We recently connected with Rollin Jewett and have shared our conversation below.

Rollin, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

As a child, I loved music and loved to read and draw. Other kids would be outside playing and I’d be in my bedroom drawing pictures, reading or listening to the latest music on the radio. During my first year of high school, on a whim I took a drama class and it changed my life forever. My drama teacher was likely the most influential person in my life. Because she actually believed in me. That meant everything to me. She and my Creative Writing teachers essentially gave me a path in life and I’ll be forever grateful to them. With just a little encouragement I went from a directionless quasi-juvenile delinquent to a disciplined student of the arts, especially acting. I did many plays in high school theatre and became proficient in all aspects of theatre – singing, dancing, acting, etc. From there, I never looked back or questioned what it was I wanted to do with my life. I knew I would devote it to the arts – acting, writing, producing, just creating in general. After high school, I attended Florida State University as a Theatre Major. I did quite a few plays in college and later moved back down to South Florida where I started auditioning for commercials, print, film and TV. That was just the beginning.

Rollin, 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’ve always been a difficult artist to define because my talents are in myriad genres. I’ve never limited myself creatively and if there’s a medium I want to take on I will learn as much as I can about it and then try my hand at it. I grew up in Miami and went to Florida State University where I was a Theatre Major. When I started out professionally, I was living in Miami and was active as a stage and film actor with credits in TV shows and films such as Miami Vice, Unsolved Mysteries, and The Bodyguard. I was also a successful print model doing many top print campaigns in Miami and internationally. From there, I moved to Los Angeles and branched out into screenwriting and writing for the stage. I wrote Carmen Electra’s first film (American Vampire), which also starred Adam West of Batman fame. I also wrote a thriller called Laws of Deception, which starred C. Thomas Howell, Brian Austin Green and James Russo. In addition, I’m an award winning playwright with Off-Broadway stage credits whose work has also been produced in the UK and internationally. I’m also a published author, well known in the horror community for my dark short stories and macabre poetry which has appeared in multiple magazines, anthologies and journals. I was even a contestant on Jeopardy! And now I’m becoming a well known multi-award winning singer songwriter — again in multiple genres ranging from rock to pop to alternative, blues, country and Americana. I’ve won awards from the International Singer Songwriter Association (ISSA) Awards, Rampage Music Awards, Indie Songwriting Awards, X-Poze-Ing Music Awards, Akademia Music Awards, and have been nominated for several Josie Awards and a Hollywood Music in Media Award, among others. I’m currently nominated for 6 ISSA Awards, 14 Fairplay Country Music Awards, and a Josie Music Award. The Josie Awards are the largest independent music awards in the country and the awards ceremony takes place at The Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, so I’m looking forward to that. I attended last year and it was spectacular. In addition, the ISSA Awards take place in Atlanta and I will be attending again this year. Last year I won the Best Male Single Award for my song Electricity. It was an amazing experience and I met many great artists who are now friends. I was recently featured on The Country Network’s show “The Next big Twang” as well as DBTV’s “Your Big Break” twice. I guess I’m most proud of the fact that I’ve spent my life entertaining people in different mediums – TV, stage, film, stories, poetry and song. It’s a lifetime body of work that I can look back on and really see the growth and maturity of my creative endeavors simply by the sheer amount of material I’ve proliferated. And I’m proud that I’ve had at least some small measure of success in every medium I’ve attempted. That and the fact that I’ve been around this long and have been this prolific all the while gives me the most satisfaction. And there’s much more to come! I have a play titled “Our Little Secret” which will premier at the prestigious Off-Broadway Theatre Playwrights Horizons next month. It’s a comedy and I hope that people can just come, escape and have a few laughs. There’s far too few comedies these days so I hope this will be welcome respite from the seriousness of the world. In addition, a story of mine titles “The Girl in the Forest” will be published my Culture Cult publishing in an anthology called “Lost”. Also, I have just released a heartfelt spiritual song called “Let It Go To God” with my producing partner Andy Falk who has worked with me on the last four singles I’ve put out. This song is by far the most personal song I’ve done because I wrote it at a very low point in my life. My hope is that the song, which talks about letting go and letting God take over, will be of comfort to those who are losing hope in this difficult ever changing world. If the song can touch or help even just one person I will consider it a success. Also, coming up in August are the ISSA Awards in Atlanta, where I’m nominated for six awards and in October I’ll be headed to the Grand Ole Opry for the second year in a row as a Josie Music Award nominee. As you can see, these are very exciting times!

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

The rewards are multitudinous. There’s nothing that beats writing a play that makes someone laugh or cry, writing a song that makes someone happy or sad, or writing a story that makes someone think. It’s a wonderful thing to have the power to affect someone and make them feel something, no matter what it is. I’m blessed to be able to do that with my art. When I was an actor, there was no better feeling than connecting energies with an audience. There really is a communal energy that’s shared between a performer and an audience that is not only a palpable force but a spiritual one, too. The two energies feed off each other and something special is created. A bond that is very real in that moment. The same with writing a play. When the audience laughs at a joke you’ve meticulously crafted and timed, the reward is their joy. Nothing beats that! And of course, music is something that everyone loves, so being able to connect with someone musically is an honor. Who knows? Your song might become part of a permanent soundtrack to someone’s life. How incredible is that?

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Building an audience on social media or anywhere for that matter, is a constant enterprise. You have to stay focused on your output and be deliberate in what you put out. It’s especially difficult for someone like myself who has multiple disciplines. There are those who follow me because of my plays, some because of my short stories and poetry, and those because of my singing and songwriting. But my hope is that others may become interested in the other mediums that I create in and that that may become something I can also interest them in. I find that most people who like one type of art can easily be swayed to appreciate other types. I am always appreciative of those who like what I do and I’m incredibly thankful to those who support me. Their support is what keeps me creating and without their encouragement I would not likely be motivated to continue doing what I do. Hence, the main thing is of course to produce material that people are going to like. The next is to appreciate your fans and followers and respond to them on a personal level if possible, which I always try to do. I pay very close attention to the ones who I can tell really enjoy what I do because I know I’ve really reached that person and they really get what I’m doing. It makes a big difference when you know you actually matter in someone’s life even if you’ve never met that person. But that’s what social media is about – building relationships with the folks who like what you’re doing and who will continue to support you. That’s a true fan.

Contact Info:

• Website: rollinjewett.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rollinjewett/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=677081773
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rollin-jewett-aka-rollin-jarrett-ab7953143/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/RollinJewett
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5HZNh8W3nSQDfgQm35oH0Q
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2sL7yvOhWEqadXvFec6VTf https://soundcloud.com/rolljet-1 https://www.reverbnation.com/rollin3 https://www.songtradr.com/rollin.jewett https://www.iheart.com/artist/rollin-jewett-31786920/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollin_Jarrett