Meet Caitlin McNeilage

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

Caitlin, thanks for taking the time to share your lessons with our community today. So, let’s jump right in – one of the most essential skills for unlocking our potential is self-discipline. Where does your self-discipline come from?

I truly believe that you won’t get anywhere in life by assuming the answer will always be “no.” One of my biggest pieces of advice to folks is always to send the reach out, send the ask, pitch yourself, ask someone if you can buy them coffee. The worst thing that can happen is they might say no. But what if they don’t? You’ll never know if you take yourself out of the game before ever even taking a shot.

No one will ever be as invested in your career or success as you will so you have to do it yourself. And you have to find the motivation from within.

So take a shot. Take a risk. Bet on yourself. You never know what it might lead to!

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

Caitlin is a New York-based actor and producer. She is a graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts’ New Studio on Broadway Musical Theatre program.

After her beloved hometown was hit by Category 5 Hurricane Michael in October of 2018, Caitlin created a non-profit organization and produced a benefit concert at 54 Below in NYC to raise funds for recovery. Broadway stars from Hamilton, Frozen, Wicked, Mean Girls, The Phantom of the Opera, Hello Dolly!, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and more performed with Caitlin and the night was a huge success! Plus, she found a new passion for producing.

Since then, Caitlin’s producing resume has expanded to include Barbie the Movie: in Concert at The Hollywood Bowl (Assoc. Prod.), Wild About You at Theatre Royal Drury Lane on The West End (Assoc. Prod.), three hit shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and her popular 54 Below concert series, “The Leading Lady Club.” Other credits: The Leading Lady Club: A Feminist (But Still Likable) Sketch Show at NYC Fringe (Awards for Best Comedy and Fan Favorite), The Things I Did While Waiting For You To Fall Back In Love With Me (59E59), Lighthouse: An Immersive Drinking Musical (SoHo Playhouse), The Super Crazy Funtime Show (Amazon Prime), and Food Fighters (Off Broadway). She was an Associate Producer on the World Premiere Recording of the new musical, Wild About You, featuring Lea Salonga, Alex Newell, and Katharine McPhee. She also serves as the Associate Producer for the Tony®Award-Winning production company, Keaka Productions, assisting on Broadway shows such as The Hills of California, SUFFS, Leopoldstadt, Six, Prima Facie, Come From Away, and more.

She is also the creator, producer, and host of a podcast called “The Leading Lady Club” where she interviews women who are leading the way in various career fields. Her podcast is listened to by audiences in 26 different countries and is known for both lighthearted pop culture banter as well as important deep dives into current events, while always celebrating and empowering women in leadership positions.

This podcast led Caitlin to create her production company, Leading Lady Creative, which focuses on creating and producing content by, for, and about women. Caitlin is passionate about showcasing complicated, messy, strong, three dimensional women and the stories they have to share. Learn more about her upcoming projects at leadingladycreative.com.

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

1) Resilience – I’ve experienced plenty of set backs in my career and I’ve never once let it stop me. I don’t believe in accepting closed doors. I believe in finding a different door. My journey has been very different than what I imagined when I was growing up, but that’s because when one door closed, I found a different path. So, yes, I arrived in the Broadway industry in a much different capacity than I once planned, but I am still fortunate enough to be in the rooms I always hoped to be in. I get to work with folks I admired growing up. And I’ve been able to do it in a way where I still feel a sense of agency over my life and career.

2) Tenacity – One of my biggest pieces of advice for young aspiring actors is to not wait for someone else to give you a job. Of course you have to audition and you have to “ask” for jobs constantly, but don’t let that be all you do. Make your own work. Produce your own show. Put on your own concert. Don’t let your creativity stop flowing while you wait for someone else to give you an opportunity. I know it can seem easier said than done but you have to fight for your own career and make sure you’re trying every avenue to move your life and career forward.

3) Empathy – It’s really fun and exciting to talk about being a “boss” and having a successful career but at the end of the day, none of that matters to me as much as being someone that people want to have in the room. I hope my legacy is one of kindness and compassion and listening louder than I speak. I believe we learn more from people who are different than us than we do from people who are similar. It’s so important to learn from other people and their experiences and always try to see things through their point of view. Our world needs more compassionate and empathetic leaders. I really believe you can be strong and respected without losing sight of basic humanity. We all have to do a better job of taking care of one another in this life.

What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?

My parents really instilled the importance of hard work in me from a young age. They have each forged unique career paths for themselves and faced many setbacks but have never shied away from hard work. And they never let me take the easy way out growing up, either. If I committed myself to something, I wasn’t allowed to quit. Even if it was hard. Even if I wasn’t very good at it. I had to tough it out and bring my best effort to it no matter what it was. And I knew my parents would be there to cheer me on whether I succeeded or failed. But I had to try. Always.

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