We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Casey Morris a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Casey, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
When I graduated from my conservatory program, I had mixed feelings about my growth as an actor over those three years. Lots of doubt about my abilities that was informed by watching my peers take off in various directions. I was constantly feeling “less than” and behind everyone else or, even worse, not possessing something special in any way. I felt that I had been given access to certain experiences and opportunities in my life by the generosity of others, or even because of charm and charisma, but not because I was naturally gifted (aka I was mediocre).
I also went from a three year period of daily voice and movement training that was very challenging and invigorating to nothing. I walked passed an Aikido dojo one day in my neighborhood and felt like it would be great for this transition period. After a few months, a sensei from a school in NC visited our dojo and lead a class. Before we began our work, he spoke to us about “mastery” and what it really means.
This sensei explained that no one masters a “thing” in and of itself. For example, it is impossible to master Aikido because it isn’t tangible it is an idea; the same goes for acting. Furthermore, when we are in awe of someone’s abilities, and covet them, we should give up this desire because it’s unattainable. What these individuals have mastered are themselves. That is what we are witnessing and that is what we are in awe of. My mind exploded in this moment and I considered it to be a huge paradigm shift for me and how I chose to lead my life and artistry from that moment forward. I was able to take what used to be jealousy and turn it into a true appreciation for other artist’s abilities and deepen the relationship to my own uniqueness.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I spent nine years in Chicago. The first years were at DePaul in the MFA acting conservatory. I spent the rest of my time there doing as much theatre as I possibly could. I came to LA in 2021 to do on-camera work. In my music life, I released an EP of 6 original songs with my indie folk/country project Marauderville, which was born out of lockdown. I created an improv group with my cohort Tyler Esselman called McGillicuddy and we perform on a monthly basis. As of this year, I launched an LLC under the McGillicuddy moniker for our first narrative short film DICKY MACK: THE RIGHT OF WAY which has finished production and will be crowdfunding through Seed & Spark.
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?
I had great role models and peers. I’m an avid researcher. Sometimes, I don’t quite realize I’m interested in something, or I’m on to something with great potential unless I find myself in a rabbit hole of research and a stack of library books.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
Camping. Developing a close relation to the outdoors and being able to survive with little. I have not found a better reset, or realignment than escaping my habitat and spending time in the wilderness or a national park. We built a synthetic world ontop of a natural one as Jung says. It’s too convenient to go back to the natural world but we need to incorporate it into our life. We are still a part of the natural world and the friction between the two causes us a lot of frustration.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.caseymorris.info
- Instagram: @_caseymorris_
- Other: Seed and Spark: https://seedandspark.com/fund/dicky-mack-the-right-of-way?token=1224edbdb1dcb5bb4095e02ab79f63a054897d5514d106d39410b16fa6ba29d8 IG @dickymacktherightofwayfilm @mcgillicuddy_improv Bandcamp: https://marauderville.bandcamp.com/
