We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Livi Southard. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Livi below.
Hi Livi , so excited to talk about all sorts of important topics with you today. The first one we want to jump into is about being the only one in the room – for some that’s being the only person of color or the only non-native English speaker or the only non-MBA, etc Can you talk to us about how you have managed to be successful even when you were the only one in the room that looked like you?
First things first: Student mentality. Never drop your student mentality and your passion to learn. As long as you are willing to learn and WANT to learn you will always be putting forth the best work you can do. My other advice is, really stand your ground. I have been on many sets where I was the only Femme presenting crew member, or the only lgbtq+ person there. Never think that because you are different that your work is valued any less. I’ve always believed that being different and standing out gives you an advantage that other people don’t have: Freedom of expression! Not being able to be your true self really destructs so many lives everyday. So feel blessed to stand out, feel blessed to really live a life that is truly yours in a skin that is only for you. Never let anyone take that from you.
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?
Hey Y’all, I am Livi, 22 year old New York based filmmaker. I grew up in the south, in Greensboro, North Carolina. I spent my childhood in dance and theatre classes. The first musical I was ever in was Suessical, which feels like a very canon event for theatre kids. I ended up going to a performing arts high school to study theatre as well (which is nothing like Hollywood Arts by the way). I learned a lot about discipline and theatre history there. They treated us like real artist always. I fell out of theatre for many personal reasons and the many opinions surrounding me started to get to me. So I decided to start college with a fresh slate, not in theatre. I made my first short film when I was 19 for a class in College called Film genres. I had been an avid movie watcher and cinephile my whole life, but didn’t realize I could translate my own artistic skills into the film format. Since making films I have never felt anything but uplifted! Theatre can be so competitive because of the scarcity of the time and the roles. Film is about community, its about uplifting and inspiring one another. It felt like the skill set came to me more naturally in an open environment like film. I still love the theatre and will always be a theatre kid in my heart. But with film, it never feels like work. It feels like expression and passion.
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?
1. Like I said earlier, student mentality. The minute the work feels mundane…. It’s time for you to find something different. Keeping yourself learning about new (and old) things will keep your creativity fresh and keep your mind from falling into a pit.
2. Time management! I mean this professionally but also personally. You must learn to be able to do things for yourself as a human being. Allow yourself to completely disconnect from projects at times and go on a walk and be a person! Artists are not meant to be troubled little beings that work away 24/7. To experience beauty in art you must experience beauty in life. In order to tell more connected and personal stories you must go out and experience life. Experience love, hate, heartbreak, anger, resentment, etc. Allow yourself to have the time to feel it all!
3. Keep it personal! As long as you are expressing something personal to you, I promise it will affect others. “The most personal is the most creative.”
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
I just recently read Catching the Bigger Fish by David Lynch. As someone who not only admires Lynch’s work I also admire how he approached his work. Lynch was big into Transcendental Meditation. He said that through this mindful practice we could not only expand our knowledge but also expand our brains capacity to take in more knowledge and understand things from a more level playing ground. The Unified, he calls it. In the book he talks a lot about the importance of emotionally healing and taking care of yourself when you do something as mentally straining as being an artist. I always felt I had to live in my pain and pity in order to make the most honest work out of that, but Lynch actually states how our art can grow and become even better when we express something that we have already healed form instead of opening up a can of worms that isn’t ready to go fishing with yet. I could talk about all the lessons in this book and how I have implemented them into my regular life and my craft of film already, but I would highly suggest you just go and read it yourself. Lynch has a much better worded version of the advice whereas, I can only regurgitate small fragments I interpreted from it like a Priest does.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/k1ngpa1m0n_
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@livibsouthard?si=WLj-J4G4bRNCEPhY
Image Credits
Main photo: Christopher Priest
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
