We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shanté DeLoach. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shanté below.
Shanté, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
I’d like to think I get my resilience from the women in my family who came before me. I think about the things they experienced, the dreams that were deferred in order to adhere to societal pressures of the time.
I think a lot, in particular, about the women in my family who created lives and raised children during the Jim Crow era. I am absolutely in awe of their resilience, and that in turn fuels my own. They endured things I can hardly imagine so that their families could have better. Ultimately, my being here working toward, and living out a dream of mine is a culmination of their sacrifice, their love. I do not take that lightly, and the work that I do is in honor of them. I try to keep that in mind, and allow that to inform the decisions I make, artistic and otherwise.
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?
As with so many actors, theatre is my first love. That’s where I started way back when, and although there have been lapses, I’ve been fortunate to continue working on the stage while simultaneously pursuing film and television work between LA and ATL. Additionally I’ve appeared in multiple commercials, Buzzfeed videos, web series, industrials, and co-narrated my first audio book last year.
I moved to Los Angeles from Arizona in 2011 to finish college. I had just finished a 9 month internship with Southwest Shakespeare Company, where I played Juliet in a traveling production of R&J.
While in college I got really into stage combat. I have a martial arts background and I really enjoy adding that type of physicality into performance. We had some really amazing instructors, and have been able to stay in touch and keep our skills up to SAFD(Society of American Fight Directors) standards.
After school I founded Eleventh Story Productions with a few friends of mine, and we’ve produced multiple stage plays, short films and a web series-The Partitioned.
I am 1/2 of the podcast 6 Feet Forever, where my friend and I explore unsolved mysteries and true crime in communities of color around the globe. We’re currently on hiatus, but it’s available anywhere you listen to podcasts if you like a little spooky vibe!
Most recently, I acted in and helped produce a short film called Triggered, written and directed by Hisonni Johnson (Takeout Girl). It is currently doing the festival circuit, and we just won awards for Black Excellence in Film, Best Lead Actor and Best Supporting Actress (me) at Peach Theatre and Film International Festival in November.
Finally, for the past year and a half I’ve been working with PAUSE, a non-profit that serves communities of color in Southern California by providing info and education regarding grief and end of life services. I am really interested in finding a way to marry my art with healing in this space. We’re in very tumultuous times globally, and I feel like as artists this is where the real work begins.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
1. Make the bold choice.
I had an instructor in college who would reiterate this constantly, so I guess you can say it’s been drilled into my brain. In scene work, many people are going to make the obvious choices. Don’t do that lol.
What’s interesting about this character, why is it so important for their story to be told? Make the most interesting choices you can think of while remaining honest to the world of the piece. If it needs to be dialed down they’ll let you know.
2. Read the classics.
Seriously. The late great Maya Angelou said, “You can’t really know where you’re going until you know where you have been.”
I know they can seem daunting sometimes, and so many of what are considered classics are largely devoid of diversity. But, it is a fact that so much of the past informs the art we make today. Explore. Find work that speaks to you. It’s important to at least be familiar, so you can understand when things are referenced and allow them to inform your work. This also comes in handy for game nights, trivia, and just dunking on folks whenever necessary.
3. Don’t be afraid to look silly.
So much of our work is play. That is why so many people are drawn to this art form in particular, but I think it can be easy to forget that when you’re in the midst of it.
Years ago I had a commercial audition-I do not remember what for-but it required me to put on a huge suit that was shaped like a house. It was so big and bulky, and the director wanted me to run around like I was frantically looking for something I’d lost. I am a small statured person; I felt so ridiculous and I couldn’t keep it together. I was crying laughing, and I know the director was sick of me! I couldn’t commit to what was being asked of me because I was embarrassed, and needless to say I did not book that job. Honestly I was glad, but I took the lesson!
This work takes curiosity, an astute awareness of humanness, and the ability to access those parts of ourselves without judgement. That’s where vulnerability comes in, and that is why everybody CAN’T do this work. So much of what we learn in performing arts spaces is how to release the things that hinder access to our vulnerability, and allow access to our instinctual choices. Don’t be afraid to look silly. Silly is vulnerable, and vulnerable is beautiful.
What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
I am working on becoming an advocate for myself. That means being kinder to me, saying no when I genuinely don’t want to do something, and taking breaks when I need to. Refusing to be rushed, which is BIG. I DESPISE being rushed hahaha.
I think, in an industry like ours, burnout is always lurking around the corner. So many of us, particularly actors, are used to having multiple side jobs/hustles in addition to our careers, and it is a balancing act for sure.
For me, avoiding this has been about giving myself PERMISSION to rest, even when it feels impossible or isn’t convenient at the moment. It’s easy to get overwhelmed when you’re in a constant state of juggling multiple things, and it can be hard to know where to put your attention. I’ve been the person who was afraid to pause, or to say no when I simply did not have the bandwidth, always so worried I’d miss out on an opportunity.
While working on a film a few years ago, I was chatting with a fellow actor in between takes. They mentioned this gig had been their first audition after taking a years-long break to start a family/take some time for themselves, and obviously they had booked it! That struck me immediately, because I realized I had been auditioning/working non-stop for most of my adult life with no breaks. This person who chose to duck off for a bit came back rested, and booked a similar role to the one I had booked. I definitely recognized the lesson there, and since then have been trying to apply it to my own life.
In summation, I’m reclaiming my time. I know if I don’t take breaks, my body will take them for me, and time will continue to march on whether I’ve chosen to experience the things I desire or not. Your well being is the most important thing; sometimes that includes saying no and being your own savior. Stand Up!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://pro.imdb.com/name/nm3252403?s=56c62a8d-786b-d063-f6d8-83412fd17620&site_preference=normal
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/shantedeloach?igshid=YTQwZjQ0NmI0OA==
Image Credits
Stephanie Gerard
