the business side of acting and modeling, I also teach an after school program for debate/public speaking/and acting. I am a firm believer in following your passion. You can make a living doing what you love! Of course, you need to decide how much money you actually need to be happy for your standards, but that is dependent on every individual. I am content with not having security in this industry I choose because I am a freelancer, others do not want that and that is ok! For me, I’d rather take a trip somewhere than buy a designer handbag. I am a fan of experiences than material, but that is just me. With this said, it has been important for me in my journey to decide what is a priority and what is not. So since I am a freelancer, I decided I would rather figure out how to make my money through multiple streams of income than report to a boss and only have one week of time off when I request it. I do not fit in a corporate setting so I create my own structure, which definitely comes with its own challenges, but I remember that I choose this lifestyle. This goes hand in hand with knowing financial literacy. I never grew up hearing the word “invest”, I’ve learned all my financial knowledge on my own. I started working when I was 14 and got my second job at 16, moved to NYC at 17 and was the first in my family to go to college. It was very integral for me to apply to every scholarship and grant so that I could make my dream to become an actress in NYC possible. I am happy that I am a working actor here. It is not easy, but I am grateful for my community and my accomplishments.
I studied BFA Acting and Neuroscience in college and for me, I could never do just one thing, so now that I am a multi-hyphenate, I want to stress that you can succeed in multiple careers. Of course, there are times when one career is more in focus than the others, because of balance. For example, during the actors strike last year, I redirected myself to visual art and I am very happy with how it went. My art won an award in Paris and is currently in Italy, among NYC galleries. I am focused now on my performance again, which I am happy to be back, but I am grateful that I could pursue art when the time allowed for it as well!
I would say to folks early on their journey to find what you like, try to capitalize on it, and approach others to form your community. You need support more than you think and others are facing the same challenges as you but do not know it until you make the first contact!
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I am definitely always looking to collaborate with amazing like-minded artists in this industry! I am focused on my one woman show right now along with leveling up my acting representation for TV, film, and commercials. So if you are reading this and want to get involved in the solo show or make a film together, please contact me.
I am also a huge fan of wellness, specifically meditation, spirituality, fitness, and connecting with animals so if any of this is your language, hit me up! 🙂
www.sophiagutchinov.com/
IG & TT: @sophiagutchinov
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sophiagutchinov.com/
- Instagram: @sophiagutchinov
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SophiaGutchinov
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophia-gutchinov-63558440/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnsUMdb61cKa0PfBRE6xLBQ
- Other: Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sophiagutchinov
Image Credits
Jason F Vasquez Daniel Quintanilla Lea Pfandler Bouamari Moufida
