Meet Austin Lightning Carrothers

We recently connected with Austin Lightning Carrothers and have shared our conversation below.

Austin Lightning, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

In my mid-twenties a number of events led me to my local theater where I found a greater sense of purpose than I had ever felt before. Prior to this, while studying philosophy, I had been a college athlete and worked blue collar jobs including farm manager, carpenter, tennis coach, and line cook. Then at twenty-seven life shook me up. I lost a dear friend, I broke my hand, and a long-term relationship came to an end. I yearned for purpose and community. It had been suggested to me that I might enjoy acting and so I went to the Center for Performing Arts in Rhinebeck and picked up a flyer for Sondheim’s Assassins. I learned 3 songs to audition with and was lucky the director Ellen Honig took a chance and cast me as Leon Czolgosz, the polish factory worker. I met a woman at a farmers’ market who was from Poland and met with her to develop my accent. I remember feeling so much empathy for the character. I was struck by the sense of family that developed over the 2 months of rehearsals and the joy (and nerves) I felt while bringing the story to life for an audience. I have continued acting for nearly 10 years now. I founded a theater company, TroupEnigma, alongside two of my fellow actors and mentors. I have had the pleasure of working on straight plays, farces, musicals, and the occasional film. Each opportunity led to another and soon I developed a community throughout the Hudson Valley. All the while I was working during the day as a farmer, carpenter, and musician. Eventually after much deliberation I moved one hundred miles south to New York City where I have called home for the past two and a half years. I have now had the honor, privilege, and good fortune of telling stories with incredible talents from all over the world. So how did I find my purpose? I followed my gut that story telling is an important and worthwhile endeavor and every day I work at finding a way to engage with this passion.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

My journey is unique in that I received training after learning my craft through experience. After working in the Hudson Valley for many years, serving on the board of the Rhinebeck Theater Society and founding TroupEnigma L.L.C. I decided to receive instruction at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. In the few months since graduating from their company program, I have done an exploration of Lungs by Duncan Macmillian, worked on a few short films, and directed a 2 hander at the Players Theater on Macdougal St in Greenwich Village. I recently joined Actors Equity and have been busy auditioning for Broadway and Off-Broadway. I am encouraged to have gotten my first callback for a Broadway show and will continue to share my work wherever and whenever I have the opportunity. My focus moving forward is to continue pursuing work on stage, and in film and television. I believe wholeheartedly the stories we share shape our world and it brings me great joy to have a hand in the story-telling. I am currently workshopping a few new plays, preparing for short films, and writing a film. My hope is that my brand of storytelling communicates hard-work, joy, and compassion.

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

Learning to sing and play piano at a young age has been instrumental in tuning my ear and voice. I am very sensitive to sound and use that sensitivity in my craft. College sports and blue collar work has given me an athleticism very useful for an actor. Our instrument is our body and so keeping it in tune is one of my top priorities. Surrounding myself with people with different occupations, lifestyles, viewpoints has given me a broad view of the landscape of humanity. When I read a script I often times will visualize someone I have known in the past, and this works as a great starting point for building a character. Studying philosophy gave me insight into the logic of a sentence and an appreciation for the meaning of words. How we say something is just as informative as what we are saying. Finally, playing collegiate basketball taught me to show up ready to work in a collective setting. Leading is important, but being there for your teammates elevates the work being done.
For folks just beginning their journey into acting I would recomend they live life as fully as possible. Make mistakes. Read great literature. See or play music. Fall in love! Fall out of love. Take risks and experience life.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

I am always on the look out for new projects to work on. I love meeting people who are driven to raise the bar for themselves and others in any endeavour. I think fun happens when the work or exploration is done with intention and respect. I am aware of how fortunate I am to be able to build a career in the arts and I look for folks with a similar mindset. I am looking for collaborators who will push me to excel and expect the same in return. To anyone who reads this and feels they have found a kindred spirit please don’t hesitate to visit my website and reach out.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.AustinCarrothers.com
• Instagram: AlightningC
• Facebook: Austin Lightning Carrothers
• Linkedin: Austin Lightning Carrothers
• Other: Spotify: Austin Lightning Carrothers
  Actors Access: AustinLightning

Image Credits

Luana Maria Seu
Louisa Vilardi
Devin Pickering
HanJie Chow