Meet Tim Hotchkin

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tim Hotchkin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tim below.

Hi Tim, great to have you with us today and excited to have you share your wisdom with our readers. Over the years, after speaking with countless do-ers, makers, builders, entrepreneurs, artists and more we’ve noticed that the ability to take risks is central to almost all stories of triumph and so we’re really interested in hearing about your journey with risk and how you developed your risk-taking ability.

Risk taking is something that I am always working on improving. But I think it has all stemmed from my Dad. From a young age, he instilled in me this urgency to always give something a go. “Having a go” is also a very Australian value that you see taught to most kids growing up in Australia. So I got it from that but especially my Dad. He always encouraged me to try things, no matter if it was a small as tasting a food I don’t think I would like, or joining a sport team even though that sport was not my specialty. Now, I hang onto this common saying that I definitely stole from somewhere: You miss every shot you don’t take. I even like Michael Scott’s version of that saying. Because to me, Michael Scott may not be great at everything, but everything he does is with 100% of his effort and his heart. So I kind of mix that with the idea of taking every shot no matter what.

A few months back, I went to a callback that required me to bring in my saxophone. I prepared a small jazz piece that I used to play back when I played a lot (by the way, this is the first time I had picked up a saxophone in probably 5 years). After finishing the piece, the director then asked if I could improvise on a four-bar-blues with the pianist. I honestly SHAT myself. Improvising on the saxophone was always a nightmare when I used to play. The idea of possibly playing a note that didn’t fit with the right chord, or not being very creative was so stressful to me. The director looked at me and said “you don’t have to though”. In that moment, I gave myself an imaginary slap in the face. And I said “screw it, lets go!” And of I went and improvised. I’ll be honest, it wasn’t great. BUT! I survived the call back and eventually made it to the next round: dancing. I eventually didn’t book the job, but the fact is, I gave it a go. I put 100% of what I could into it, and that is what matters to me as an artist.

Similarly, back in 2020 when I decided to write and produce (and act in) my first play, it was this same idea. Although this time I was actually risking my own money. I went against the golden rule of producing and put my own money into the project. And I didn’t have much money to begin with. I was 19. Fresh out of my first year of acting school. I was back in Australia taking a gap year to wait out Covid before moving back to New York and I was struggling to find things to do in a Covid-world. Luckily, since Perth didn’t have much Covid at all, our annual Fringe Festival was still going to run in January of 2021. It was September 2020 and I had the crazy idea of “what if I did Fringe?” Now, this is SO backwards, so please don’t take producing advice from what I did for this production, but from that moment on, I had zero time to wait around as the registration deadline was closing in. So I brainstormed some ideas, made up a title and then went a registered for Fringe. Then I stared at my laptop and was like “well, f*ck, I guess I need to do this now”. And from then on, I had 3.5 months, to write, rehearse, direct, produce and act in a play that had never existed until now. Not only that, but because it was so rushed, I had no sponsorship, I had no investors, I used my own money and my networks. I found collaboration with another theatre company that allowed us to rehearse in their studio, my friend offered to do free graphic-design as a birthday gift etc etc. Which, for those in the producing community is WILD. I am definitely an outlier when it comes to producing strategies HAHA. But, in the end, it all went really well! I not only broke even but I made a profit from a short season! I paid everyone who was involved and multiple reviews called me a “rising star”. I don’t think any of that would have been possible if my Dad hadn’t instilled this risk-taking “have a go” attitude in me from a young age. I am very thankful to him for doing that to me – and not only that – but he continuously encouraged me to not give up throughout the whole process.

Funnily enough, I kind of did a similar thing with my second play: Fire & Rain (new title coming soon). It was a solo play about this young man who always tried his best, but always found himself destroying things, places and relationships etc. It was early August in 2023 and I was like “what am I going to do this semester? I’m in my final year of acting school.” I decided to once again, write and act in a play. This time – there was less at stake initially, only a single workshop showcase of the play in front of an invited audience. But still, I wrote, rehearsed and performed a full-length solo play in 2.5 months. Whats more, because of that success my play was eventually produced by my acting studio in their largest theater the following March. If I hadn’t taken that risk to begin with, I would have never have gotten to where I was – and am – now. Because I’m not finished with this play either. My goal is to have it produced Off-Broadway in the coming year, so keep your eyes peeled! (again, title will be changed HAHA).

And all that is because of my Dad. Always pushing me, always encouraging me to take risks and give things a go. You miss every shot you don’t take.

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 was born and raised in Perth, Western Australia, and it’s there that I fell in love with the arts. I went to a performing arts high school and then after that, moved straight to New York to study at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts in their BFA Theatre program. Whilst there I also did two minors: one in Producing, and the other in the Business of Entertainment, Media and Technology (this minor was a cross-school minor with Stern School of Business). Being at NYU was great for – I got 4 years of acting training whilst also honing in my skills as a producer and entrepreneur in the artistic field.

I’d say, though, that I am first and foremost, a performing artist. Primarily, I act, but I am also trained in ballet, contemporary dance and voice. I also love musical theatre and I have a passion for writing and producing, too. What I hate though, is the term “triple threat” – because to me I’m just a professional artist with different skills. And perhaps its partly Tall Poppy Syndrome that dictates why I don’t like being called a “triple threat” – I found it hard growing up and being successful in school and the arts because of this TPS. (This is a whole other story).

I’ll be honest, I am still finding my bearings as an international artist in New York. Right now, I’m focusing on auditioning and acting, but over the next year I will get back to creating my own work. Navigating the audition scene in New York is wild and if you don’t laugh through it, you’ll cry. It’s that kind of experience. Brutally fun, I’d say. I’m currently in rehearsals for a play called “Freedom’s Last Stand” with the Peculiar Works Project at Target Margin Theater here in New York. So juggling that with other auditions has been exhausting, but so fruitful for my artistic growth and stamina.

Other than that, I am looking forward to performing in my solo play once again, sometime over the next year Off-Broadway! I am in the process of revising the new version since it’s last edition. The new title is pending but it’ll be something on the lines of “Boys, Blunders, and Broken Things” so keep your eyes peeled!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Risk-taking, kindness, and having a thick-skin. I’ve spoken about this earlier but risk taking is one of the biggest qualities and skills to how I have gotten where I am. It’s how I moved between global antipodes at the age of 18, how I produced my first profit-making play at 19 and then how I am now working as a professional actor in the world’s theatrical epicenter. Taking risks is so hard so my advice for that is to find your rock. Someone or something that you can ground yourself with, that can catch you if things fall down. Then you have a launching pad to take risks. You can’t take risks alone, mentally or physically. The specific act of taking a risk might come individually, but if you do not have that person or that rock to catch you, then you will never have the courage to take a risk again.

Kindness is so important, especially in the artistic world. In an industry that is as brutal and as lonely and as sometimes soul-crushing as it is, you need to always lead with kindness. People (especially in this industry) forget that we are all relational beings. We thrive off relationships, teamwork, mateship. And let’s be clear, being kind does not equate to being nice all the time. It’s about a heart centered in empathy, understanding, curiosity for perspective and fundamentally a love for all people. When you genuinely lead with kindness and you build genuine relationships, both professional and personal, your opportunities expand. Networks are inevitably stronger and that can lead to more people, more jobs, more social groups that overall, benefit not just your career, but your life as a whole. And let’s face the truth: just because a system has always been a certain way, and people are treated a certain way because of it (looking at your theatre world) – it doesn’t mean it has to…lead with kindness.

Having a thick-skin is not just for the arts world, but in life. The amount of rejection you face as an artist scrapes the sky. It’s one of the those things that you hear growing up “you gotta have a thick skin to pursue the arts”. I always responded “yeah, yeah, I know, but I got this.” Then I entered the professional field and realized that no amount of preparation could have prepared me for what I was about to go through. Needing a thick-skin is an understatement. You need a whole armory of protection. And my advice for that is 1) Time: you get thicker skin the longer you persist. Don’t give up because it’s hard. Push through and you automatically get thicker skin every time you get rejected. 2) Have your team in your corner cheering you on and catching you when inevitable rejection comes. Like how I talked about your rock. That helps build that skin. The rock is like a first-aid kit to the scrapes that come from rejection. 3) Give everything you can at every opportunity (not everything you have – theres a difference). Knowing that you gave something your best go always leaves you more satisfied even if you get rejected. When I’m auditioning, if I don’t give it my best shot and I get rejected, I feel crap because I know I could’ve done better. And from there I spiral. But when I know that I have everything I could and I still get rejected – I know that my best at that moment was the right fit and I am able to move on.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

“Phosphorescence” by Julia Baird! This book is beautiful, inspiring and full of wisdom. The overarching metaphor is about how deep-sea jellyfish, without any source of light, still glow in the dark. Baird compares this to us humans needing to find our own “inner light” or a “light within” as we navigate a world of darkness. Find what sustains you spiritually, gives you joy, and the power to seek the beauty in everything and everyone. I cannot recommend this book enough to all people. In fact, writing this makes me read it AGAIN. Fun fact: this book is what inspired my first play!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.timhotchkin.com
• Instagram: @timhotchkin

Image Credits

Valerie Terranova
John Congear
Perrine Hugel