Today we’d like to introduce you to Abigail Goodin.
Hi Abigail, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
From before I can remember, I had always had a keen interest in storytelling. I was the kid who created imaginary worlds for myself for hours with my dolls, I was a total theater kid, I’ve always loved writing. Child me of course could’ve never expected my love of storytelling to be able to intersect with design, business administration and social research. Working in the entertainment industry first-hand throughout my childhood as an Opera Singer and Musical Theater Performer, I began to notice feedback loops in the poorly designed systems that were unnecessarily disenfranchising artists and creating ruinous power struggles between production executives and artists. I wanted to be a part of ending this cycle by implementing systems design strategies to equally benefit both artists and executives. Along the way, I found myself at the cross roads of filmmaking, stage directing, podcasting and social research, and realised that a career dedicated to storytelling and story strategy is a career dedicated to experimentation and exploration.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Every road has to be rocky until it’s paved, that’s a fundamental part of any interesting journey I think; I’ve definitely experienced struggles and challenges. I’ve struggled with chronic illness and pain for much of my life, which has definitely affected how I approach my work and manage my energy and time effectively. I’ve allowed the intimidation of other people’s greatness to stop me in the pursuit of my own. I’ve allowed other people’s negativity and nastiness more space and time in my body than it deserved. It’s part of the process of becoming really decisive about what stays in your life, and what must go. A smooth road doesn’t offer very much room for reflection; just predictability.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a producer and creative strategist. I implement and create strategic design strategies and solutions to address issues primarily faced in creative production processes or settings. I’ve worked all across the industry board, yet primarily in Entertainment and Media with companies like Opera base and Paramount Plus, as well as in boutique firms and entrepreneurially. I’m most proud of my versatility, not just in the projects and organisations I’ve been fortunate enough to work with, but in my capacity to meet projects and the people exactly where they’re at to provide the strongest, personalized approaches.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
Absolutely! Those Covid Curveballs were so fundamental at my coming of age, I’m actually grateful for them now. I would ultimately say my two biggest learnings were the importance of choosing to be patient and choosing to trust in the processes of life. Our entire lives drastically changed over night!
I was living in Australia throughout the majority of the pandemic, (that’s where I grew up) and where my whole family still lives. I moved to New York City almost two years later than I’d planned to start my studies at Parsons School of Design in New York City. I moved in 2021 not knowing when I’d be able to see my family again as the Australian border rules were extremely strict. I knew nobody when I arrived in New York, it was daunting to say the least. There was so much beauty in the wait before starting my journey in New York, patience became this beauty game between me and the universe. It allowed me to see things as they are: forever changing. I was patient with my dream, I was patient with my education, I was patient in just not rushing myself through that period of restlessness. Trust was the aspect of the big move that held me steadiness, to be ok with not knowing what the path would look like but to intuitively trust that there is always a solution.
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