Meet Amber Steigelfest

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Amber Steigelfest a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Amber, thanks for sitting with us today to chat about topics that are relevant to so many. One of those topics is communication skills, because we live in an age where our ability to communicate effectively can be like a superpower. Can you share how you developed your ability to communicate well?
Before I even hit 9 months old I started talking, and frankly, I don’t think I ever stopped. My love of communicating truthfully comes from my love of making other people happy. Unoriginally, my first word was “mom” and my mother is the person I want to make the happiest. Also, she apparently told me stories all day every day while I was in her stomach, so really it all ties together quite well.

I am a performer because I am a communicator. The absolute best sound in the world is laughter, and if I’m the one able to make someone laugh? Oh boy, I couldn’t imagine a better purpose in life.

These days I perform stand up, act and in film and theatre, and am a screenwriter as well as a published poet. I consume as much as I create. I think sharing one’s own creativity and joy with the world is a gift, and I certainly feel gifted whenever I get to listen to a friend speak and express themselves.

Through acting, I get the privilege of adopting a perspective that is not originally mine, which is one of my favorite things about the craft. My favorite projects are either so funny or heartfelt that they bring real joy and change to a viewer’s day or when I get to play a character that someone who feels very alone in the world can relate to and see that maybe they’re not so isolated. I’ve never gotten to play a historical figure, but that would also be a privilege to showcase and immortalize how that person communicated.

Life is one big collection of stories and memories and the more I can learn about people and the world, the more I’ll have to share, and I believe that never ending cycle will make a really good life.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I’m originally from Nashville, Tennessee and I’ve moved to LA to pursue my dream of both filmmaking and being in films. Truthfully, I am a woman learning how to rest, but I love what I do so much that it’s very hard for me to break away from a new script or stop playing with a character. One of my biggest blessings and anchors in moving to LA was starting my own production company, Archetypes Productions, with my writing partner, Samantha Reed. The name stems from our motivation to tell stories of many different walks of life, with a focus on flipping the narrative of a particular “archetype”. As a woman-owned company, we especially want to tell stories of authentic female friendship and mental health, typically in the form of heartfelt comedy.

While we’ve been making a lot of sketches for our YouTube channel and have two features in the works for distribution, our next project is potentially already my favorite. In March, we will be executive producing and starring in our original short film “Cultivate”. The film begins when my character simply cannot handle the monotony of life anymore and runs away to the Mojave Desert, where her best friend tracks her down and sees that she’s definitely joined a cult (an indisputable fact my character refuses to believe). Our Indiegogo launches January 15th, where we’ll be reaching to the support of our community to make our film possible.

Additionally, I have co-written on several pilots and a couple features that will be pitched around town this year, all comedy focused. Our horror-comedy feature, “Kiss Cake” won the “2023 Best Horror Comedy Screenplay” award at the Austin Comedy Film Festival, was a finalist at the 2023 Las Vegas International Film & Screenwriting Festival in the horror screenplay category, and was an official selection of the 2o23 Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards.

While I can’t wait for all that is upcoming, I also want to give a quick shoutout to some of my favorite projects from 2023 where I met some really incredible creatives. I got the privilege to be in Caitlin Noah’s short film, Earthworms, last March that is in final post-production stages as well as playing the lead in Bryan Ricke’s feature film, F*cking Hilarious, where I got to merge my love of both acting and stand up. My character Lily in F*cking Hilarious was truly the role of a lifetime, and I am so excited for when we get to share it with the world.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I think my focus on building and maintaining strong friendships has been absolutely vital to my journey. Life is short, and it’s so not worth doing alone. For some reason, there seems to be this stigma that succeeding in Hollywood is “one in a million” so you have to move out here and do it on your own. While it’s important to maintain one’s independence and understand that some relationships do come and go, being brave enough to lean on others and generous enough to sometimes put other’s needs before your own leads to a much happier existence. The strength, work ethic, and kindness of my friends motivates me every day to work hard and succeed together. There is no room for jealousy in this life. I believe jealousy stems from one’s own inaction. Likely if you put in the work to achieve the goal you want to achieve, while it might not end up looking exactly how you thought, you still have something going for you rather than focusing unproductively on what you don’t have. I love my friends and seeing talent around me that I can wholeheartedly support, makes me want to stay in this industry every single day even on the hard days where I don’t necessarily feel the best about myself.

Also, I have a huge tolerance for rejection and failure which, as an artist, is necessary. I think it’s always better to put yourself out there, and if someone doesn’t agree or like what you’re saying, then it opens doors to improve, adapt, or realize that you are that much more persistent in your own believe. One door being officially closed just shows you to not waste your time on that door anymore, and instead focus on other doors! I accepted really early on that not hearing a reply (which to me is way worse than a “no”) is pretty typical in this industry. I wish it wasn’t, because sometimes it feels like throwing darts to the sky, but I can deal with it knowing the reality. I auditioned for 76 commercials before I booked one, and when I booked and saw that I had auditioned for 76, I frankly couldn’t believe it had been so many. I just love auditioning, it’s part of the job.

Lastly, I think perspective is the most important thing. It’s something I sometimes struggle with but always try to reintroduce into my life. Counting my blessings and having gratitude allows me to be a joyful and kinder person regardless of anything else that hurts. Of course, there are some struggles that people go through that cannot be thought of in this manner, so I acknowledge that privilege. I would just say anytime you can, take a deep breath and check in on the magnitude of your situation.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I’d love to collaborate! With Archetypes, Sammi and I are always looking for eager filmmakers in the indie film market who want to either join one of our crews, collaborate in building a project, or we can produce something you’ve written. I just love working with people who love what they do. If you have interest in hearing more about/working with our production company, I’m available at amber@archetypesproductions.com

As an actress and stand up comedian, I’m always looking to perform and be involved in your original shows and projects. Please reach out, I’d love to audition for you, join a read through, or who knows, maybe go on tour with you. Also, like I mentioned earlier, I have some scripts I’m planning to pitch, so I’m super open to swapping scripts and exchanging notes. Sammi and I are also looking for a literary manager. You can reach me for any of those purposes at ambersteigelfest@gmail.com

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Headshot: James Depietro Office Wear Picture: Delia Bush Stand Up Picture: Greg Feiner

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