We recently connected with Marita Karpetta and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Marita, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.
So, since a very young age I wanted to become an actress. However, I was always very shy and quiet and I was panicking every time I would stand up in front of people to act or even speak, I was feeling like I was not good enough and that all of the people there would be better than me. I was also comparing myself with other people that had a more stand out character which was not helping.
I was taking acting classes in the evenings, where one of the teachers there was telling me to be realistic and that I cannot be an actress since I am shy and my character does not stand out, and also because I live in a small island called Cyprus, probably no one would notice me. But, deep inside i always knew that I have a talent and that I do have skills, even though very often I was doubting if that feeling and thought was just in my head and what if people were right and I was not meant for this or I am simply not good enough.
I strongly believed in myself, I was meditating and visualising every single day that I am a successful actress.
So what I did to overcome that, is to force myself to do what I was then fearing the most, I took part in a talent show on that evening school. I prepared a monologue and a dance choreography myself. On the day of the talent show i got a panic attack right before the event and I was running away. After this crisis I calmed down, took deep breaths and did it. I received. special mention on that day, something no one really expected as it was the first time that people saw me acting. After that, I finally quit going to that evening school, worked on a monologue myself and auditioned to a private acting school in Glasgow called Acting coach Scotland, where they accept 25 people approximately per year, and I was one of them.
During my studies, I pushed myself and worked really hard, as a result to pass every exam and was always receiving good feedback. I faced every fear I had and that’s how I overcame it, and it was not even as hard as I thought it would be. I got less shy every day and by time, all the confidence started coming in as I realised that I do have talent, faith and by being very stubborn I made it.
After graduation, I got hired to be an actress in a multi million views Youtube Channel, where I was working for 2 years. Now I already won an award in the Cyprus Fashion Film Festival for the ”Best Model”, for a short film that me and my friends created called ”Buoyancy”, along with another 3 awards – ‘Best Make up” , ”Best Directing”, and ”Best Cypriot Production”. Moreover this film got selected for the New York City International Fashion Film Festival.
And another short film that I was part of called ”Nihilism” got selected for the finals in the Los Angeles Short Film Awards. Failure is a part of success, this is what I always have in mind. With faith and will and hard work everything can be possible.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
So I am a professional actress and graduate of Acting Coach Scotland with a Diploma on both stage and screen acting. I am also a content creator for the beauty/skincare industry.
I have 2 years of experience as an actress in one of the largest online media companies worldwide called TheSoul Publishing and I was playing the character of Grace in their multimillion views Youtube channel – La La Life Games.
I also took part in several music video clips, short films, theatre shows, musicals and movies.
At the moment I am a Brand Manager in a Marketing Company and I am doing my content creation on my free time.
I am excited about the knowledge I gained the last few years taking part in all of these projects and by the work experience I got, I am now ready and I know how to develop my own youtube channel or produce my own films.
Now I started working on a new short film that I want to create with my friends and team, it’s a very interesting plot that i got inspired from a dream that I had, and now I want to develop it in a short film. We will shoot it within the upcoming months and I will be sending it to different relevant short film festivals etc.
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?
First is patience – patience is a huge skill to have, by being patient when obstacles come in your way instead of giving up, it really helps your way towards success. In the path towards success there are challenges, failure, obstacles, ups and downs, so patience is key to stay on the path.
Second is Ambition, ambition is the desire and will to work hard and it is what keeps you motivated to go on especially if you have big career goals such as becoming an actor. There are thousands of people with the same dream, but my being an ambitious person it helps you keep standing and moving forwards.
Another skill that I believe is great to have is Tolerance, this is a huge life skill to have as a person. To tolerate fear and negative emotions and to learn accept different opinions of others. Especially when you are about to receive feedback or opinion in your work, you have to be open to listen and accept and not take it personal or react to it negatively, so tolerance is a great skill to have I believe.
If you knew you only had a decade of life left, how would you spend that decade?
A big challenge I am facing at the moment is that in my Island – Cyprus, there are not many acting opportunities, as a result i am working full time as a Brand Manager in a Marketing company. Which is great, I feel grateful for it, but doing a job full time while you have a huge goal and talent for something completely different is hard. But, unfortunately I need to have a salary to survive.
I always wanted to leave from Cyprus and go to either UK or USA to follow this Acting goal, but as I am growing up it becomes even more of a challenge to leave your home, family, friends and everyone and also to move to another country especially a city that the cost of living is very high, I need to plan it very well financially.
I am facing this challenge for the past year, I am doing everything related to acting or content creation on the weekends or even mornings before work and also night after work, as much as possible.
Also another obstacle for USA is the visa, since I am Cypriot I need a working visa which is difficult to get. So it will be easier to start from the UK and then see how it goes.
What I am currently doing to face this challenge is by creating these short films, content etc. to create a strong portfolio from where I am now, and try to get recognised abroad to be able to maybe find an agent and start having auditions.
The challenge here is mostly with myself, as I have to accept that to go and take this path I need to be away from my loving ones, which is hard emotionally, but success needs its sacrifices too.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://maritacarpetta.my.canva.site/marita-carpetta
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/__maritacn/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maritakarpetta/
Image Credits
Christina Urbankova
Savvas Christou
Anasta Olson
Npvision
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