We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Em Persico a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Em, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?
After graduating with a BA in Cinema from San Francisco State University, I came back home to SoCal without much confidence in myself. I was severely depressed in my final year of college struggling with my gender identity, my fear of not being able to make a living with an arts degree, and feeling overwhelmed by the task of finishing all my classes to graduate. The year after graduating I moved back home to the Los Angeles area, got gender affirming Top Surgery, and had to figure out what I was going to do without Higher Education to give me purpose.
It took me a full year to get out of my own way and get help from mental health professionals and make a new plan for myself.
I took an acting class, comedy classes, and finally landed on clown classes. Clown classes, workshops, and intensives gave me the confidence I needed to pursue my entertainment goals as well as learn to breathe and settle my nervous system.
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 a Queer non-binary artist. My production company, EMICO PRODUCTIONS LLC focuses on making opportunities for minorities, the LGBTQ+ community, and getting our stories heard. I started this company right at the start of lock down around the same time when I started my podcast, “Artists w/ Em.” I decided that if I wanted artistic jobs and opportunities, I had to make them myself. Since starting this company, I have hosted a Podcast, Writing groups, Variety shows, Scene showcases, networking events, and many more activities and events that bring like minded individuals together. I want to continue to build an environment where artists can find each other and make projects together. I hope to start making more film projects with this network that I have created but for now we are developing our skills at my monthly variety show “Queer, Fems, & Em” as well as at the scene showcase that we just had in August. If you would like to get involved with our events like our monthly show “Queers, Fems, & Em,” or work with us on other projects, please follow our Instagram. @emicoproductions
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?
Growing up, learning new skills was always difficult. Learning how I process information, absorb lessons, and get proficient at a task was a challenge. At the time no one knew I was neurodivergent, so I had to learn how to learn by trial and error. This challenging childhood gave me the skills and perseverance to learn difficult things as well as have the confidence to keep at it even when I’m not good at it right away. Three things that I recommend people to do when they are just starting out, is hire yourself for the job you want, don’t be afraid to be bad at something that is new to you, and find like minded people who can help you along the way.
We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?
Any skill that I have had to be worked on and developed. I am a bit more naturally gifted in art and creative projects but I still had to work on them, like spending hours at a time painting and drawing with a variety of materials since I was in elementary school. I am better at writing than math, which is why I spent many lunch periods with math teachers. I think it is smart to keep learning and challenging yourself and not lean on already developed skills. I have been interested in making art and music since I was little and each skill or interest that I dived deeply into helps the other interest. For example, when I was in film school, I also studied Latin Percussion in the Afro Cuban Ensemble. Up until college, I had played most instruments and sang in choirs, but I had never done Latin music, which has an entirely different way to hear the beat. It took me months in class holding claves trying to figure out where it falls into the musical phrase which doesn’t always start on the down beat. I worked for hours a day to learn how to play the bongos, shekere, hand percussion, and conga drums. Eventually I got really good at them. After graduation I used this skill in an unusual situation, in clown performances! This skill gave me a foot in the door with the already established LA clowns and I was regularly sought out. I played improvised percussion at many events such as, “Night Zoo” and “Clown Zoo” with Chad Damiani and Natalie Palamides. Chad Damiani has given me many opportunities since I started to work with him and he has become a supportive mentor of mine.
I doubt that I would have had as many opportunities in my life if I only did activities that play to my natural strengths. A well rounded artist works long hours at their natural strengths as well as their perceived shortcomings.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/empersico
- Instagram: @empersico
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/em-persico-13911289/
- Other: Production Company Instagram: @emicoproductions
Image Credits
Aver DelVecchio Zen Hunter Shannan Calcutt Mary Huth
