Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Grace Everett. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Grace, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.
The phrasing of this question makes it seem like imposter syndrome is something that a person can conquer once, and after that, it disappears forever. I don’t think that’s necessarily true! My imposter syndrome is certainly much milder now compared to a few years ago, but it’s still a part of my life— I’ve just grown very good at presenting myself with confidence and poise!
I think the best way to deal with imposter syndrome, though, is with confidence, hustle, and a great deal of trust in yourself. Here are a few of my favorite tips:
– walk into every room like you own the place
– treat every day like a blessing (because it is!!)
– speak positive intentions into the universe. the universe hears you!!!
be your authentic self, but, like… amp up the confidence by 300% 🙂
– remember that all careers, specifically creative ones, are about the process, not the end goal. don’t get too focused on the end goal that you lose the joy of making art.
The term ‘imposter syndrome’ implies imitating someone else. The question I always ask myself when I’m struggling with feeling like I’m falling behind in my career is this: who am I imitating?
Sure, maybe someone else is a better dancer than me or has already been on a Broadway tour by age 20, but I can guarantee that they struggle with something else behind the scenes.
It’s not worth trying to be someone else when you’re only seeing their carefully curated highlight reel.
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’m an actress, playwright, musician, and disability advocate with autism. I was born and raised in Allen, TX, and I currently spend most of the year in Chicago where I study Playwriting at The Theatre School at DePaul University!
I performed in my first show at age 11, and I was hooked! I’ve been a theatre nerd since then. I wrote my first short play as an assignment for a class when I was in my sophomore year of high school. I decided to submit it to Texas Thespian Festival’s PLAYWORKS competition (a playwriting contest for Texas high schoolers, where the winning play is read aloud at the festival), not expecting it to go anywhere. To my surprise, I won the competition(?!) and have been writing for the stage ever since.
My most successful play to date is Letters for Adelaide, a love story told through letters sent in the five years leading up to the Great Depression. This play later became the source of my first playwriting paycheck! I’ve written other plays, and I am working on getting into screenwriting as well.
In March of 2023, I performed as the title role in Raven’s Stars, a new musical, in Chicago. The story centers Raven, a young artist with autism, growing up in Juneau, Alaska. I wasn’t planning to audition, but it’s rare to see complex characters with autism (especially women!), so when I read the casting breakdown, I HAD to submit.
It still makes me laugh, even almost a year after my first audition, to think that the creative team didn’t know I was autistic until they cast me! I remember talking with the director, and she mentioned how I ‘portrayed an autistic meltdown authentically’ and then asked me if I knew someone with autism. I replied, “… I did mention that I’m autistic… right?” We all got a good laugh out of that.
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?
These are three things that it took me a while to learn, and I’ll hopefully be able to save you some time by giving you this advice now!
Have a life outside of work, EVEN if you love what you do!! It sounds obvious, but I mean it! Find a hobby that has nothing to do with your career. Cooking, crochet, painting, anything… so long as you NEVER intend to monetize it. I play Dungeons & Dragons with my friends, and that is a massive source of stress relief when I’m feeling overwhelmed or stuck in a creative rut.
It’s okay to set boundaries. In fact, DO IT!! For creatives especially, the work we do is intimate (emotionally, but often physically as well). Acting is a whole-body experience, and though your mind might know the difference between real and pretend, your body doesn’t. Writing, surprisingly, is a physical task as well, so you need to have limits on what you do and don’t take with you when you step away from work. Have designated personal time. Turn off your dang phone!! Put time limits on social media to avoid doomscrolling. I can’t give personalized advice to everyone in one interview because everyone is different, but you know your body and your mind best. Treat it kindly. You only get one of each.
And finally: the world is going to turn whether or not you practice your craft. Do with that information what you will. I view it two different ways, and both mentalities are helpful depending on what type of ‘stuck’ I’m feeling. Option 1: it’s okay to take breaks. No one is going to die if I take a few days off from writing, acting, etc. to combat burnout. My craft will still be here when I come back. AND/OR, option 2: if I don’t practice today, there’s someone else who will. There are people that are climbing the ranks in this industry because they hustle hard and hustle often. I can either climb with them, or stay where I’m at. My future is 100% in my hands.
What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?
I feel like creatives have a little more leeway because creative careers are already so non-linear, and there really is no road map to success in the arts. I think that, for the most part, if you know you’re good at something, if it makes you happy, or both: DO IT. Train, practice, improve. If it doesn’t tick at least one of those boxes, and it’s not something you think you’ll use regularly in your future, then don’t worry about it.
For example: I love dancing, I think it’s fun! Am I ever going to be a ballerina? No. Will I ever be cast in a dance-heavy show like A Chorus Line? Probably not. But I do it because it makes me happy. On the other hand, I’m rehearsing for a community theatre show right now that has a lot of tap dancing. I tried tap for a year in high school, and I HATED it, and I wasn’t very good either, lol! So when auditioning for this show, I told the director, “I don’t want to tap. I have experience, but I don’t enjoy it and I’m not good at it. I know that will take me out of the running for several roles, but I don’t mind.” And she understood! Tap is a skill that is often seen as a ‘must-have’ in the theatre world, but I know that for me personally, I won’t be seeking out a lot of jobs that require me to have that skill.
So to slap a bow on all that: it’s okay to zero in on things you’re good at. Don’t knock anything till you’ve tried it, but once you’ve tried it, knock all you want. Creative career paths are so uniquely personal, so you can choose what you focus on improving based on what skills you are good at, what you would like to be better at, and, most importantly, what makes you happy.
Contact Info:
- Website: GraceEverett.org
- Instagram: @GraceEverett
- Facebook: @TheGraceEverett
- Youtube: @Grace-Everett
Image Credits
CA Taylor, Nick Thomsen, Blue Demon Theatre, CenterStage TheatreWorks
