We recently connected with Evadne Bryan Perkins and have shared our conversation below.
Evadne, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.
Creativity keeps me alive, so I have to find ways to nurture it. I keep my eyes, ears, touch and taste open to creative inspiration. Curiosity feeds my creativity. Most of the time I have shared my creativity with the world. I’ve learned over the years, that being creative without an audience is just as important for learning new skills, developing critical thinking and feeling deeply. There were three times in my life (so far), that I was unable to share my creativity with a live audience. During those times I learned that creativity isn’t only about output, but about feeding the brain. Some of the ways I feed my brain are with books, solo travel, daydreaming and stream of consciousness writing.
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?
Like most people with an artistic career, my path was bumpy and fraught with obstacles. I started in theater at the age of eight. I played the part of Martha, Tiny Tim’s sister in “A Christmas Carol”. What I felt on that stage was my whole body firing off with the electricity of creativity. As an introvert, acting allowed me to get out of my own way by shifting the focus from myself and onto the character. As soon as I graduated from High School, I moved to the city of Portland. I started auditioning for local commercials and eventually was approached by then Film student & later the founder of the Bluestocking Film Festival, Kate Kaminski. She offered me a role in her student film. After working with her a a few years, I wanted to learn more about this craft that stretched my mind and freed my imagination. I attended Acting school and through that I discovered musical Theater. It turned my creativity and career in a totally different direction. A new way to express myself. Music allowed me to connect with myself & with an audience through lyrics, mine and my interpretation of other peoples. I moved away from acting to sing & travel with a band for 8 years. When I returned to theater, the lack of diversity gnawed at me. I decided to write about it for a local paper. The uproar from the article resulted in losing my agent and being black balled in the industry for over three years. During that time my creativity turned inward and I started college at age 50, majoring in Linguistics, American Sign language. At age 56 I learned to play the drums. The pandemic reshaped my creativity once again. I now share my music on YouTube, play small weddings & venues and have rediscovered jewelry making which I started in my 20’s and now I sell by commission.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I think one of the skills that impacted my life was listening. Through listening you learn about the world & people. Also it gives you the chance to ruminate on what is being said. It makes you a more compassionate and thoughtful being. Curiosity, for me , is vital, because from that comes inspiration and adventure. A love of reading comes from curiosity, a love of travel comes from curiosity. Most important is the skill of finding moments of joy, no matter what is happening in your life. Joy is resistance and resilience. My advice for folks who are early on in their journey is, travel. Travel often and go to places that are far removed from your everyday life, language & culture. Travel has within it the seeds of creativity. Read books about places, people & cultures that are hugely different from your, if travel is unavailable or prohibitive. Also do the thing, take that class, audition and apply for that job, even if your inner voice says “no way” .
How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?
The biggest challenge I am currently facing is ageism in the arts…for women…women of color. The arts tries to convince you that with age comes not wisdom, but irrelevancy. Audition after audition the requirements are white or the infamous “racially ambiguous”, thin and of course 18-30. Parts for Black/Brown & Indigenous women are few and even fewer if you are over 30. In music women face the same obstacles. It calls for a constant shift in creative endeavors, but with resilience I rise to the occasion in joy.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://eiayay.blogspot.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reeleiayay/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/evadne.bryanperkins
- Twitter: https://x.com/eiayay
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2fS4EPtlqCpk6BFYkd8jwA
Image Credits
Kate Kaminski
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