We were lucky to catch up with Simran Pal Kaur recently and have shared our conversation below.

Simran Pal, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

Being an artist was never an option for me. At least not until I moved to New York from India.

I come from a family full of folks that I like to call the “self-rejected artists”, because all of them had to reject the artist in them to live a “normal life” – a life that was better approved by the society. I’ve always been involved in arts in some form – singing, painting, writing, etc. But because I was brought up in a similar society as the rest of family, I labeled delving into the arts as a form of time pass or a hobby, and was fully focused on becoming a doctor. Now that I think about it, that all probably came from a place of me trying to get approval from the society.

Later on when I moved to New York, I was put in a theatre high school because they had room and the school year had already begun so it was the safe thing to do – to complete my senior year and apply to a college that specializes in a medical bachelors program. That high school ended up being my very first exposure to western theatre. I was flabbergasted and amused by the things I was learning and seeing. But even then, I was only an observer and never the performer… at least not yet.

It wasn’t until my second year in college that I discovered the theatre club and decided to audition. I told myself it was just for fun, but I was clearly lying to myself. I ended up getting cast in a role and from there on I did two more productions the following year before I got my associates and transferred to Lehman College. It was there where I, with my full awareness, made the decision to pursue a degree in the theatre arts. For the first time I felt free. Free in even making that decision for myself. I felt lighter yet scared for what was to come, as somewhere deep down I still doubted my decision. Yet I still fought for it and ended up convincing my parents to let me stay with the program. They never forced me to do things like certain other parents would anyway, especially that of Indian/Asian descent. Their mild rejection came from a place of the foundation that was laid and layered over the years by the society we all grew up in that taught us to not pursue arts because that’s what incapable people do as becoming a doctor or an engineer is considered way much more “capable”. It still shocks me terribly to see that despite India having a rich and colorful artistic history and giving birth to several original art forms that till this date are practiced or became the stencil for other forms various modern arts, is also a place that fosters this mentality to pressure people to think a certain way, only to pump out a mass of demotivated and lack-luster doctors and engineers. Of course not everyone has been forced, but most have and they’ve been robbed of their choice to be and do whatever they’d like. I’m one of the them as I definitely didn’t realize that I even had the choice to make a career decision for myself, until I did it. And you see, the magic of art, the change that it brings, the way that it inspires, is quite the sight to witness, especially when you’re nothing but passionate about it. The minute my parents saw me perform on stage, the great wall in their minds called “what will people say?” dropped, and they opened their minds to welcome me, as I chose to be.

Till this day I remember performing my final multimedia project, in which there was a part where I had to go stand in the audience and then perform an improv dance section. As I danced, I remember reaching out with my hand towards an audience member and they reached back with their hand. As if both of us were trying to catch a shooting star. That person was my father. I ran back onstage, finished my performance, but that memory still sticks. That, is a core memory of mine. And my mother, she hasn’t failed to show up even once for any of my shows. And you see, she’s one of the self-rejected artists I mentioned in the beginning. By watching me succeed she gets to live her unfulfilled dreams of being an actor and pursing it. She’s my number one supporter and fan. And I know she feels supported by doing so. And my little sister, she’s even more brilliant of an actor than me or my mother combined! It’s rare to see kids her age that talented and serious about their career/passion.

So you see there wasn’t just one specific moment where I decided to pursue my creative path, and rather a collection and a series of precious moments, some shaky and definite decisions, as well as broken barriers that led to the making of the artist that I am today. Today, I can proudly say that I hold an honors BFA degree in Multimedia & Performing Arts, and I am proud of myself for every step that I took to make it this far, and will continue to do so and pursue my education and my art further in the name of all those self-rejected artists in my family.

These are only a few of my many decisions and reasons to keep on pursuing my art because it not only helps me to live, but it inspires others to do the same, in ways that I have yet to unveil.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I like to call myself a Multidisciplinary Artist, as I practice various forms of arts. Sometimes separately, other times in a beautiful creative morph.

I am an actor, director, poet, digital art designer as well as a stage manager.

I believe that “to be an artist is to be a lover”. There is only one reason why I have always felt an immense passion to support my art with, which is my unconditional love for it. I am naturally a curious and caring person so my attention to detail is what makes my art stand out – whether it’s onstage, on script, on a canvas or even backstage.

Acting is my primary passion. As an actor, whether it’s performing an exercise, improving, auditioning, rehearsing or even performing, I find it all to be quite thrilling. This may sound dramatic, but when I’m acting and I’m in that state where I’m wearing a costume and playing a role, it makes even the smallest things such as breathing as that character such an exciting experience, as I get to live by experiencing various forms of lives. After having to learn and practice several acting exercises and studying various techniques, I’ve come to the conclusion that the only way to act good, is it feel the emotion being played fully. And it can take a lifetime to perfect this notion as not everyone is comfortable with each and every emotion known to mankind.

You might be wondering why I’m also a stage manager among other things mentioned previously as stage managing doesn’t necessarily come off as a “creative” pursuit. While it’s not one of my strongest passions, it is a role I find easy to slip into. You’ll notice while working on a creative project that often the production team tends to be very disconnected from the creative team. This is because the production team is mostly assigned all the technical work and so their tasks, or even the way they communicate may seem very technical, straightforward and cold as compared to the creative team’s discussions. And people get used to it all as they keep on working over the years. But teams don’t have to remain disconnected just because of the way things have always been. Due to me being involved and understanding both the creative and the technical end, I am able to provide that caring-artist-point-of-view, while still laying out clear instructions which helps me to lead my crew and run a show smoothly. My goal is to not only make sure the show happens, but also check-in with the artists and make sure they feel supported and that the crew and I have their backs too, and vice versa. This further helps me to establish a circle/community/team that is connected to each other on an artistic level, yet they all communicate about tasks/needs clearly without hesitating.

To learn more about my brand or see my resume, please visit www.simranpalkaur.com

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I’ve had lots “pivots”, or as I like to call them, plot twists, in my life – some hilarious, others not so funny. Which leads to my most recent plot twist where both my parents are going through severe health issues which has lead me to support them and become their primary caregiver for nearly a year now. This has been a very hard time for me and my family in all possible facets you could think of – mentally, physically, financially, socially, you name it. I have not spoken to anyone about this except my close friends. This on-going period of my life has led me to several discoveries and enlightenments.

#1. This can happen to anyone. One day you’re fine and the next day you’re either admitted in the hospital due to renal failure or you’re now the caregiver for a family member or a friend. Do not beat yourself up about it or blame anyone else. The best thing to do is to try to make things work and power through it by keeping a positive mindset which is a very difficult thing to do and you will have points where you’ll breakdown and fall. But remember, the deeper you fall into the darkness the brighter and taller you’ll be standing the next moment. It’s a cycle.

#2. This has a severe effect on the quality of life, further affecting your motivation to keep up with your passions. Things like this simply leave little to no time to think about yourself, let alone your passions. So it has been difficult to keep on pursing my career. I have seen a lot of my friends working a job that has nothing to do with art just to earn enough to pay the bills. So already, working in the arts is not for the weak. You need to make sure you’re severely good at organizing things.

#3. Things will get worse before they get any better. Way worse. But they will get better.

#4. Events like this will throw you in a pit of doubts, making you questions all your life choices. Best thing to do is try not to lose focus and stay locked in.

#5. Be patient. Your time will come.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Everyone has people they look up to, get inspired by. One of those people for me is Tom Hiddleston (actor). During one of his interviews, he introduced the audience to a Confucius quote that’ll stick with me for the rest of my life.

“We have two lives, and the second one begins when we realize we only have one.”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.simranpalkaur.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/simranpalkaur | www.instagram.com/lovingsimran_
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simranpalkaur24

Image Credits

Sasha Kay
Reiko Yoo Yanagi
Steve Buonnanotte
Mia Isabella