We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lela Luster a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Lela, 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.
What I find really helps with my creativity as it relates to my profession is taking time to binge movies. I find that on those days when I’m feeling “blah” creatively or feeling unsure perhaps about a performance that I have to film and or an audition that I have to get sent off, watching a good mix of different performances and genres really helps me out.
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 Lela Luster, an actress and model born and raised in Los Angeles. In addition to trying to keep up with a world on fire, you’ll usually find me hunting down auditions, preparing for an audition or preparing for a photoshoot.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Two qualities that have had the most impact on me have been patience with myself and belief in myself. A skill that has really impacted my journey has been learning to compartmentalize. Those 3 things are a daily practice for me. I’m remembering to take my mental health days and my stretch breaks. I’m learning that often, good enough is better than perfect. I’m the type that when I get to self-film an audition, I take as many takes as possible just to realize that the first one was good enough, or better. Remember that it’s ok to second guess yourself, we all do. Just don’t stay there. Don’t be too hard on yourself and even on your down days, those days when you can’t even get out of bed or shower, remember to still believe in yourself – no one else can want your success more than you. Remember though, take your mental health breaks. You can’t obtain success, whatever that looks like for you, if you don’t take care of yourself first.
What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?
My biggest area of improvement in the past 12 months has been that I’m a lot more confident in my acting! Since Covid-19 began and I started working my day job remotely, I have taken the time to really work on my craft. Since most auditions are virtual now, mainly sending pre-recorded videos, I find that this is something that has really helped me improve. In addition to that, I like learning different monologues and filming myself doing them. I film a Shakespeare one, one from a movie, a play, etc., and play them all sorts of different ways. Now that’s nothing remarkable, lots of actors do this, but I didn’t really get to do it the way I do now, before being lucky enough to work remotely.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: lela__luster
- Other: TikTok: lela__luster
Image Credits
Top 2: N/A Bottom 2: Mine
