We were lucky to catch up with Wallace Demarria’ recently and have shared our conversation below.

Wallace, appreciate you joining us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

If I’m being completely honest, I almost never have that thought anymore. I did try it once and it was one of the lowest points in my life. I had signed on for three big movies and then the strikes happened. All of the movies went away forever. I ended up getting a personal training job and after a few years of not being able to work as an artist, I started trying to convince myself to just get a job in my educational field (Marketing) and try to “salvage” my life. However, I have never believed for a second that I was actually born and raised the way that I was just to be “regular.” I’ve been an artist for as long as I can remember. I think in art. I dream in art. I can be having a normal conversation with someone but in my head it’s a whole scene playing out, complete with cameras and musical scores. Once I stopped trying to be normal and get a normal marketing job, everything I had ever dreamed of as an artist started to happen. Maybe God and the Universe both were just waiting on me to eliminate any thoughts of a plan B.

Wallace, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Okay, my name is Wallace Demarria’. I am the C.E.O of Outside Studios. I am an award winning actor, writer, producer and director. I started my career as just an actor, However I was fortunate enough to receive life changing advice from a few entertainment legends. I decided to start creating work for myself and others. I’ve been nominated for 14 NAACP awards and I’ve won 9 of them. My show COLORBLIND was critically acclaimed OFF BROADWAY and LA Weekly called it Shakespeare like and genuis. My current show SECRETS is receiving rave reviews. Audiences can’t get enough. I will be starring in an all out action thriller about buddy assassins, entitled Till Death Do Us Part. The movie was written by myself and partner, Amanda Niqole, the C.O.O of OUTSIDE STUDIOS. Follow along this journey at www.theoutsidestudios.com

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Yes. Between 2012 and 2017, I was one of the premier playwrights of Los Angeles. Then in December of 2017, my money man lost every dime of my money. He’s in jail now but that didn’t help me to get my money back. My truck was repossessed, I had to move to Vegas because it was cheaper than LA. I was in complete financial ruin. I had to get a sales jobs to slowly rebuild my life. I never gave up on myself. I raised enough money to slowly get back on my feet. Amanda and I eventually started OUTSIDE STUDIOS in 2021, we shot a movie in 2022 and then went to New York and rocked OFF BROADWAY for most the year. We have been on tour since then and in pre-production now for a big feature film.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I wish I knew that no agent, manager, etc would ever push me and market me harder than I will. I would have put a lot more stock into my own marketing opposed to waiting for them to push me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.theoutsidestudios.com
• Instagram: Wallacedemarria1
• Facebook: Wallace Demarria