Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Tomlinson
Hi Michelle, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I made my big stage debut as a dancing tree in the traveling Missoula Children’s Theatre production of Snow White when I was six. It was the first time I was on a stage and I was barefoot. To this day, I still love taking off my shoes on stage. In high school, I fell in love with video productions and my focus became creating content by working with my classmates in writing, producing, directing, and editing our own projects. It was a very inspirational time for me, experiencing complete creative freedom. College at Eastern New Mexico University took me down the road of theatre, in which I got my major. Combining those two loves and a tremendous amount of film industry experience later, I am happily coaching actors and directing films.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road of creatives is much like throwing cooked spaghetti on the wall and calling it our journey. It’s not linear, it’s not guaranteed, there’s a million potholes, and there’s a million blessings and amazing moments. If anyone tells you it’s easy or a smooth road, RUN.
A lot of my struggles came from making wrong decisions. Which is how I learned some of my best lessons. If I were to give advice, it would be to be mindful of the relationships you create in your personal life, as they bleed over in the best and worst ways and can throw your focus in the wrong direction. (Something I have experienced time and again! I think I have finally learned!)
Other challenges include trying to secure the right representation. When I was 29, I was a size 4. My manager at the time told me I was too fat, too old, and too ugly for this industry. After six months of questioning all of my life’s decisions up to that point, I got myself off the floor and fired him. Imagine if I had let him have that power over me! If the road is smooth, you are on the wrong road. Get sticky. Get messy. Find your path. When it’s hard, our faith in ourselves is activated at it’s highest power and we learn to know we can overcome our own fears.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am most proud of being a single mom to my little girl, Hope. She is my “why.”
As far as work goes, I am an acting coach and I guide new and veteran actors to booking jobs and building careers for themselves.
I think the thing that sets me apart from others is my journey has been diverse with various training in the film industry, which includes a vast background in acting – both theatre and film – and I have worked a million different film industry jobs, which has led me to working as a Director. I have tremendous respect for all roles in front of and behind the camera.
How do you think about luck?
There is no such thing as luck. It’s literally a mixture of following the flow of my life, with a specific vision in my mind that I write down and allow wiggle room for magic to take place. When my life has gotten complicated and hard and heart breaking, it’s ALWAYS because I didn’t follow my gut instinct in the first place. Every time I start a new piece of my journey, I make sure to educate myself with people who know more than me so I can honor what I am working on, to the best of my ability. Artists are consistently growing, expanding, and contracting. Luck is the mythical idea that someone is going to show up and give us a shot — the truth is, there’s YEARS of foundation work that is done behind the scenes for every overnight success.
Pricing:
- $225 for four one hour acting sessions
- $85 for one hour acting session
Contact Info:
- Website: http://MichelleTomlinson.Net
- Instagram: @its_michelle_tomlinson
- Facebook: Michelle Tomlinson
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelletomlinson/
- Youtube: @michelletomlinson
Image Credits
Photographers:
Linda Carfagno
Stephanie Girard
Nata Aguilar