Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Vosters

Hi Jennifer, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?

I grew up loving stories and playing pretend, and I never stopped!

I started writing my own stories when I was about eight years old (though I’d spun elaborate yarns with my dolls and action figures since before kindergarten). In middle school, I started doing school musicals and a few community theatre productions, and in high school I joined the speech & debate team, so I learned not only how to write with confidence but also how to communicate and perform. I studied English in college and took some theatre classes as well as joining the improv team across the street. I wrote my first plays while in college (though I only actually staged a ten-minute one for a directing class I took as a senior).

Halfway through college I realized that while I loved writing as much as ever, I also wasn’t sick of acting yet, and if I didn’t at least try doing it professionally, I would always wonder what might have been. So I auditioned for the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival as a junior, woefully underprepared, and didn’t get in; I auditioned again the following year and did get in, so the summer after I graduated I had my first professional gig, playing small roles in Pericles and The Tempest. I’d played the viola since third grade, and having that proficiency on a string instrument really helped me get my foot in the door at places that otherwise wouldn’t have looked twice my way, given how little experience I had. I moved back with my parents after that first gig with NDSF, threw myself 110% into researching Shakespeare festivals and regional theatres, learned how to do monologues, did a few shows with a brand-new Shakespeare company in Milwaukee, and booked a musical at a small professional theatre before getting a big win: getting cast in the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s summer season. I was hired pretty much exclusively because I could play music, but I went in full throttle to learn everything I could from the actors I was working beside, and I learned a LOT.

Still, it took several years of feeling like an impostor before I stopped looking over my shoulder, wondering when people were going to wise up and kick me out of the field. I did a lot of classical theatre, a lot of neat roles at tiny theatres and tiny roles at bigger theatres. I started getting hired for my acting skills more and more, needing to rely on my music skills less and less. I started directing a bit, doing some readings and some independent productions and assist-directing at more established theatres. I lost a full year of acting and directing work when COVID hit, but I was fortunate to be able to once again move back with my parents and use that first year of lockdown to earn some money tutoring while trying to sharpen my craft in other ways: Zoom theatre, experimenting with voiceover, recording videos with friends, and getting my name out there as a writer again by publishing essays with several magazines. By 2022 I moved to Chicago and signed with an acting agency here, and I’ve been here ever since, pursuing acting and writing jointly.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?

Absolutely not! Ha! But I’ve been incredibly fortunate as well with how much support I’ve had.

Theatre is a brutally difficult field, especially for freelancers. Low pay, lots of free labor, constant rejection, navigating the difficult channel between trying to be what people are looking for and trying to stay true to who you are and what your values are. I’ve struggled a lot with the logistics of managing a lifestyle and career like this–juggling multiple jobs to make ends meet while staying flexible enough to be available at the drop of a hat, for starters–as well as the psychological challenges of having so little control over when and how I get to do the thing I love to do. It was one of the driving factors that led me to start creating my own work, which has been so incredibly rewarding.

Having a supportive family and friend base has been irreplaceable for me. If I didn’t have so many people rooting for me, when the chips are down as well as when they’re up, I know I wouldn’t have lasted this long.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?

I am a writer and a theatremaker. Under the “theatremaker” umbrella, I act, direct, play music, and occasionally produce.

For a while I was known primarily as an actor-musician, which was great in many ways! It got me auditions at places that probably would not have considered me otherwise. But I’m pleased to be known for other things now: lately as a writer-performer, which covers both what I am hired by others to do and the kind of work I create on my own. I am proud of my resistance to being defined as one thing or boxed into one category in a field that really, really tries to boil you down to the simplest version of yourself. But none of us are simple and I’ve never wanted to be or do just one thing. It has not been easy, but I’m proud I did not give up any part of what I felt drawn to: writing, acting, solo performance, music, etc.

As a writer, I have published features, interviews, reviews, and essays with a variety of publications including Arts Midwest, Commonweal, America, National Catholic Reporter, and U.S. Catholic, among others. I have also worked as a staff writer for ENOUGH! Plays to End Gun Violence and as a content writer/editor for clients in a variety of industries including healthcare and nonprofits. I have published fiction in Slippery Elm and Bridge literary magazines, and my solo play, SONGS WITHOUT WORDS, won the M. Elizabeth Osborn Award from the American Theatre Critics Association before several critically acclaimed runs at fringe festivals across North America. Wordsmithing with passion, precision, and clarity is one of my joys in life; digging out a good story and sharing it with the world feels like a calling.

Acting – and directing, when the opportunity arises – is just another facet of that storytelling mission. With foundations in Shakespeare and other classical works, I follow a text-centric, heart-driven approach to the craft, aiming for both specificity and spontaneity every time I play. As someone who rejoices in variety, I’ve worked on stages large and small, indoor and outdoor; on educational tours and fringe festival circuits; at major regional theatres and small startup companies. While writing is often solitary, acting is always collaborative, and I relish the chance to build and experience something with fellow creatives and with audiences, the essential ingredient in any art form. And when live music gets to be part of that? Pure gold.

Can you share something surprising about yourself?

I’m a pretty open book, haha. But people are sometimes surprised when I share that I don’t have a lot of formal training as an actor or a musician. I played viola in school orchestra but I only had a couple years of private lessons, and I never had any training on the violin at all. But non-musicians are often very generous with their praise! Additionally, I didn’t get a degree in theatre, just a minor, and I didn’t do a bunch of acting classes or drama camps growing up, so by the time I decided to start trying to be an actor, I felt really, really behind. Even to this day, I still get insecure about this from time to time; but I’ve worked hard to catch up by learning on the job and taking standalone classes when I can, and I wouldn’t change anything about the education I received along the way. (Except maybe practicing my instruments more!) Learning from peers, from practice, and from trial and error has been deeply rewarding and given me the chance to find my own way–as difficult as it sometimes feels!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jennifervosters.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vostersjennifer/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.vosters

Image Credits

Jeff Kurysz
Ross Zentner
Jeff Burkle
Jennifer Vosters
Karl Hugh