We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Maureen Janson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Maureen below.

Hi Maureen, thanks for joining us today. Are you 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?

Wow, this is a big question. And lucky for me, my journey has been a long one so far! I think one of the things I have found the most important is to allow myself to constantly learn, and not be defined by one particular art form or way of working. The only way I’ve been able to survive is by doing many different things. I can’t say it’s been completely the creative process that has brought financial success, so I include teaching in my definition of “creative work”.

I decided pretty early on to do my best to earn a living in my field. Initially, that was ballet and modern dance. The first few post-college years were a little rocky. Although I performed periodically, mostly I waited tables to earn my keep and to enable the flexibility that daily training and rehearsals demanded. After a few years of that (the early 1980s), I picked up some studio teaching work. My willingness to travel all around Chicago and suburbs allowed me to piece together enough teaching to earn a living. (A “living” for me meant sustaining a small apartment, being able to eat, take daily dance class, and socialize once in a while.) At that point, I walked away from the restaurant business and never looked back.

When one of my dance mentors left town, I decided to go back to school for a masters in dance. That was a wonderful few years of being able to focus on the process of making dances and not worry about income. It was a time that gave me the energy and support to pursue choreography work, and although I was still performing, at that point I shifted more towards being a dance maker. Teaching remained the main income source though, and I landed part-time work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the Dance Department. As much as I thought I wanted full-time teaching work, I was thankful for the flexibility my part-time gig allowed, and for my duration there, I also created a touring dance company as a vehicle to share my choreographic work. Spinning multiple plates, I also took on some freelance writing work, primarily focused on dance and theatre. And in particularly slim financial periods, I sold paintings and jewelry work.

I also began to choreograph for theatre and opera. Piecing gigs together all around the midwest allowed me to make a decent living. Over time, I sustained a few injuries, cut back on teaching, and eventually gave it up entirely. But in the spirit of not being defined by a single artistic endeavor, I had begun taking my photography hobby a bit more seriously. And as teaching fell into the past, photography rose up and filled that void, both creatively and financially.

It felt very natural that I would take on headshots for actors and dancers and that has been a wonderful way to combine creative expertise with collaboration, innovation and fun.

Of course, I’ve hit bumps in the road, and like many, during the early pandemic days I hit a big one when my photography work fell completely off the map. Suddenly with live performance gone, video became the media for performative expression. It was at that time I explored the possibilities of being in front of the camera. Once things began to open up a bit, I lined up agent representation and began working as an actor while photography slowly regained some traction.

At the moment, I earn a living with both acting and photography, occasionally writing for a few dance publications, and once in a while selling some paintings and jewelry. I’m definitely happiest when I am making things.

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.

I’ve always been a curious person, and as far back as I can remember, I was a maker of things. As a kid, unprompted I used to make all kinds of things like creating story books out of old magazines, or designing and sewing entire wardrobes for my dolls. So I think I always knew I would follow some sort of creative path.

I may be repeating myself a bit here, but as a young dancer, I learned quickly that it’s best to be good at lots of different things in order to survive financially. That last day as a waitress was a big turning point for me. Both frightening and liberating, that decision sent me on the curvy surprising path first as a dancer and choreographer, later as photographer, visual artist, writer, jewelry-maker and now as an actor.

My present work is in photography, on camera acting and voiceover. These endeavors provide a variety that I love. I’ve built a solid brand as a headshot photographer over the past 12 years, working primarily with actors. My previous work in theatre and opera as a choreographer and currently as an actor gives me an edge towards understanding what actors are looking for from headshots and a knowledge of the current industry standards.

I’m about four years into my acting career which was initially spurred by the pandemic. During that time, I continued to do headshots out in my garage with doors open, mask-wearing, and plenty of distance between myself and my clients, but sessions had dwindled compared to the pre-pandemic business, so on a whim, I began to pursue voiceover work. In time, that lead to an on-camera role in a local commercial and before I knew it, I was working, auditioning, studying and learning about the business at every possible opportunity.

It’s not a fluke that I began acting. My father built a long and successful career as an on camera and voice actor in Chicago. I grew up with that seeming like a perfectly normal thing to do. As I considered acting on a serious level, I realized just how much I had gleaned from my Dad. He was a model of an incredibly strong work ethic and was always very supportive, encouraging me to follow my heart.

Something that has become very important to me as an actor, is to represent what I see in my reality which is older women who are active, engaged, smart, and vibrant. So I’ve branded myself as an active, hip Midwest older woman! I could be running the company, I could be running the household, I could be running the marathon, so I look for roles that present women as important contributors to life and to storytelling.

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

Haha, I think the fact that I’m still doing it is the biggest illustration of my resilience. I’ve had plenty of chances to give up and chase more conventional ways to make a living, but I’m still here chipping away at making things!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

It’s fun to share creative work with other people and receive their feedback, but for me, the most rewarding thing about being an artist is the process and being in the space where collaboration happens, where ideas come together. When you work with others in that way, you end up making something you never envisioned–something brand new. That is very very rewarding.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.maureenjanson.com/
• Instagram: @thirdactactor
• Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10120838/

Image Credits

Corey Walden, Heather Froslid, Maureen Janson Heintz, Claude Heintz