As Always, Ella – A Performer’s Perspective – Issue #1
I would like to introduce you to Ella. She is a performing artist in the Chicagoland area and is currently involved in several projects. This series will be a series about her life, hopes, dreams and fears and will attempt to illuminate just what a person takes on when they make the decision to become a performance artist.
I will be checking in with her weekly to get her current thoughts, her personal history, and to ask her to answer any questions you may have regarding choosing performance art as a life’s work. Feel free to enter questions below and/or email me directly with them. All anonymity will be honored.
Ella is an actress/director in her mid 20’s. She graduated from college with a BA in Acting and Directing in 2001 and has been active in Chicago’s performance community for many years. She has served in quite a few companies and runs a gamut of skills, from producing to stage combat. Ella has decided to devote her life to the performing arts.
She grew up in a Midwest town as a member of a large family. Her parents have been married for 30+ years and she has one brother, O, married to his wife, M.
This weekly series will be Ella’s story.
Q: When did you start acting?
A: Not really sure actually.
I started tagging along to rehearsals with my mom for community theater because they couldn’t find a babysitter I think. (Or at least that might have been what they told me. It was actually probably because they were trying to find an outlet for my energy.) I had temper tantrums. I was a good liar. People always said “Ella is SOOOO dramatic”. I think my parents just decided to hunt down some acting classes and see if I took to it. Little did they realize what they were getting themselves into.
As far as I can recall, I never really thought I was going to be an actor and that was it. I played in my room and pretended that I was a lot of things- a chemist or a marine biologist. I guess the thought of pursuing acting never really crossed my mind as there wasn’t that much opportunity that I was aware of in the area and I couldn’t think outside of that realm- I was too young.
I was also a dancer, so I focused on that. I just always knew that I loved acting and theater and wanted to keep it an active part of my life. It probably was until about 10 or 12 when I decided that I wanted to make it a career. Besides, I was a kid, who knows what they want to do then?
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