We recently connected with Adam Lebowitz-Lockard and have shared our conversation below.
Adam, appreciate you joining us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?
Sort of? Sometimes? I wish I could say things were more stable, but making a life in the arts outside of a 9-5 means they usually aren’t. It’s scary, for sure, but also exciting!
On any given day, I’m doing at least two of the following things: working on a script I’m writing, producing one of these scripts, in a theater rehearsal or prepping for an audition, and teaching. Right now I’m focused on writing and producing, but this past Spring it was teaching and theater.
Currently, I’m a Movement teacher and a Text Analysis teacher at different Universities, I’m devising some weird, fun, Jewish theater, I have my first feature set to film in December, a Documentary I’m directing that’s in the editing room, and another feature script in the pipeline.
While I don’t make a full-time living from any one area, working in ALL of these different areas keeps my lights on, and it feels rewarding knowing that it’s coming from my work as an artist and educator.
Sometimes I think of acting as the center of a bullseye. It’s the thing that brings me the most joy, but consistent work is difficult to come by. So, even if all of my arrows aren’t hitting the center target, between teaching, writing, and producing, I’m at least staying close to the target. Regardless of whether or not it makes for a “full-time living”, it keeps me happy and fulfilled.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Although I’m primarily an actor, I do a little bit of everything. I’m a filmmaker, a writer, and a professor as well, and usually doing some or all of those things on any given day.
I didn’t want to go into the arts because I watched a movie or a musical and got inspired. It has always been the doing of the thing that I’ve enjoyed the most. My high school was fortunate enough to have a great arts program, and I discovered that I was drawn to acting and music, and wasn’t interested in anything else.
I’m proudest of the work that I’ve been able to create with other likeminded actors and artists, but most especially my short films and upcoming debut feature film. Being able to be with a project from soup to nuts is incredibly rewarding, even if it takes years to develop and grow.
Along the way I started taking jobs in Academia working with actors, writers, and theater/film artists of all kinds, and have discovered how much I enjoy working with these students.
I love helping others grow their personal projects, and am at my best when I’m able to work with a writer, actor, or producer, one-on-one in order to help them grow and shape their project, link them up with other great artists, and help turn their dreams into reality.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
The biggest shift in my artistic life came from the pandemic. In early 2020, I had just begun my first University teaching job, I was working two other jobs to pay the rent, and I wasn’t as feeling fulfilled creatively as an artist.
Suddenly, all of my teaching work moved online and increased due to covid, and I had all of this time in my apartment to do, well, something. Something new. Something different. Something challenging.
I was feeling disconnected from my family and also from my Jewish community. So, I turned those feelings into my first short film, “Beefies”, a pandemic Passover dramedy. I wrote it, directed it, produced it, did some props and set dec, and starred in it as well.
Then, once that short finished I made another. Now, I’m producing my first feature and directing a documentary.
Without that (forced) pivot, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
When I sensed how lonely and disconnected I was feeling at the start of the pandemic, and that I wanted to turn those feelings into a film, I knew that I needed something to ground me — a North Star.
I made a production company moniker, OmiKatyMe, named for my grandma and my mom, and how they live on inside of me and my work, even though they’ve been gone for years.
By grounding myself with the presence of these wonderful Jewish women who came before me, I sensed instantly the types of stories I wanted to tell. I wanted to tell Jewish stories with Passion, Joy, and Grace, just as they would do.
And that’s what I’ve been doing ever since.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://omikatyme.com
- Instagram: @adamlladam
