We were lucky to catch up with Kleo Mitrokostas recently and have shared our conversation below.
Kleo, appreciate you joining us today. Can you take us back in time to the first dollar you earned as a creative – how did it happen? What’s the story?
Technically, the first dollar I earned as an actor was a $200 stipend for performing in a summer theater production of “Sweet Charity” when I was 17 years old. I probably spent more than $200 on gas money to drive myself (having just passed my road test!) back and forth from the theater, but I still have that pay stub to this day. It was such a huge milestone for me! My first weekly paycheck for an acting gig was when I booked “Circle Mirror Transformation” at Pendragon Theater right after finishing my sophomore year at NYU. My first year of college was on Zoom and then my second year was hybrid, so I was coming off a lot of changes and challenges that summer. It was also the beginning of theaters being able to re-open and do summer seasons again, so there was a lot of uncertainty in the industry. When I got the email that I had booked the job, I was on a break during a rehearsal for a show at school and I just started crying right there in the hallway. There were all these conversations going on during the pandemic about if theater would ever happen again, and it was such a scary time to be starting college and deciding I was going to commit myself to an industry that might never recover. Booking a paying gig like that was so beyond what I ever thought I would accomplish during undergrad, and I just felt so relieved and grateful during the entire process. It really boosted my confidence and made me so excited to keep going in this field.
Kleo, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am an actor and a producer working in theater, film, and television. Originally from Massachusetts, I am now based in NYC. I have been performing since I was in elementary school, but I realized I wanted to become a professional actor when I was in late high school. My love for acting was born out of a desire to try as many new things as possible and a desire to entertain. I like to say that I wanted to have so many different jobs, I decided being an actor was the only way to try them all. I discovered my passion for producing in college when I learned there was a way to put my leadership and organizational skills to work outside of the rehearsal room. I became interested in examining the kind of art being put into our lives, and I wanted to have a louder voice in that conversation. Through my creative journey, I’ve learned that my two favorite things in the world are a brand new story coming to life and sharing a laugh with a stranger. My creative mission in life is to continue exploring the world and the people who inhabit it through theater, film, and television.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
One of my professors in college liked to use the quote: “Comparison is the thief of joy.” As someone who grew up in a competitive academic environment, I have always struggled with jealousy when it comes to other artists. Early in my creative journey, I would often compare myself to other actors and try to grade myself against them in some sort of binary way. I thought others’ wins were my losses and struggled to celebrate the success of others, including my friends. It was an exhausting way to live! Especially with the increased importance of social media in the industry, it felt like I could never escape my own negative, competitive thoughts. Comparison really is the thief of joy and one day I realized how tired and unhappy my mindset made me. Thinking about others all the time was preventing me from focusing on my own creative journey. When I took a step back, I realized that I was trying to judge myself objectively when I was part of a subjective art form. My mindset that was formed in the halls of high school, comparing GPAs and test scores, could not survive in arts school and beyond. Of course, this was not an easy way of thinking to unlearn and I still struggle with it to this day, but I am able to keep myself grounded in a wider perspective now and recognize the negative thoughts when they arrive. I can actively combat them and remind myself that no two creative journeys look alike.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
While there are many rewarding aspects to being an artist, my favorite at the moment is being able to make others laugh. I consider it an important responsibility when people come to the theater or the cinema to be entertained. The audience is actively seeking human connection and I feel very privileged when I can provide that for them. I love to have fun when I’m acting and I love how that can make the audience have fun too. There is no better feeling than an entire room laughing together and it is so rewarding when I can make that feeling happen.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kleomitrokostas.com
- Instagram: @kleomitrokostas
Image Credits
Ted Ely Studio, Hunter Canning, Matt Cubillos, Eran Zelixon, Eliza Barberena