We recently connected with Kelci Loring and have shared our conversation below.

Kelci , appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I remember being 6 years old and seeing my mom putting on her shoes and coat. She said “I’m going to see a play.” “What’s a play?” I asked. I will never forget my delight and excitement for adventure when she said “Wanna come and find out?” I had no idea that it would change my life. I watched that high school production of Annie, and when we were leaving during the curtain call to beat traffic I turned around and saw Annie taking her bow. The audience rose out of their seats and cheered. I remember thinking “I want to do that!” I had my parents order both the 1982 and 1999 versions of Annie, and I memorized them both. I started doing shows for parents every time a friend came over. I adapted films I liked into theater scripts and directed shows in my backyard. Slowly this eventually led to me directing shows for my parent’s work events, and even once my high school’s auditorium as a fundraiser for the art department. I taught all the neighborhood kids who would listen everything I knew about acting, and as I got older I found myself teaching at the same theater summer camp that I was once religiously attending.

I knew I wanted to be an actress ever since that day I saw Annie’s standing ovation. What I didn’t know was that everything I was doing just to have opportunities to act is what would actually create my current career and flourishing businesses.

Kelci , 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 graduated college with a Bachelor’s degree in Musical Theatre, and due to my work study of teaching the children’s theatre education program I was immediately hired by Missoula Children’s Theatre upon graduation. I toured the country directing children’s musicals and teaching acting workshops. After the tour I was dealing with some lingering issues with my vocal health, and decided to focus more on a career in film, with the hopes and intention of returning to the theatre later on.

I moved to Los Angeles with one goal in mind: to make a living as an actor. Little did 24 year old me know that in order to be an actor, acting is not the only thing you can do. Being a professional working actor that gets consistent enough work to make a living is a never ending journey, and 24 year old Kelci did not have the wisdom to see that yet.

I created a new goal more focused on what I could control: I wanted to spend as much of my time centered around acting as possible. The universe responded when I was cast in a web series called “Hot and Funny” where I began writing and performing sketch comedy. I learned how to write scripts for tv and film vs the theater scripts I was used to. I also learned how much fun it is to collaborate with other writers. My current writing partner, Grace Bosley, and I met through this webseries and formed a deep friendship through our love of creating. We began working independently and strengthening our acting and writing skills together. When we met our third creative partner, Crystal Loverro, we started creating so many projects that we became Sweet Baby Studios! We focus on writing and creating our own sketches, shorts, features, and pilots. Our mission is to prioritize the art in cinema and imbue Hollywood with feminine energy by producing stories told by women. I get to spend a good chunk of my time writing and acting in our own creative works. I did not think I was going to be a filmmaker when I moved out here, and I am so happy that I found my place in life as a creator. I always have something to be working on, even if nothing is casting. I also love that I have the ability to work with so many artists that I truly admire, and love being able to get my friends work!

I was able to gain some control in regards to how often I was acting, but I also needed to make sure I was making enough money in order to stay afloat. Again, I asked myself how I could make money doing something related to acting. This question brought me back to my teaching roots, and once I started teaching a couple of acting classes I quickly saw the potential for growth. Therefore, I joined forces with my business partners Duncan Kinzie and Samm Azen to build our company, Studio Schmudio. The company is half film production and half arts education, with the goal of being a space where artists of all ages can grow, create, and have access to both education as well as filmmaking career opportunities. We want to create a community where students grow to become working professionals, and then (if they so choose) become the next generation of teachers. Our goal is to abolish gatekeeping in Hollywood by giving everyone with a love of the film industry a fair chance of success, as well as a community to help them acheive it. We are currently offering both after school acting/improv and filmmaking classes to elementary schools. Follow us on instagram and check out our website to stay updated as we grow and expand our opportunities!

I spend my afternoons teaching kids the magic that I experience when I’m playing pretend and creating stories. It’s amazing to watch each student of mine grow, and to hear from parents just how much progress they have seen in their child. I watch them become more comfortable with themselves, their creative ideas, and with each other as several of them have built beautiful friendships in my classes. It’s truly a joy to get to pass on what I love most to the next generation. They continue to inspire me everyday, and I am grateful that I get to inspire and support them in return.

I get to blend my love of acting, writing and teaching all together to create a life that I love living. It has been a journey, and my goal of spending as much of my time centered around acting has led to so many opportunities, friendships, and communities. I am deeply grateful for a change in perspective, and to know that as long as I continue to focus on my goal I am already living my dream.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

The lesson I’ve finally been making real headway with is my self love and confidence. When I was very young I could be quite bossy. I had no issue openly explaining to my mom holding my brand new baby sister exactly how we were all going to work together to take care of this baby. I swear a video exists of me saying “So I’ll feed her, and you change the diapers, okay?”
But of course life has its challenges and due to me desperately trying to get my peers approval, I turned on myself. I let everyone make decisions for me, because I no longer trusted my own intuition. I wore what the popular girls wanted me to wear, I accepted jokes about me being dumb when I was adjusting to no longer being on ADHD medication, and I felt like I didn’t belong and something must be wrong with me. But the reality is that the real person bullying me, was me! I never had to lose myself, or try to change myself for others’ approval. Letting go of the fake security that exists in insecurity has taken a lot of time and mindfulness. I made an effort to learn about how my ADHD works, and how to have patience and accept myself as I truly am. I am extremely careful when it comes to my self-talk, and refuse to tell myself anything my best friend wouldn’t say to me. Thanks to the Barbie craze I finally tapped into my true- pink loving-girly self, and I wear whatever the heck I want. As long as I am happy I will continue to attract the people who love me for who I am. I needed to stop searching for love from others and find the love for myself. Obviously that’s not easy for anyone, but I have come so far in that journey and it’s truly made all the difference in my life.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

These books have all expanded my mindset:

You are a Badass-Jen Sincero
(You are a Badass at Making Money is good too!)

Big Magic-Elizabeth Gilbert

The Alchemist- Paulo Coelho

Untamed- Glennon Doyle

Choosing Joy Creating Abundance- Ellen Peterson (My momma!)

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.schmudio.com/
• Instagram: @kelciloring

Image Credits

Headshots: Joanna Degeneres Photography