Meet Heather Place

 

We recently connected with Heather Place and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Heather, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

From a very early age, I knew I wanted to be a performer and a story teller. I have a very clear memory of auditioning for a Children’s Theatre Troupe at the age of 9 for the role of “Alice in Wonderland”. I knew that I wanted to entertain, educate and inspire–even at that age. The Theatre represented make-believe and magic to me and I wanted to be a part of that world. Long story, short, I didn’t get cast as “Alice”, but they offered me the role of her understudy and an opportunity to be a clown in an upcoming production. Clowning allowed me to make mistakes on stage and get laughs even if I fell–which I did, during my first performance! When I heard the laughter, I knew that the audience thought I had fallen on purpose. I learned that if I fell, I just made it part of my dance… I also eventually went on stage as “Alice” and forgot the shoes that went with my costume, so I had to go on stage in my Go-Go boots. Again, the audience thought it was by design–I remember an audience member coming up to me after the show telling me how clever it was to make “Alice in Wonderland” relevant for the 1970’s by wearing Go-Go boots! 50 years later, I feel so blessed to have a career where I get to play make-belive for a living…

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I’m currently acting in and producing a film project that we hope to enter into film festivals. I also Co-Host a weekly radio show called The Fun Wednesday Morning Show, which broadcasts from the Charlotte area, but streams globaly via the Fun One Radio App. I’m a member of the Screen Actors Guild and am always auditioning for acting roles as well as looking for independent film projects that I can lend my producing and casting talents to. I also produce music videos. I’m so proud of a current music video that I produced starring Singer/Songwriter, Lilah McDonald, for her new song, “Dangerous”. The music video has won several awards on the Film Festival Circuit and just won the Gold Award for “Best Music Video” at the Paris Film Awards!

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?

Perseverance, Optimism and Educating yourself. My industry is a very competitive one. I learned early on to continue to persevere, even in the face of failure. It may take 100 auditions before you book something, but if you feel that you have something special to offer, keep going! Optimism is important too, because even if you continue to get rejected, you have to believe that someone, somewhere out there is looking for exactly what you have to offer. And lastly, educate yourself in your craft and in this business. There is always an acting workshop, or an opportunity to get on a film set as an extra or a production assistant in order to learn, even if you don’t get paid. A real test to find out if this career is a good fit for you is if you’re willing to work for free just because you love it and it brings you joy…

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

“The Greatest Miracle in the World” by Og Mandino. This is a beautiful book that reminds all of us how special we are. No one else in the world has the same exact gifts as we do. Like snowflakes, each of us is unique. In the face of incessant rejection, it’s a wonderful book to turn to. I love this quote from the book: “You are my greatest miracle. You are the greatest miracle in the world. Those were the first words you ever heard. Then you cried. They all cry…” That passage comes from a chapter entitled “The God Memorandum” (a letter from God to you)–whatever you conceive God to be. A nice reminder from the Universe of our special place in it.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Pierce Brosnan, Richard Gere, Deborah Raffin, Jessica Wilson, Sandra Perry, Tony Murnahan, Lilah McDonald.

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