Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lydia Joy Carswell. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Lydia, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
I was three or four when I saw “The Lion King” and cast my dad as my co-star. We would play out the scene where tiny cub Simba is pestering Uncle Scar, and I would recite every line perfectly in my little toothless slur. Ever since then, I hungrily sniffed out every acting opportunity in my community, at my church, and at school. When I played orphan Molly in my elementary school’s production of “Annie”, I could not stop grinning from the stage – definitely out of character for one of Miss Hannigan’s orphans, but I was just so happy. That was where I was supposed to be.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
We all have that book, that film, that song, that comic we love because it helped us through a difficult time. Art helps us process our human-ness, and art connects us with the people who might know what it’s like to be us. I think everyone is a storyteller. We have our different mediums, but at our cores, we long to share our human experiences with each other. I tell stories through the characters I portray in the theatre and in film, I tell stories through my writing and comics. There is no one way of telling a story, and we shouldn’t limit ourselves to one avenue.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I think the plot twist of a lot of artist’s careers came in the form of COVID-19. I was living in Philadelphia and had helped start a theatre company that was just starting to get off the ground. I was a resident company actor! I’d made it! And then the world shut down as I was visiting my family in Colorado. Our company didn’t stop moving, though, and we carved a weird path through the world of virtual theatre. It was there that we had to be scrappy, we had to be creative, and we had to adapt. I started designing, painting, filming sets and backdrops, animations and designs we used to bring our virtual Shakespeare productions to life. I was usually on the actor side of things, and I did act in our virtual production of “The Trojan Women,” but I was working in visual art behind the scenes too. I loved it.
Then, a leader made a very, very bad decision, and the company shut down for good. We were all shaken up. We were betrayed by a mentor and a leader. I was in Colorado when I had the thought that I could never enjoy acting again.
I stayed in Colorado – I wasn’t going back to the East Coast. I picked up painting again because I needed something to do with my hands. I have a relationship with God, so I prayed to him and told him how angry I felt, how sad I was. I wrote stories in paper notebooks and took a job at a coffee shop to pay the bills. I wasn’t acting, but I was still creating. I felt like I had to, and it grounded me.
Since then it’s been a few years, and I’ve been blessed to work on student and indie films out here in Colorado. And during that time, I created “Wall Flowers”: a comic based on my experience, and the experiences of my other artist friends. Art has been so necessary to my healing, and I create differently now. Life happens, and life will always happen. And when life happens, we create.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
I know you’re not supposed to say this, but one of the most rewarding things for me is when someone tells me how much they loved something I made. But here’s why: I make art to connect with people. It’s all about people, and it’s about sharing experiences together. Sure, I can express and create just for me and sometimes I do that. But the most rewarding thing is to know that someone felt validated and seen through something I made. That’s awesome.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lydiajoyportfolio.com
- Instagram: @impastmybedtime
- Other: The TikTok I made for sharing art and comic tutorials: https://www.tiktok.com/@impastmybedtime *As a bonus, my acting work is here: https://lydiajoythecreator.wixsite.com/lydiajoyactor
Image Credits
Calista Judith, Ashley Smith