We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Colton Smith a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Colton thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with 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?

It should go without saying, it is HARD to earn a full time living from creative work alone being any kind of artist, not just an actor. Contract work is always a competition, and searching for the next one is often a job in and of itself. The phrase “Actors don’twork that pays, they work FOR work that pays” comes to mind for me, and that holds true now and forever, I’m sure. But man oh man, when that certain project comes around that is fulfilling both creatively and financially, I would argue it makes it all worth it.

I earned my Bachelor’s in Theatre Arts a little more than a year ago now, and I can tell you Iduring that time, I felt incredibly lost! I’d flown the coop, so to speak, and had little idea of what to do next. When I graduated, I was struck with this immovable fear that I wouldn’t be able to sustain myself financially on acting alone almost immediately. Because of that, I landed a desk job unrelated to the field I studied in. I told myself that this is just security. A day job. My day work will help pay for my career and keep me steady, surely! But I quickly realized I become comfortable in this fear. Oh, I can wait a little to audition for this, oh, I don’t think I’m ready for that. I started to lack in motivation and confidence, “I won’t get the gig anyway, so why waste the money for nothing?”

I don’t think this is uncommon for people like me, and it’s taken me a bit to dig myself out of it. Knowing now what it would be like right out of college, I would have absolutely done way more prep-work. Get out there and audition, audition, audition, keep yourself busy! Because even if you’ve graduated, you are never done honing your craft. You can only get better. The more you just submerged yourself in your art, the more confidence and motivation you can find, and I’ve only just figured this out, now that I’ve started getting paid work

I still have quite a long ways to go, but I do dream of living full time doing what I love. But for now, I’ll have to find that enjoyment in working for work that pays. I know it’ll be all worth it in the end.

Colton, 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?

My name is Colton Smith, and I am a stage and voice actor currently in the Kansas City area. I have been acting for over a decade, and have a passion for storytelling through the arts on stage and behind the mic. I absolutely love connecting with audiences through stories to help finding an element within it that means something to them. Telling stories is the funnest way to connect with people, no matter who you are. My proudest achievement so far was winning the Selector’s Comedy award for KCACTF’s Irene Ryan competition

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me, it’s by far engaging with people after they’ve watched or listened to a project I’ve worked on. I love listening to and taking in all of their thoughts on the projects, likes and dislikes, and what connected with them. I love being able to take a step back and look at each project and how people found something that touched them. Being able to contribute to a work of art that someone found enjoyment and meaning out of is such a blessing I’ll never get enough of!

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Go out and engage with these artists in person! See their show, go to their showcase, do whatever you can to experience different forms of art. If you see an advertisement for a local artist online or offline, if it intrigues you even a little bit, follow that feeling and check it out! Whether you end up following an artist or creative outlet or not, you are giving that creative exposure, and my end up spreading their name in passing conversations, or encouraging others to check them out since you think they like them.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://coltonsmithacting.com
• Instagram: @gingerygiant
• Facebook: Colton Smith
• Twitter: @gingerygiant

Image Credits

Petr William, John Clayton, Faith Beyer, Alyssa Neper and Lauren Mason