Meet Bethany Tesarck

We recently connected with Bethany Tesarck and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Bethany, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?

I attribute my work ethic to my grandmother. She owned a dance studio for 45 years. She taught be everything I know about dance and is the reason why I fell in love with theater. Watching a woman own a huge business and do it with such grace was inspiring. I think being in the presence of her work ethic taught me how to apply those same skills.
In our industry, perseverance along with patience is key. As I continue to age in my career and foster what is important, a deep work ethic is key.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I was raised in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. I am the oldest of 3 and everyone in my family, due to my grandma, had an appreciation for the arts. When I was 7, my grandma, who’s dance studio was in north Jersey, got a call from a casting director saying they were looking for a young girl to come in for a replacement in Gypsy on Broadway with Bernadette Peters. My grandma thought it would be just a fun memory but that night I got the part and my life changed for good. From 7-13 I worked professionally on Broadway, TV and commercials. Growing up in the theater industry has completely shaped who I am today. Being raised amongst open minded, creative humans is something I’m eternally grateful for.

As I grew up within the industry, I always found myself drawn to the costume department. I wanted to hang with the dressers, and I loved to see how costumes were made. I knew I had a love for fashion and kept that in little box in the back of my mind.

2 years ago I traveled around the country with the musical Hamilton and what that tour gifted me was security, something our industry does not promise. Once I got off tour I knew that I was ready to grant myself some creative agency. A friend of mine who was Elpheba in Wicked at the time, asked if I ever styled. I knew she was asking me for a reason and she allowed me to see if that was something I liked to do, free of pressure. Needless to say I fell in love and knew I wanted to foster this passion as well.

It has grown so much in just a year and I’m excited to see what other avenues of styling I can explore.

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?

The first quality I feel that was most impactful on my journey and continues to be is curiosity. I find remaining a student in life will keep your mind open to new lessons and ways to view things. Staying curious grants me permission to also make mistakes. Remaining curious through those mistakes is key.

The second quality is patience. This is a tricky one for me and I still don’t think I have mastered it haha. I like to say patience is a practice and I find it is an important quality in fostering longevity in the industry. Once you do all the hard work, remaining patient to witness that work blossom is hard but necessary.

Lastly, I feel it is important to surround yourself with mentors and people who are equally as passionate. Curating an arsenal of humans who you can ask questions too, bounce ideas off of and learn from will set yourself up for success. Sharing and receiving knowledge from those who have done it before is the beautiful thing about mentorship.

My biggest advice for those who are early in their journey and wondering how to hone in on these qualities is to actually just set up a self check-in. This can be in the form of journaling, taking yourself on a creative date or just thought. But I feel you should constantly be asking yourself do I feel joy while you ask questions about your career. AND ask questions. Don’t be afraid to reach out and ask, for those people will have the best insight.

Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?

I think the most impactful thing my parents did for me was empower me to make my own choices. As a child actor, my parents were incredible supports and sounding boards for me, not forcing me to continue anything I didn’t want to. That empowerment of choice at such a young age was crucial I feel in development. I also really gained the skill of listening to my gut and being able to communicate or express that.
An example of this was when I was 13 I was in the Broadway revival cast of Bye Bye birdie. At that point I had been working consistently for a long time. The experience of that show put me in a really bad spot. I experienced a lot of bullying during the production which created a negative feeling around performing. I had asked my parents if I could take a break and without hesitation they empowered me to stop performing and be a kid. I went all through high school playing sports, going to school dances and being a kid. This break was crucial and because my parents were so supportive, I was able to take it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.styledbybethany.com
• Instagram: @bethanytesarck