Meet Gracie Canaan

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Gracie Canaan. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Gracie below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Gracie with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
My work ethic is an amalgamation of seeing my mother run her own business when I was growing up, the rigorous curriculum and workload at my art college, and engaging in the competitive New York stand-up comedy scene.

I discovered my love for stand-up comedy a couple of years after graduation — but because of my student loans at the time, my idea of pursuing writing and comedy as a career in any real way felt incredibly futile (I didn’t know if I’d be able to afford the opportunity of being a “struggling artist”). Something kicked in — if I wanted to build this life, I’d have to put in the work and set myself on a war path of running the comedy circuit, maintaining a full-time job, and getting more work to pay off my loans and provide myself the time and freedom to create the life I wanted, one where I could pursue my creative passions and also keep afloat financially.

One of my favorite quotes is from filmmaker/actor/writer Mark Duplass. When asked how he brings projects to fruition, his analogy is: “The cavalry is not coming.” If you want something done, do it yourself (and surround yourself with other positive self-starters who will inspire you!);

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I’m one of those annoying multi-hypenates: comedian/writer/illustrator + designer. Whatever the medium, the constant factor here is storytelling (and wanting constant validation from others). Although I’m constantly striving for a more mainstream life with maybe one job instead of five, I’ve become used to (nay, addicted) to the multitasking. Although learning to follow through on projects has been a challenge for me in the last decade, juggling disciplines is a perfect way for my jumpy brain to function.

My upcoming project for this year (and, let’s face it, the years to come, because, film) is my debut short comedy film, “Bootie’s,” a s*x work workplace comedy based on my own experience working in an underground Manhattan club. I first started kicking around this concept as a pilot back in 2020, and it’s so excited to see it not only come to fruition, but come to life on my own terms. We shoot in August, and look forward to releasing at the top of 2025.

And, if you want to be apart of this process — you can be! We’re running a crowdfunding campaign for 30 days, starting May 28th. You can check it out here: https://seedandspark.com/fund/booties#story

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?
More than talent and skill, being open, kind, humble, and positive. I’d say that 10% of creative people are truly, effortlessly talented — the rest of us have to prepare ourselves for a marathon, not a sprint. The sentiment is corny, but if you’re not enjoy the process and taking care of yourself, what’s the point?

Listen to people who know what their talking about, politely nod with people who don’t but act like they do, and learn how to tell the difference. Put in the work, keep perspective, maintain a social life with good, loyal people, and creatively, just be authentic. It’s taken me many years (and is something I’m still working on) to realize that honing stories that only you can tell will outweigh mirroring someone or a “trend” in the long run.

Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?
It’s a mix, and you often have to ebb and flow. As someone who does many things, I can say that being pretty good at a few things is probably not as impactful or lucrative as being a specialist in one or two things. There’s a lot of value in being the “go-to” person for XYZ, not to mention a good way to gain visibility and acquire business and a following so that you can leverage that into other interests down the road. Sometimes I feel like I’ve lost some time having too many irons in the fire, but that was my journey. I’ve learned each year to let some things go — now I’m super excited to focus on writing and filmmaking!

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Mike Byrd (last image)

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