Meet Courtney Doyle

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Courtney Doyle. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Courtney, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

I sort of accidentally stumbled into my purpose before I was even fully aware of it. When I was a kid–I think around Kindergarten–I would give my family nightly performances reenacting what had happened at school that day, replete with voices and characterizations. Even though my parents would have preferred that I sit in my high chair and actually eat dinner, they couldn’t help but get a kick out of my little stories. My nightly performances eventually inspired my parents to put me into improv and acting classes when I was eight, in an attempt to release my excess energy and creativity. I turned out to be really good at it, and soon I was cast in my first play.
From that moment on, I spent my entire childhood and adolescence in acting classes and performing in plays. Nothing brought as much joy or felt as invigorating as making an audience laugh or taking them on a long, emotional journey. Whether it was something born inherent in me or a natural development in response to my surroundings, nothing felt as aligned to me as entertaining the masses. Acting feels like a magic trick in a way–while you’re performing, you are providing an honest, depthy, dynamic experience, but once you’re offstage, you are just you again, messing around or dealing with whatever is happening in your life at the moment. It’s as much an escape for the actor as it is for the audience, in my opinion.
Like all young actors studying performance, I went through a lot of dark times–acting at the collegiate level is no joke. It is a true test of your emotional endurance (this is would be another essay, but I have a LOT of opinions on the toxicity of acting programs), and I’ll be honest, after I graduated, I felt completely lost. I’d been broken down in so many ways that by the time I had moved to LA and was ready to act professionally, I had lost any ounce of confidence that I deserved to be considered or that I even knew how to act. There’s something really scary about doing something your entire life only to be faced with the question of whether or not you have wasted decades of your life because you may not be as good as you thought you were at that thing. I decided to instead turn my attention to writing–something else I love and am a natural at–but as much as I love it, it never filled my heart in the exact same way. My lovely husband gently brought this observation to my attention–he could tell that I love to write but he’s never seen me light up about it in quite the same way as I do when I get to perform.
Thanks to my iconic therapist, a former actor herself, I have been able to slowly but surely build back the confidence I lost in my four years in college. I’m not gonna lie–it took me about five years to get back to a base level of confidence and the understanding that I AM an actor, I AM good at it, and it IS what I love to do. Recent projects I have been lucky to be involved in have helped remind me of this as well–even after a twelve hour day on set, I come home absolutely invigorated because I got to spend twelve whole hours doing the thing I love to do and that I am so good at!

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I am an actor and a writer which means my life is constantly ebbing and flowing with moments of amazing opportunity with long stretches of time filled with anxiety and dread! When I was younger I never understood how projects like Hamilton could take someone nearly a decade of their life to accomplish, but as I’ve gotten older and more entrenched in the life of an artist, I have a better understanding of the snails pace with which projects crawl along. It’s a necessary evil of being a creative, and the two projects I want to highlight are both years in the making. I am so, so proud of both projects, and I am excited to share them!
The first is a short film by up-and-coming writing/directing duo BOYFRIENDS (Ben Weiss and Will Thede). It’s a queer, campy, dark comedy called TALK SHIT. Ben & Will have been developing a feature-length script for TALK SHIT since 2022. I’m lucky enough to have been one of the first people to read the feature last year, so I have been privy to the development of the project from its near nascent stages. It’s been an absolute delight to bear witness to the intense creativity of BOYFRIENDS. Earlier this spring they decided to adapt the feature into a short film in order to garner intrigue through festivals with the ultimate goal of securing funding and shooting the entire feature in the near future. Without giving too much away, I can say with absolute certainty that this short film is already iconic–the writing finesse of Ben Weiss combining with the visual eye of Will Thede with flavors of their shared favorite director Pedro Almodovar has created the most wild, beautiful, hilarious, freaky baby. Just last month they flew my costar and me out to New York for a whirlwind three-day shoot which was, first of all, so fun, and second of all, one of the most creatively fulfilling experiences of my life. Not only was the script incredible but the entire production team was at the top of their game, ensuring that the BOYFRIENDS vision was coming to absolute fruition. Candidly, Ben Weiss is one of my best friends from college, and we collaborated so much in our four years studying together, which added another layer to the special pie that is TALK SHIT. Being able to watch someone I love dearly and whom I believe to be absolutely brilliant in such an exciting position–directing his first short film–is a memory that I will cherish forever. So please get excited to see TALK SHIT coming to a film festival near you!
The second project I am excited to share is a new venture for me–my debut novel. I have always considered myself a screenwriter/TV writer by trade, but I got the itch a few years ago to take a stab at writing a novel, and after thinking about it for literal years (and being pushed by my dear friend Monica who believed I could do it), I sat down last year and began working on it. It’s a dark comedy called Camp Friends that examines the the cult-like behavior of theatre school and its repercussions into adulthood. So far, writing a novel has, of course, been challenging, but ultimately it’s been so fulfilling. I am excited to finish it in the coming months and eventually sell & publish it. So keep your eyes peeled in the coming years for my literary debut.

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

1. Confidence– confidence is key in pursuing a career as an artist. I have personally struggled on and off for years, constantly oscillating between feeling absolutely talentless and feeling like the most amazing actor in the world, near delusion-level. Even though it sounds cringe, I do think that being delusion-level confident is unfortunately necessary in achieving your goals. You don’t have to be a dick, obviously, but you have to allow your more grandiose inner voice to drown out your more diminishing one.
2. Just Send an Email — In the past few years I have learned that many of the things I felt were unattainable to me–certain jobs, securing an agent, getting important advice– are actually very attainable through a simple email or DM. I personally hate the idea of “networking” so for years I allowed myself to fell absolutely clueless about how to achieve my goals when really all I needed to do was suck it up and shoot off an email. So tamp down your ego and blast your information out into the world–something will stick.
3. Strong Support Network — I am so lucky to have an incredible support network or wildly empathetic and enthusiastic friends. You need to be surrounded by people who genuinely believe in you, understand that your professional trajectory is unusual, and love you even when you feel like an utter loser! Also, my husband is a fellow creative and it is so helpful to be in a relationship with someone who just gets the ups and downs in a way others may not. I’d be a puddle of despair without him.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

I have a few strategies that I call on when I am feeling overwhelmed. The first thing I usually do is remove myself from whatever it is that feels overwhelming–for instance, if it’s something I am writing, I will literally stand up and leave the room that my laptop is in. I oftentimes take a break to either go for a run, a walk, or do some yoga to truly get out of my head and back into my body. Also, I love a guided meditation to help calm me in moments of overwhelm. Once I’ve calmed my nervous system, I will then think about the problem that is overwhelming me and break it into small, attainable pieces. I attack each piece slowly and allow each step to feel like it’s own individual achievement until I have completed them all. It’s almost like a video game!
Now, sometimes, practical advice doesn’t ease the feelings of overwhelm, and in those moments I genuinely believe that it is OK to take a protracted break to watch reality TV, take a nap, or do something else completely unrelated. Sometimes you just need to let something lie for a day and then the next day it won’t feel as insurmountable.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @c_doyzee

Image Credits

Headshot by Siobhan Webb