Meet Connar Brown

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

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Connar with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?

Truthfully, I think I get my work ethic from my Father. My father was always a hard worker. He worked for Ernst and Young, and his job is what allowed me and the family to live where we lived. I was born in Chicago, but we lived in Japan, London, and Atlanta. He was always working. We would see him mostly in the evenings, as he would work longer days, he would go on business trips, and when we lived in Japan, we would pretty much spend summers apart. It was always a treat when he took us to his office so we could “watch movies in another room”, or when he got to watch over us when our Mother went away on personal trips.

Now let me get this straight, he was present during out childhood, but I was just constantly exposed to his strong work ethic. He was always working hard, and continued to work hard until his recent retirement. I saw his passion, and his drive to get things done efficiently, but also excellently. Maybe this exposure is where I get my perfectionism from. I want to be someone people can rely on, so I always strive for the best when given a new project. I want to be someone people want to work with, or support, or collaborate with, so I treat people the way I want to be treated back on a professional level.

Though he would HATE me for sharing this, I believe I was also passed down the ADHD gene from my father (I love you). Many might say that would make things a bit harder for me, which in some areas it does, but it also allows me to hyper fixate on certain tasks, and get things completed in a timely manner. It also allows me to be a skilled multitasker, and allows me to balance many projects at once. I wear many hats in the creative field, and have a variety of skills. Though I’m an actor, I’m also an editor, a producer, director, a puppeteer, a voice-over artist, a marketing professional, a designer, and an overall type A individual. A true negative is that I feel like I can never stop or rest. Friends and family see me as someone constantly working on “the next project”, and my husband is someone that gives me side-eye every time I’m on my laptop checking emails instead of lounging on the couch.

Full disclosure, I am a freelancer and financially it can be a bit rough at times, and sometimes I have many different projects all at once. It can take a slight mental health toll, and I know that doesn’t float everyone’s boat. I get it. But it has allowed me to keep in the creative mindset, work with some amazing people, work on a variety of scaled projects, and feel like I accomplish something.

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?

As mentioned, I am a multi hat wearing individual based in Chicago. Overall, I’m someone that enjoys playing, getting messy, and creating. So much so that I currently share a production company with a friend called, She Them Productions.

I pretty much have always had a creative mind, but I typically say I started acting when I was about 8 years old. It was back at the Tokyo International School of the Sacred Heart. My first show was put on by the school’s choir–it was a musical version of Snow White by Roald Dahl. I portrayed the Huntsman. From there I pretty much took every drama class opportunity. It continued at the American School in London, and at the Atlanta International School, where I took IB Theatre at a Higher Level (basically AP Theatre). It was there I found my love for puppetry through a production of Avenue Q Jr., and my strong interest in Physical Theatre. I continued the craft at Columbia College Chicago where I learned a wide range of skills from Realism, to motion graphics, to stage combat, to audio reel creation. I basically collected tons of skills, so if I ever felt obliged, I could create my own content, or support others with theirs. Today, I am still an active member of the Chicago Theatre community, and I offer freelance video editing services for a flexible acting schedule.

It wasn’t until 2021, around the pandemic that I found my passion for producing and creating. My friend Brittany Devon and Fiona Campbell were taking a virtual Create Your Own Content class with Cathy Reinking, and invited myself to join. We took the class together for a few months, along with some others, and it turned into a Writers Room. We collaboratively came up with a mini-series called, Breakout, and we wrote all the scripts. In the heat of excitement, we were able to fundraise enough money to film the pilot. We had folks from Atlanta, New York, Chicago, and Grand Rapids, but through fundraising, we were able to send everyone to Grand Rapids and get the pilot filmed. Though the whole creation process was very collaborative, when it came to production, I took a very strong leadership role and was the main producer, and director. The week of filming truly felt like a fun creative retreat. I felt very fulfilled just being immersed in “creativity and play.”

With all my various tools in my tool-belt, I get to put those skills to the test with She Them Productions. It was founded by Brittany and Fiona. After producing some other content together, I decided to join officially. We created content such as Platonic Girlfriend, Chicago Ned and Chicago Petey, as well as short films rooted in truth. Now Fiona is focusing on some amazing work in microbiology, while Brittany and I continue to leisurely produce content through the company. She Them Productions is mostly a platform for us to have fun and create. A way for us to share our own stories and characters instead of waiting for the industry to accept or pass. It’s a place for Brittany and I to connect with each other, laugh, create comedic bits, but then also get vulnerable and share stories that aren’t typically shared. For example, Platonic Girlfriend became a series about polyamorous relationships, the acceptance, the love, and the effects it can have on yourself and partner if not communicated “properly.” As we work on season 3, it is again transforming into a piece about self love. All the emotional core elements are based on real experiences and emotions from Brittany and Fiona. Our short film Relieved, which was recently released, covers content about emotional abuse from a friend, and is based on real emotions from myself. It’s a platform for us, but we also ideally want it to be a place for folks with similar experiences to connect, and feel seen.

We are also currently developing a short form web series called Trailer Broads. The synopsis: “Gina and Stace are two “broads” from Chicago, but when they witness a news report about meteor, they drop everything and go live in a trailer on Stace’s family property. Of course, they only bring the ‘essentials.’ Comedy, life, and wilderness dilemmas ensue.” Through generous donations we were able to film the first few episodes, and we continue filming mid July! We are still taking any donations to finish the final episodes, so if anyone feels inclined, they can donate directly on our website here: (https://www.shethemproductions.com/). Any potential leftover donations will support our future projects!

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

I would say one quality is empathy. I was fortunate enough to travel a lot and witness different cultures, experiences, and overall just different people. This allowed me to understand and appreciate differences, but also realize we are all just people. We have good days, we have bad days, and we are all just trying to make it through this messy beautiful world. Appreciate and support one another. Not only does it make you a great collaborator, but it makes you an overall good person, and ideally more people will remember you, and want to work with you!

I would say another is “trying new things.” I love exploring new neighborhoods, restaurants, recipes, and playing around with things on set. You never know what you might like or be good at until you try it. Yea, you might make a mistake, but practice makes perfect–or you know to never do it again. Trying new things, and just saying yes to projects has definitely provided me with my many tools in my tool belt. I had no production experience before filming Breakout, but I took the risk with my other collaborators, and we got the piece done! If we never took that leap, we would’ve never brought it to life, and it never would have taken myself to film festivals with it!

Lastly, have fun. Remember why you are doing what you are doing. I understand sometimes things can feel a bit more dull, or projects can feel a bit more like work than a passion project. Find the fun in everything. Even in the most complicated or dramatic of pieces, you can have a good laugh. Find the balance of professionalism and play. Share a laugh with your team. Set your project in a different location so you can find the joy of travel. Create a character you never get to portray. When Brittany and I create, we always make each other laugh. I mean, who else would have an implied “sex” scene with Capri Sun packets during an episode of Platonic Girlfriend?

What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?

You know, I think it depends on what you want to do, and your type of personality. If you have a very specific goal in mind, then I think build your skills for that specific goal. I DO think if you want to be more of just a “general creative,” it probably helps to have a tool belt with various skills. I definitely have a bunch of skills with various strength levels, and it’s worked for me in my career path. As an actor, I can sing, dance, and puppeteer. I have done stage, screen, and voiceover. For film, I can edit, direct, produce, and do basic cinematography. I mean, we live in a time where being just an actor doesn’t really cut it anymore. When you film self tapes, you are basically working as a director, cinematographer, lighting designer, editor, and costumer designer, so having some skills in a few of those already will elevate your self tape.

Beyond that, if you want to create something I think you DO need multiple skills. Especially just starting out, you will do a little bit of everything. Do you need to know every element? No, but having knowledge on a little bit of everything will definitely help you. Even just learning some film terms to communicate your vision better to the DP and team is beneficial and appreciated. As mentioned, when I attended Columbia College Chicago, I already had an inkling that I wanted to create so I made sure to get a minor in Video Production so I could film, and a minor in Voice-Over as another acting outlet and to potentially use in my creations. With my video production minor, I learned the basics in cinematography and specific terms used so I would be able to communicate with cinematographers, I learned how to edit so I could piece everything together, I learned the importance of lighting design, I learned a bit of Motion Graphics incase of anything, and I learned the basic timeline of preproduction through post production. For awhile as well, my day job was admin work, so I had skills in tracking, creating spreadsheets, making checklists, and managing budgets. Everything just sort of pieced together into a perfect puzzle, and path. All of those varying skills gave me confidence enough to film Breakout, and continue producing.

Having a bunch of skills also allows you more opportunities at times! Because maybe you’re not needed as an actor for a project, but they are looking for an editor, or marketing person. I have the ability to support in those areas, and still have fun! But again, think about what your end goal is. Think about what you want to do. If you only want to direct major motion pictures, I’m all about putting 100% towards that goal and skill and just building your directing resume. But if you’re a bit more “go with the flow,” or just want to create, I say grab a hard hat and starting filling your belt with tools.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Allie Idrac Photography, Tyler Core Photography, Elisha Knight, Kenny Boos. Stills from She Them Productions (DP: Kenny Boos, DP: Brett Peabody).

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Beating Burnout

Often the key to having massive impact is the ability to keep going when others

Where does your generosity come from?

Over the years, we have consistently been blown away by the examples of generosity we’ve

From Burnout to Balance: The Role of Self-Care

Burning out is one of the primary risks you face as you work towards your