We were lucky to catch up with June Dare recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi June, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
I’ve been a professional actor for the past 16 years. Acting is an extremely competitive profession. In some cases, you’re going up against thousands of other actors who are equally as talented and driven as you, and in the end only one person gets the role. You have to be ok with knowing you may put your heart and soul into an audition, knock it out of the park, and still might not land the gig. Resilience is truly the name of the game. My resilience comes from my belief in myself and what I know I can do, but it also comes from knowing that acting isn’t everything I am. My faith is very important to me, and I deeply believe that God can use every bit of every one of us to contribute goodness into this world – in ways we could never imagine – even if it doesn’t perfectly align with our own plans or desires for our lives. So if all of this falls apart, if my acting dreams as I see them never come to fruition, I’ll still be ok.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I’ve been drawn to theatre and performance for as long as I can remember — but when I was about ten years old, I saw <i>Titanic</i> for the first time, and buddy, that sealed the deal! When the brim of Kate Winslet’s hat swept up to reveal a young Rose Dewitt Bukater, I was hooked. That moment, the glamor, the DRAMA! I wanted to be an actor!
And that dream has stood the test of time…though it has shifted a bit over the years. It can be a tricky game of reconciling the dreams of my childhood with the realities of adulthood. What does it <i>actually</i> look like to pursue a career in acting? When the going gets tough (which it does quite often), what <i>keeps</i> me going? What sustains me when the drama and glamor that hooked 10-year-old me give way to the day-to-day hustle and grind – the patience, perseverance, and passion that this career requires? What still excites me about it?
Yes, of course, the possibilities of this career are very exciting. One audition can absolutely change your life (for better or worse). But I think the coolest thing about this profession is how it sharpens the skill of empathy. Acting forces me to see life through another’s eyes, often seeing how similar I am to a character who at first seemed so disparate from me. I have to humanize every character I encounter in a scene, and that skill has had an invaluable impact on my life. Acting has inarguably made me a better person. I also find all the many facets of this career exciting! I’m currently taking improv classes for the first time, and that’s been so fun! And I’m also interested in writing, directing, casting, teaching…you never know where one road might lead!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1. Be Humble. You will never stop learning. Every class, every audition, every situation has something to teach you. Absolutely give yourself credit where it’s due, but don’t be afraid to be a student again. I recently heard a very wise casting director say something to the effect of “Don’t be afraid to start over — you won’t stay there forever”. Learn your lesson, and take it with you.
2. Be Persistent. This career is a marathon, and it is TOUGH! There will likely be days when you feel so beaten down and defeated. Take the time you need to feel your feelings, then pick yourself up and keep going. Because those days will give way to the days when your hard work pays off, days when you are overrun with gratitude, days when you get to turn to your fellow actor on their worst day and say, “Keep going. It will pay off in one way or another, I promise!”
3. Have fun! This is a reminder to myself as much as anybody. I constantly catch myself getting so stressed out and bogged down by pressure that, truly, is more self-inflicted than anything. I’m literally playing pretend, lol! It’s not that serious. And if it ain’t fun, what’s the point?
We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?
I personally think it’s better to be more well-rounded and improve in areas where you might not be as strong. You should absolutely acknowledge your strengths – acknowledge your gifts and know what’s easily accessible to you; know they’re there for you if you need them, but don’t depend on them. If you lean on the strengths you already have, without exercising weaker muscles or skills, that one set of strengths will only ever be that one set of strengths. It will never grow, and nor will you. You can’t grow if you never challenge yourself. “Growth lies outside your comfort zone.” Who knows what other strengths you could discover – it can be an ever-growing list.
I’m from Lexington, NC, and thus, I naturally have a pretty noticeable southern accent. There’s nothing wrong with my accent – in fact, I like it! It’s part of who I am. But, in terms of acting, it can be very limiting when being considered roles. So, instead of saying, “I have a southern accent – it’s a strength of mine – so I guess I’ll only go out for southern roles,” I’ve worked very hard for <i>years</i> to learn how to neutralize my accent for when it isn’t appropriate for the role I’m playing. In fact, I’ve turned my dialect work into a fun game that’s helped me stay challenged and creative! I’ll work with a dialect coach to master an accent, then I’ll write a monologue for a character using that accent, film the monologue, and post it. I call it “The Accent Challenge” (a pretty straight forward name, haha). So simply by wanting to improve in one area where I didn’t feel as strong, I now have a variety of accents under my belt (and that list will just keep growing), I’ve given myself an outlet for creating characters I might not otherwise get to play, and I get to build on my networking and outreach!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @actorjunedare
- Facebook: Actor June Dare
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@junedare4498
- Other: IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3993982/?ref_=fn_all_nme_1
Image Credits
Darrell Snedeger James Freetly Lifetime Movie Network BET+
