Meet Bailey Macejak

 

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Bailey Macejak. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Bailey below.

Bailey, 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.

My confidence and self-esteem is an on-going project. A lot of it comes from my experiences growing up — I started off as a super shy kid. I had trouble talking to anybody, even family members when they’d come over for holidays or celebrations. I started to see opportunities that I wanted, even at that young age, and see that they required someone more outspoken and comfortable in themselves. With the proper little nudge and stepping outside of my comfort zone, I discovered my passion for public speaking and performance.

After the initial hurdle, it’s become a daily practice. Some days I don’t want ANYONE to look at me, no matter who they are. Other days, I’m on top of the world! It takes an amount of self-love and self-knowledge to keep facing the day as confidently as I do every day, and it was all through personal growth and continued gratitude and self love practice.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I’m an actor and a playwright with a passion for telling stories about the parts of America that often get overlooked. I’m originally from Florida, and I spent a lot of my time in high school and college doing my best to distance myself from that part of my history. People from the South were backwards and stupid, not anything like the polished elite of New England or New York City where I’d found myself. I started to realize that parts of that culture (Southern, cowboy, country, etc) really resonated with me, and I wanted to find my way back.

I started to change the music I listened to, the books I read. I looked for more accurate representations of southern culture besides the ones you see on overblown TV dramas or in political diatribes. I wanted to talk and learn more about the LGBTQ+ people living in the south, and better tell their stories.

I’ve started to really shift my artistic identity in that direction. I write plays and tell stories for those who are overlooked, painted over with a broad brush that buries them under the hatred and prejudices that they themselves are victims of. I explore the parts of American culture that are often ascribed to straight cis men and ask questions about what those worlds would look like if they were more accurately and inclusively depicted.

I’m also an actor! I’ve been on set for projects like A Place for Ashes (dir. Melissa Ingle and Brianne Neira, written by Ian White), BUSHWITCHES (written and dir. by Jasia Ka, featured at NewFest 2023 and SeriesFest 2024), and an upcoming feature film directed by Katie Vincent and Usher Morgan. I’ve also walked the boards (lol) in NYC, as an alumnus of 24 Hour Plays Nationals and acting in my own works at The Tank and New York Winterfest.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Three qualities that were most impactful for me in my journey were self-knowledge, discipline, and determination.

I’ll never forget the lightbulb that went off my junior year of college. I was trying desperately to be an actor — I was in a BFA program in NYC surrounded by people with more experience than me (in my mind, at least), and I was sucking. I was sucking BAD. I just couldn’t get my feet under me for some reason. Then, finally, I was sat in class reading a Sarah Kane play, and I remember saying to myself, “Bailey, it’s now or never. Knock it out of the park. Give it all you’ve got.” From that moment on, I was kicking ass. I had the self-knowledge to know what needed to change, and it was like a switch flipped. It ties back into the element of self-confidence, too — being assured in myself enough to step up and step forward.

Discipline is what keeps me getting out of bed and hitting the bricks for my career/my artistry. It’s the thing that keeps words ending up on pages. Knowing that I have a set time for writing/reading/exercising/studying is what helps my skillset continue to sharpen and grow.

Determination is the final ingredient. This industry is (sometimes) nothing but NO’s. And it’s incredibly vulnerable to stand up in an audition room and pretend to be someone else, or to hand off your baby script and have people say no, not this time, not for us. Getting up after you’ve been knocked down is the only way to make it as a creative, especially as an actor and playwright. My determination towards success has kept me going to this day!

All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?

I recently had to leave NYC after a pretty traumatic experience (my apartment building kept catching on fire and the city put a vacate order on it, leaving me essentially homeless). I’ve ended up out in the Pacific Northwest with family for the time being, and it’s been pretty difficult! I miss my friends, I don’t really have access to the network I spent almost 10 years building, and I’m not sure if returning to NYC is the best option for me right now. I’m currently trying to find a new artistic home and community, and it’s been challenging to relocate for sure. I’m aiming for Louisville, KY at the moment so this Southerner can go home!

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Image Credits

Matt Scott Shots

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