We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lara Marks a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Lara, so happy to have you with us today and there is so much we want to ask you about. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others developed certain skills or qualities that we are struggling with can be helpful. Along those lines, we’d love to hear from you about how you developed your ability to take risk?
Learning to take risks has been an ongoing process for me – it’s a skill that I’ve worked to develop over time through experience, introspection and a lot of support. Taking risks is terrifying, yet so much of what we do as artists requires it. Creating honest and meaningful art generally means making yourself vulnerable, exposing the deeper parts of yourself that you usually keep concealed, and setting yourself up for potential failure.
A large part of my childhood was spent performing, both as an actor and a dancer, yet every time I stepped out in front of an audience, I faced crippling stage fright. Though I would rehearse until I could recite my lines in my sleep, I still harbored a paralyzing fear that I would go blank as soon as I was up on stage. I overcame these fears partly through practice and partly through realizing that the prospect of not being a performer was much worse than the angst I faced each time I stepped out to perform. It was as I got older that I realized that many of my most exciting and transformative experiences had come about as a result of some form of risk.
Perhaps the biggest risk I have taken in my life was in deciding to move to the other side of the world to LA, leaving behind everything and everyone I’d ever known, to train at one of the top film schools in the world. It was a risk on every level – financially, professionally and personally. I arrived in LA a stranger and everywhere I went I felt like I was floating aimlessly, uneasy and lacking roots. The experience of carving out a path for myself in this city, and finding people who have made it feel like home, has been one of the most fulfilling journeys of my life. It has given me a stronger sense of purpose, motivation and conviction in who I am and what I want to do than I ever thought possible.
As an artist, my most fulfilling creative projects have also been my most daring, and the ones that have called for the greatest risk. My first film was a makeshift short that I made with my close friend and collaborator Charly Faye, entitled ‘A Room of Her Own’, in which we drew upon our experiences as women to present a raw and vulnerable exploration of womanhood. In creating this film, we delved into our most shadowed, unspoken experiences to bring to the screen taboo topics such as body dysmorphia, obsessive compulsive disorder, female masturbation and shame surrounding sexuality. Needless to say, premiering this film was pretty terrifying, but it was also deeply empowering and liberating. Witnessing the impact that our story had on so many other young women in our lives as they recognized their own experiences being mirrored on the screen was incredible.
Another risk I took was my decision to act in my own film at film school. This film was entitled ‘Tell Me Something True’ and was a (somewhat meta!) exploration of the psychological struggles of being an artist. Acting in your own film at AFI was highly discouraged and I had to fight to be able to do it, knowing full well that, in doing so, I would be exposing myself to a wealth of critique and judgment. However, I also knew that I would always regret it if I didn’t. There is a quote I love that states: ‘What would you do if you weren’t afraid? Now go and do it.’ I try to live my life by this. I have always felt acutely aware of how short our time is, and how arbitrary, so I am determined not to let the fear of what others might think stop me from doing something I want to do. This film turned out to be a fundamental step in my creative journey and led me to find a team of incredible collaborators, with whom I am now developing a project that would never have come about without that risk.
A close friend said to me before I left for LA, ‘Your life ebbs and flows in accordance with your courage.’ Experiencing the rewards that arise from risk-taking have proven this statement to be true. So, in my career I aim to be bold, to be daring and never to stop taking risks.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am an actor and filmmaker, born and raised in London and now living in LA. I started out in theatre and, aged 11, toured with the London Children’s Ballet, performing in a production of ‘The Secret Garden’ at children’s hospitals and old-people’s homes. This tour highlighted to me the power of art to lift spirits and unite people. Whilst at Oxford, I discovered the joy of creating alongside performing and started a theatre production company, through which I produced, directed and starred in productions in Oxford, London, Berlin and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
I trained as an actor at the East 15 Acting School in London and then moved to LA to undertake my MFA in Producing at the American Film Institute Conservatory. My AFI thesis film was a Jewish-Ukrainian comedy entitled ‘Cherry Kompot’, which premiered at AFI fest and was awarded ‘Best Short Film’ at the Eastern Europe Film Festival. Most recently, I directed, edited and produced a music video, ‘Possible Stranger’, for British alt-pop artist Samfire, which premiered in Wonderland Magazine and was an award winner at the Athens International Art Monthly Film Festival, the Eastern Europe Film Festival and the Los Angeles Indie Short Fest.
In my career so far, I have worked across disciplines as a creator and performer to bring to life stories I care about and to raise awareness for causes that deserve greater attention. Through my Fringe production, I raised funds for Clean Break, a charity that supports women in prison, and through ‘Night, Mother, for Papyrus, a charity for suicide prevention. I believe strongly that art, representation, and social conscience can work in powerful harmony and in my career I aim to inspire, empower, and give.
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’d say that first of all, I am a self-starter. I have always operated under the belief that if I have a creative vision then it is within my power to make it a reality. This has led me to run with my random whims or ideas, such as taking a show to the Edinburgh Fringe or putting on a play in Berlin, and to do everything I can to make it happen. Second, I am vivacious, energetic and optimistic in my approach to my work. I believe this enthusiasm has been fundamental in motivating my collaborators to feel inspired and excited by the project too. Finally, I am open-minded and happy to experiment and think outside the box. I think it is important as a creator not to dismiss ideas, but rather to be willing to explore, play and imagine and to see what might happen.
When it comes to advice, some of the best guidance I received when starting out was not to stress about where the road would lead. The path of an artist is inevitably winding and uncertain so it is far better to take each step as it comes and to see where it takes you. Each new step will almost certainly introduce you to people and places that you never could have foreseen. Secondly, I would advise any artist to fight against inclinations towards comparison and competition. At drama school we were told repeatedly that ‘comparison is the thief of joy’ and I wholeheartedly believe this to be true. Every person’s journey is distinct and there is space for everyone, so I’d advise anyone to stay in their lane and focus on honing their unique voice.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
My main strategy is to take each project step by step. Often when I am ignited by an artistic vision, I get caught up in the excitement and can find myself getting pretty manic. I have to make a conscious effort not to get overwhelmed by the enormity of the road ahead, and instead to focus on each individual hurdle along the way. When it all gets too much, I find journaling helps to ground me and to reset my mentality and approach. I also seek to surround myself with artists whom I trust, and with whom I have a strong foundation of mutual support, knowing that if I start to feel overwhelmed I can always lean on them for support, and vice versa. Finally, I am always one for a bath, music and a candle when everything gets too much!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.larampmarks.com
- Instagram: @laramarks
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lara-marks-73327616a/
Image Credits
Leo Behrens, Talisha Elger, Charly Faye
