Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Genevieve Sage. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Genevieve , we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
Confidence is a rollercoaster—mostly a slow, rickety climb with the occasional
thrilling drop. Ever notice how some people love to hate confidence, especially in women?
Society treats it like an allergic reaction. I learned this the hard way when a teacher despised
my confidence as a kid. Her personal vendetta against my growing sense of self and popularity
haunted me for years, leaving deep scars on my developing girlhood and shaking my
confidence to its core.
Here’s the thing: I don’t believe confidence is something you’re simply born with. It’s not hiding
in your DNA next to your hair texture or lactose tolerance. Confidence comes from
momentum—tiny wins that stack up until one day you’re showing up with your shoulders back
and your voice steady. Sure, sometimes you do have to fake it till you make it, but let’s not
pretend circumstances don’t matter. Success breeds confidence. Validation helps. If you were
the only person on earth, you wouldn’t even know what confidence was. It’s a societal
construct—some people hand it to you, others snatch it away like the last charger at an airport
gate.
As a writer, actress, filmmaker, and artist, I’ve been through the wringer. I’ve had massive
auditions (including one for Invincible, where I somehow ended up with a mullet the night
before—spoiler: I did not get the part). I’ve crashed the Sundance Film Festival and shared a
townhouse with Paris and Nicky Hilton (don’t ask). I’ve had a viral moment on Portlandia, and
I’ve also starred in a sci-fi film that promised me an action figure and the chance to become a
thousandaire… except the movie never saw the light of day.
Rejection? Oh, I’ve been rejected a million-gazillion times, but like the Terminator, I always
regenerate. I’ve been fired from menial jobs, sure, but I’ve also pitched TV pilots and films to
major networks like Netflix and Elizabeth Banks’ production company. My life is a parade of
almost there moments, but you know what? Those near-misses remind me how far I’ve come.
Just the other day, I was talking to a fellow filmmaker (Hey, Sarey!) about discipline. She asked,
“How do you find the time and will to write?” And I said, “I write for my mental health. I don’t
have a choice.”
So here I am—shopping a sci-fi feature film and two shorts, developing a live theater one-woman
show about Dorothy Parker, and I’m writing a delicious page-turner made for poolside gossip and
sunscreen-smeared fingers.
I’m cooking up ideas, throwing spaghetti at the wall, and hoping a wet noodle sticks—
ideally in the form of a livable wage and a little recognition.
Confidence isn’t magic, and it sure as hell isn’t given freely. You have to fight for it, work for it,
bleed for it—and if that doesn’t scare you off? Then welcome to the (spaghetti) club.
Confidence isn’t about being perfect—it’s about being who you are, flaws and all. It’s
about wearing what makes you feel like yourself, whether it’s a power suit or your favorite pair of
sweatpants. As a girl, I used to spin around in my backyard, dreaming of what my version of
Wonder Woman would look like—because that’s what confidence felt like to me: owning your
own narrative, no matter what anyone else thinks.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Talk about myself? Twist my arm! I’m a storyteller for the stage, a writer/scriptwriter
(managed by Artists’ First), and an actor who grew up in the woods by a lake in the Pacific
Northwest. I’m obsessed with sketch comedy premises, wine-paired dinners, celebrity gossip,
and I proudly call myself a “dopamine huntress.”
Lately, I’ve been published frequently in the iconic Jane Pratt’s new online venture, Another
Jane Pratt Thing. I’m currently working on a sexy, spy beach-read novella about an ex-actress
and I’d love to pitch it to any book agents out there!
I live in Portland, Oregon, with my handsome husband, James, and our zero children and zero
pets, where we entertain ourselves by hopping between new happy hours or hiking in Forest
Park. Basically, we’re living the dream—like a Vogue spread featuring a power couple in
bathrobes and slightly questionable slippers.
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?
Yo, I had to learn this the hard way—and I’m still learning it—but here are the three
qualities I swear by:
1. Set healthy boundaries and take care of your own damn needs first. You can’t
pour from an empty cup, and trying to people-please your way through life is a fast track
to burnout.
2.. Ditch society’s script about what you should value. At the end of the day, what
makes you feel full, fed, and purposeful? Maybe it’s luxury (because yes, first class is
objectively better than coach), or maybe, for me, it’s playing Barbies with my niece, Lucy.
Personally, it’s also mentoring young actors every week—giving them the advice I wish
someone had given me when I was 25. Whatever it is, honor it—even if it’s not what’s
considered noble or trendy. Not everyone is here to be Mother Teresa.
3. Hustle harder than you think you should. It’s a cliché because it’s true—the harder
you work, the luckier you get. I generate ideas all day, every day. Right now, I’m juggling
multiple projects: a sci-fi feature film, two short films, Reductress and
McSweeney’s-style satire essays, a one-woman live theater show, and a novel.
Did I watch Game of Thrones? No—I was writing. Have I kept up with the latest
overblown news cycle? Nope—I was deep in a feature film outline. For better or worse, I
have a hyperactive imagination that feeds me story after story, often waking me up at
3:30 a.m. with a knock, knock on my prefrontal cortex demanding attention.
So, for better or worse—and to quote Rick Ross—”Every day, I’m hustlin’.”
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
Soooo many… I’d love to be the meat in a Tina Fey and Amy Poehler sandwich (get your
mind out of the gutter!). I would kill to have lunch with Diablo Cody and have her produce one of
my scripts. And on set? I’d sell my last egg to work with Kirsten Dunst, Sarah Paulson, or
Kristen Wiig. And in my dreams, Winona Ryder and I host a weekly coffee klatch where we talk
movies, manifest revenge, and judge everyone’s shoes.
Honestly? A badass literary agent who gets my voice and knows exactly which publisher to
charm could change everything. And a production company that actually backs bold women
screenwriters over forty? That might just be my winning ticket in this rigged creative lottery. I’ve
been creating my whole life, but let’s be real—I like nice things, and if that’s wrong, I don’t want
to be right.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.genevievesage.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/genevievesage/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/genevieve-sage/
- Other: [email protected]
Image Credits
Allison Webber: https://www.allisonwebber.photography/ & https://www.instagram.com/fox_zilla/
Stuart Pollack: http://www.spollockdesigns.com/; and my own selfies!
Special Shout Out to: Fools & Horses Bar in Portland, OR https://www.instagram.com/foolsandhorses/
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
