We were lucky to catch up with Elena Ricardo recently and have shared our conversation below.

Elena , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

I honestly think about this question all the time. I am a creature that really craves stability and control so I truly chose the worst job to foster that. I look at the often linear path that comes from a more 9-5 job, the hard work correlating with success structure, the 2 full days you have off to relax and to have hobbies outside of your career and to know that you have a paycheck coming in by Monday and it sounds glorious.

I most crave the “regular job” when I’m on my 3rd hour of filming multiple self-tapes that probably won’t be watched. Or when I have back to back auditions where one day I felt like I nailed it and then never hear back and then the next day I bomb and question the entirety of my talent all while a client at my survival job asks what it’s like being an actor and I’d paste on my best Pleasantville face and tell them “It’s tough but it’s GREAT!!!!!” I’d be prepping auditions while already at a show while looking for more auditions and even with all that effort, I’d usually have nothing to show for it by the end of the month. Sounds like a pretty vicious cycle, right? You can see why the Muggle life (yes, the Harry Potter reference that many of us in the arts use to describe the people smart enough to avoid all this mental anguish) could be appealing.

So while the path to find consistency and satisfaction in the arts is long and tiring and often unsuccessful, once you’ve had a taste of it finally paying off (whether it’s Broadway , a TV show, or maybe it’s starting a side business that finally gives you the freedom to create your own hours and content), you just don’t have the appetite for anything less extraordinary than that. You want the Wizard’s life. You suffer because eventually, it’s worth it.

At some point, the suffering will outweigh the payoff and only then can I see myself being content with a more predictable job. What makes each person “happy” changes all the time. My current happiness comes from knowing that I am honoring the fire I still have to continue to progress in this field. Right now, I still want magic.

Elena , 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?

I’m a broadway performer and fitness enthusiast/instructor/small business owner. I left college to start working professionally in musical theatre. I performed in multiple national tours as well as Broadway but between gigs, I always had an array of jobs in the fitness world that eventually led me to find Trampoline Cardio. Once the Pandemic hit, I returned to bouncing to maintain my own sanity as well as to dabble in the world of an online fitness platform. With home workouts being some of the only ways people were getting exercise for a year, I started Bounce By Elena and started recording my workouts for subscribers to have on demand.

I’ve learned so much about the small business life. It’s been challenging being a full time performer with a side job and a small business but I’m proud that I have always made the chaos work. The hustle is real and it’s what I am most proud of in my adult life. If I’m going to take something on, I’m going to really give it what I got. I’m always asking my fitness followers to bring in the mess, sweat it out, and give me what’s left in your tank by the end of the workout. You already showed up so why not give it your all, right?

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

You know the quote “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” Yea, I just hate it. I think it’s actually the exact opposite. Just because we are working towards a career doing what we love, doesn’t mean the process of getting there is always fun. And even after you’ve achieved the goal, you will have “work” days. If you’re doing what you love, you care a heck of a lot more about the quality of your output. You put in more effort, you tie up your identity in the success of your art, and you sacrifice more to see it come to fruition.

I really had to unromanticize the idea of being a creative. It’s often not as glamorous and not always as fulfilling as you hope. That quote is misleading you to think that you should be jumping out of bed in the morning to pursue your craft and if you’re not, then you’re not really doing what you love. Artists care a lot about what we’re doing, which just inherently means we are working harder to maintain and monetize our craft. For me, building content and social media to promote Bounce By Elena was exhausting and virtually unpaid WORK. Preparing for an audition where they ask you to learn dozens of pages of material and then only have you perform 2 pages is unpaid WORK. Doing a show 8x a week that requires 2.5 hours of your unwavering joy when you’re going through personal turmoil is paid but still WORK.

Of course that’s not always the case but it’s important to point out that once we start to pay the bills with our talents, there inevitably will be many challenges we will meet in showing up to those jobs. And it’s ok to admit that all of it often feels like WORK.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Well first, tip your servers or service workers because they are most likely artists (and if not, human beings) barely making a livable base wage. That’s the best way to directly support us.

Second, society can not underestimate the value of the arts with children. We can’t be cutting funding to the arts. We can’t be depriving kids of seeing shows because of ticket prices. We can’t have societies where kids have no artistic way of expressing themselves. Theatre was my safe haven in high school and I know for so many others, it’s the place they developed their empathy and social skills and confidence to stand in front of a room of people and command attention. There is just so much to be learned from exposure and participation in the arts.

I hope for a society that encourages and even requires our youth to participate in a school production. I hope for a world where there aren’t archaic stereotypes that prevent kids from ever even trying an acting class. I hope we have more teachers and people in power reading plays and books and seeing shows that challenge their beliefs. Art is just never not going to be important in life and it starts with kids. Trust me, if the world were filled with more theatre kids, it would look a lot different than what it does now.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.elenaricardo.com
• Instagram: @bouncebyelena
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elena.ricardo/

Image Credits

bounce photos all taken by Jon Taylor