We were lucky to catch up with Anna Broadway recently and have shared our conversation below.

Anna, appreciate you joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I’ve loved creating stories for as long as I can remember but there was one year in elementary school my parents got me a camcorder for Christmas that kind of changed everything. I was in about 5th grade and I decided I wanted to make an hour long movie entitled “Normal Life”. It was starring my neighbors, my brother, and I recorded/directed it (with a few cameos, of course). After about 6 months or so, I edited it together and we had a “red carpet” premiere at our house and invited our block. That was the first time I think it clicked for me that I wanted to pursue a career in the arts.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I got into acting and performing as a kid. I was in choir and drama in elementary school, middle school, and high school. It was my high school competition theatre class that made me feel like pursuing acting as a career was attainable. My high school’s competition shows made it to states and SETC where a lot of college’s were there recruiting for their programs. I ended up auditioning for about 7 schools and committed to the BFA Acting for Stage and Screen at Western Carolina University. What I loved about my college program was being able to work on films as well as stage productions. During my time there, I was in two mainstage shows and probably was the proudest of our production of the Wolves where I played #7. I also was the lead in a couple of senior thesis films and my senior year I was the lead in our web-series called Unhinged. Unfortunately, I graduated during the COVID-19 pandemic so things got a little bit derailed and moved home to Raleigh to finish online classes. September of 2020, I packed up and moved here to Atlanta! Since moving here, I’ve been auditioning and I’ve worked on as the lead in a feature film, a couple of short films, a music video, and still taking a bunch of different classes and working with coaches to keep my skills sharp. I’ve also signed with Dream Team Talent as my southeast agent and 5 Star Talent Management. On February 28th, my 8 week scene study class at Acts of Freedom will be having our showcase here in Atlanta and would love to see some familiar faces. For more info check out their Instagram or go to: https://actsoffreedomatl.com/

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think a lot of my non-creative family members and friends struggle to understand the concept of referring to people as an “aspiring” artist (ex: actor, dancer, visual artist, etc) vs a working artist. Anyone who is actively pursuing a career in the arts and making a living or platform for themselves is not just “aspiring”, they’re working! As an actor, I work every single day on furthering my career. I check Actors Access and other platforms daily for auditions in addition to the ones I receive from my representatives. I have invested my personal money into classes, headshots, backdrops, microphones, lights, subscriptions to acting websites, etc. and I would say the majority of other people in our industry do the same. I think the phrase “aspiring” can be damaging because it implies that booking something is the only thing that makes you a legitimate actor or artist. It also seems like it is more of an “unattainable idea” rather than something you are actively working on. In reality, there’s so much that goes into every single audition and building your resume.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I think the sense of community honestly. I have made so many great friends and connections from all over just through theatre and film. It’s so nice to collaborate and share ideas with like minded people who are on the same or similar journeys. Social media has really helped to bridge the gap too I think since COVID, when it seemed like we were all so isolated.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/annabroadway
• Instagram: @_abroadway
• Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9338429/

  For booking inquiries:
  [email protected]
  [email protected]

Image Credits

Brian Jones, Regina LaCarrubba, Mikail Tot, Leslie Black, Ashton Ward (Intune Skin), Acts of Freedom (Malik Ali)