Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Christina Linhardt. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Christina, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
Building confidence and self-esteem can be one of the hardest hurdles to overcome. People are sometimes surprised to hear me admit to feeling insecure. Having acting skills, i’ve learned to fake confidence. I remember an acting class years ago, where the instructor told me i came off “apologetic” as if i didn’t feel i deserved to be up there on stage. I took that to heart and did my best to walk and present with poise, but to avoid seemingly arrogance or conceit. I remember once hearing a legendary singer say on stage “When will people realize i’m still faking it.” In a way we all are “faking it until we make it”. But that is all the external facade. Genuine self-esteem comes from deep internal work, which i have done. I’ve participated in Buddhist meditation retreats, new age seminars, therapy, life coaching…you name it! But what i have to say helps the most is practice and experience in one’s craft. The more gigs i’ve done, the more work i’ve put in, the more real life experience i’ve gained, the more i can feel “i’ve got this. i know what i’m doing. i’ve done it before, i can do it again.” We can study for years, even decades at the University, and i believe study and training is essential, but not until we are out in the real world, do we understand what it takes to do our jobs. As one singing teacher said “it’s the school of hard knocks”. So i took every gig, every job that came my way, for the experience, and practical knowledge it provided.
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?
My childhood was somewhat unique, growing up travelling between Los Angeles, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. My father was somewhat of a cultural liason, so we were spending time with authors, artists, diplomats, and politicians. I wasn’t tuned into pop culture, so my interests and even career branding have been “vintage” even “historical”. I received my Bachelors of Music in Vocal Arts from USC, but instead of going straight out into the classical world, i became much more circus and cabaret oriented. My first album is titled “Circus Sanctuary” (available everywhere online) and my first documentary is titled “Guantanamo Circus” which is available on Amazon Prime, and was selected by the Library of Congress for their permanent collection. I have always been interested in arts as education, as well as healing. One of my greatest passions is using theater as therapy with memory care, at-risk youth and PTSD Veterans in recovery. Theater has the power to transform and heal. Under the guise of a character, clients can express certain sentiments they may not feel comfortable expressing as themselves. I’ve written a book “Echoes in the Twilight” about the work i’ve done with Alzheimers patients including some original group poems written by the patients. The book has not yet been released, but look for it soon!
My second documentary “TROY! The Original Lady Boy” just got released on TubiTV. It is about the loveable, flamboyant, gender bending, honky-tonk Queen Troy Walker and his joie de vivre. An inspiration for us all. Also, i just wrapped a movie “The Fantastic Santa Monaco” by film-maker Alexsiya Flora. I can’t wait for it to come out! Most of my career has been live entertainment, and as of the last couple years i realized how much i will always need to do live, interactive gigs. That being said, i’m enjoying moving into on-camera jobs, besides just the body parts modelling that i do, and also doing more studio singing. I’m currently working with producer Bernhard Penzias on a very innovative folk-tronica project, and excited to see where it takes us.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Looking back, I think the most important qualities, are determination, tenacity, and social skills. Determination to make it happen, tenacity to just keep going, and social skills to connect and meet the people who can offer opportunities. When i was younger i really didn’t like the expression “It’s not WHAT you know, it’s WHO you know.” Unfortunately, like it or not, it is very true. My advise to myself and others , is to always cultivate personal relationships. Keep in touch with people. Show interest in them. Ask them about themselves. Be nice to everyone. Two personal anecdotes, to demonstrate what i mean. Once I was back stage with Lily Tomlin. We were on the same line-up. She asked everyone their names. And she not only remembered our names but used them frequently. Made us all feel like a million bucks! Another incident. Before I was an official member of the Magic Castle, I was performing in a show there. I believe everyone who works on a show is of equal importance, and i treat them with the utmost respect. A stage hand helped move a few props of mine. When I finally decided to audition to become a member of the Castle, the same “stage hand” also happened to be a prominent magician in his own right and was on the committee deciding who is admitted as new Magician Members. Everybody deserves respect, regardless, but also, one never knows when you may cross paths again. Build bridges, don’t burn them.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
As I wrote before, I am interested in continuing to move more into recording music and session singing. Singing live has been so fulfilling, and has taken me all over the world, and now i’m ready to record more. I’m always interested in working with composers for film, television and video game. I’m also always interested in licensing my previously recorded music to film, tv and video games. So meeting composers and music supervisors (who are the most sought after people on the planet!) are always of interest to me. Collaborating with other film makers is also always intriguing. i can be reached via messenger on my social media sites such as facebook, instagram, or via linkedin, youtube or imdb pro.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.circussanctuary.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christinalinhardt/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christina.linhardt/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christina-linhardt-bb4b027/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/lartp
- Other: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christina_Linhardt https://music.apple.com/us/artist/christina-linhardt/5947434 https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3100936/
Image Credits
John DiBona, Colleen Dodson Baker, MG Moscatello, El Fatom, Luc Nicnair “Bordello Bandits” series
