We recently connected with Dawn René Austin and have shared our conversation below.
Dawn René , thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
I’ve asked myself this very question several times before. I find myself wondering why I never give up or why the glass is always half full never empty. The only answer I can come up with is that my resilience is the lingering effect of the barriers I’ve overcome in life.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
My name is Dawn Renè Austin- writer, director, and jewelry designer. I attended Union Institute and University’s Bachelor of Arts department with a concentration in Creative Writing and Literature. From there my writing journey/career focused on freelance journalism, copywriting, and co-writing. Although I was finding success in these areas of writing, it didn’t fulfill the creative aspirations I had. I changed my focus to spoken word poetry, novel writing, and the launch of my jewelry line Very Royal Designs. In 2019, my theatrical play Shooney: A Suicide in Three Acts, was adapted into a film and is currently in production with Noir Diamond Films. This opportunity opened up doors that allowed me to gain experience working on independent film sets, writer’s room for online web series, and expanding my knowledge of the publishing industry.
As a natural progression in my writing journey, I wanted to turn my creative writing into visual art. So, in 2020 I launched my production company Dawniverse Films to create thought-provoking entertainment from the world I created as a child. Our first project was the theatrical adaption of my play Shooney. Our next and biggest project to date is our film Before Dark, which is currently in the editing phase of the project.
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?
First, you have to decide what success looks like to you, and a realistic way to achieve it. Until I named plainly what I desired for a successful life, I couldn’t find success. My advice is to take time to really consider what it is that you want in life, how you define success, and how to realistically achieve it. Next, stay consistent. There’s a reason that consistency is a major part of most success stories. Consistency helps build your brand and defines your target market. And my final tip is to find ways to stay motivated. Your drive is how you will get to your definition of success.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
Collaboration is essential to my field. I would love to work with like minded people who are looking to collaborate on future projects, rather it is writing projects, treatments, production or directing. I love to network and interact with other creatives. We also look for people interested in gaining experience working on film sets.
Contact Info:
- Website: Dawn René Austin (dawnreneaustin.com)
- Instagram: @dawniversefilms
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/dawn.austin.58760/
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/dawn-austin-9b1b6b171/
- Youtube: @dawnreneaustin4977
