Meet Sara Gaston

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sara Gaston a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Sara, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?

I think I’ve always been wired a bit with a strong work ethic. I remember staying in the classroom in elementary after other kids had gone to recess because I was working on my handwriting and I wanted it to be perfect! My parents were both hard workers and I think they instilled that value in their kids. If we were interested in something, my parents would try to make it happen, even when money was tight. However, if we participated, we were expected to work hard. So as kid, I loved gymnastics. Sure I went to class, but I also rode my bike to the gym every day to practice. Same with piano – I was really consistent with practice because I loved making beautiful sounds. As I’ve evolved as an actor and, now, writer and filmmaker, I see the results I can get if I really put in the work.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

My first dream was to be an anthropologist. Even as a little little kid, I was fascinated by the history of humanity – ‘why did this lead to this?’. Fast forward my first drama class at 14. I got up and performed a monologue and was like, ‘oh, this is just discovering a person I didn’t know existed”. I had always been creative – writing and singing and playing music and painting but this was a fuller expression of the human experience for me. And I never got over the bug. I’ve been acting for over 30 years and it each role is a new discovery. Last year, I directed my first film. And it has been like Christmas morning all over again. Taking something wholly from my imagination and going through that process of writing, casting, directing, producing, art direction, marketing, locations, you name it. It’s been such a gift. I’ve spent the past 9 months visiting film festivals all over the country. Seeing how this little film has touched people has been amazing. And the groundswell of support I got from my community when I decided to make it has been humbling.

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?

The first is, be prepared to work hard if you really want to master any skill. I also coach actors and I sometimes get someone who’s brand new to the craft and they want to be a master right away. It just doesn’t happen. Even innate skill gets developed by doing. So, if you want to act, get in an acting class, and keep working to develop your skills. Or start auditioning for community theatre. But get out there and start doing. The second is love. I just love what I do so I keep doing it even when I face rejection and get discouraged or get burnt out. And if I’m burnt out, I go in another direction for a while. One of the greatest gifts I accidently gave myself was to start training with the Groundlings very late in my career. Learning an entirely new approach (character-based improv & sketch writing) has refreshed me as an actor. I’m not gonna lie – being an actor can be a slog – but keeping the joy alive is necessary. Lastly, be prepared to play the long game. Overnight success is a myth, in my opinion. I’ve never seen anyone succeed at any level without seeing them lay the groundwork first. The arts are a marathon, not a sprint. Be patient, give yourself grace, and keep going.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

What a great question! There are so many. “Outliers”, “7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, “The Power of Intention” …I could go on and on. I think two that really hit something for me were, “True and False: Heresy and Common Sense for the Actor” by David Mamet & “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield. The Mamet book talked about talented actors he knew who were working actors in Chicago who then moved to L.A. to under the belief that it was ‘where actors go’ and proceeded to wait by the phone for years. He said something to the effect that ‘if you want to act, then act’. He freed me from this notion that there’s a magical place to be an actor. There’s always a belief that to really be an actor, you must live in LA or NY and that’s simply not true. The “War of Art” beautifully articulates the force that wants to discourage our creative spirit. Pressfield called it the Resistance and says it basically wanted to destroy anything that you want to create and in fact wants to prevent you from creating. Every creative person I know faces this demon in one form or another and to have someone point out was very freeing. So now when something wants to stop me creatively, whether it’s doubt or lethargy, I remind myself that it’s not something I need to obey. I can in fact push it aside and keep going.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

the two headshots (velvet jacket & green blouse) are by Kristine Canterbury

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