We were lucky to catch up with Rachael Drummond recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Rachael, thanks for joining us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?
I am happy as an actor. And I wonder what it would be like to have a regular job every day. I recommit to acting all the time. Whenever I hear an actor give an acceptance speech at an awards ceremony and they say something like, “I was about to quit…” I think, yes. We are all always about to quit.
This is an incredibly exciting, unpredictable, enjoyable job. And it is also challenging, exhausting and heartbreaking. It takes determination, stamina and a splash of magical thinking to stick with it.
One of the most important things I work with my clients on is their mindset. Actors have long periods of time without getting paid for what we do. Sometimes even without an audition. So how do we bolster and nurture ourselves during those times? And how do we keep ourselves healthy and creative when we are working?
So, yes, I’m so happy when I’m creating, when I’m in flow, when I’m acting. And yes, I research other jobs all the time.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My best friend in junior high informed me that we were going to be actresses. I said okay because it sounded like fun and because I said okay to all her ideas when I was 12. We took a class with Ed Bach, an actor who had done episodes of Columbo, Mod Squad and Mission Impossible in the 70’s and had studied with Eric Morris. He taught Eric’s technique and if you’ve read the book, “No Acting, Please,” no, we never did primal screams but there was a lot of self exploration and improvisation.
I fell in love with acting in that class and auditioned for a community theater production of Arsenic & Old Lace. They were so tickled that a kid auditioned they gave me a small role. So that production had a spiral-permed, brace-faced teen cop in it.
I was lucky to do dozens of plays with my school and local theaters and went on to study at Boston University. I later moved to New Jersey and did a lot of theater in New York. Most of the plays I was in were original works at a small theater and… not amazing. But one was! It got an off-off-Broadway run at the New 42nd Street Theater. They recast my role with a more seasoned actor but kept me on as her understudy so I was able to earn my Equity card! While in NY I also studied with an amazing teacher, Salem Ludwig, at HB Studio.
When I moved to Los Angeles, Salem suggested I find Allan Miller so I started studying with Allan as soon as I arrived. In that class I met some of my dearest friends, including Suzanne Sena, who I immediately tapped to be my Hollywood Mentor. She graciously took me under her wing and was available to answer all questions about auditions, meetings, makeup and various existential crises.
I did a lot of background jobs and waited tables, took improv classes and did plays, student films, anything I could get cast in. I auditioned for everything I could.
I was in a play at The Secret Rose Theater called “Sex is Good for You,” starring Kate Linder of Y&R fame. Kate became a champion of mine and invited casting director G. Charles Wright to the show, telling him there was a funny young actor she wanted him to see. G. was kind and complimentary after the show and started calling me in to audition for the show he was casting, “That 70’s Show.” I was so excited and grateful to finally have REAL TV AUDITIONS! And G. is responsible for my first tv booking as well; a pilot he cast called, “Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office,” in which I played my first of many rude women on tv.
I’ve been lucky to work on great shows, funny commercials and even a studio film with talented actors and directors. I also have a full life with a supportive husband, two amazing kids and the-charlie-brown-christmas-
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
I wish I knew about coaching earlier in my creative journey. I would have loved to have that kind of collaboration and support along the way. Of course I had classes and mentors but coaching is different. Coaching shows us our own minds and that would’ve been helpful to see.
Our brains are wired to be negative in order to protect us from danger. When we pursue something creative it’s scary. So our brain wants to protect us. That’s where all the thoughts come in like, “maybe I’m fooling myself, maybe everyone who said I was talented was lying, this is crazy, I’m never going to be successful.”
My coach, Lynn Downey Braswell of Work of Art Coaching, helps me navigate this kind of thinking that could otherwise shut me down. She also teaches, guides and nurtures my pursuits and is generally a collaborator with my BIG DREAMS.
When I work with my coaching clients I often see them experience relief and breakthrough “ah-ha” moments that I hope keep them from getting stuck in the eddies and whirlpools of this career. We want to always be learning and growing and in action. Rest and healing are important as well, but getting stuck in dark thought patterns can set us back.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
The more actors I work with the more I see that my mission is a common one; to connect, to touch people, to help people feel less alone. No one gets through this life without damage. Actors have a special ability and desire to shed light on the human condition. To bring people together in dark theaters to say, “ah, yes, I feel this, too.”
I joke that I’m not a Karen but I play one on TV. But what is the bright side of having a Karen or any “bad guy” in your show or film? To shine a light on the damage she inflicts but also her own damage we might not want to admit we identify with: her tantruming entitlement, her pain, addiction, loss… Whatever it is, we have probably experienced it on some level. I’m going to misquote this figure but it’s something like; by the age of 7 we have already experienced the entire range of human emotions. When actors openly, vulnerably, express their human experience, the audience recognizes it and sighs, “so it’s not just me.”
Contact Info:
- Website: www.rachaeldrummondcoaching.com
- Instagram: @rachael.drummond
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachael-drummond-42983624a/
- Other: TikTok: @rachaelldrummond (with two L’s)
Image Credits
Rachel Kerbs RK Photo, Ericka Kreutz Photography, Rob Mainord Photography