We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Adena Brumer. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Adena below.

Adena, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

I am currently making a full-time living, but it didn’t happen right away! I was working as a receptionist at an ophthalmology practice that was just sucking my soul. The patients were great and the doctors and staff were lovely, but I hated that it kept me from going to auditions and doing the work I knew I wanted to be doing. So, in February of 2014, my husband and I were in a position where it made financial sense for me to quit my job. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made! It was scary, of course! To make that leap and trust that I was doing the right thing? Terrifying! But around 2020, I started TRULY making a living and helped us get out of debt! As artists, we aren’t often able to make money from just one thing; many teach or have side hustles, etc. I’m now in three bands, am a standardized patient, and am an adjunct professor at Emory Law! And, although, I would love to be on set more often than I am, I consider myself pretty lucky and am extremely grateful for the life I’ve got!

I’m not sure I could have sped up the process. I think we all come to this type of decision in our own time. And I’m not sure I was ready before then! Being an artist, for me, is a need, not just a want. I’ve told people in the past, if you can find anything else that you want to do, do that, because this life is HARD. But I wouldn’t trade it for anything!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I was born in Montreal, raised in Albuquerque, lived in St. Louis for 8 years, lived in the Twin Cities for 14 years, and moved to Atlanta in 2011 to marry my (now) husband. I knew I could sing when I was 9-years-old when I started singing in my synagogue choir. My parents didn’t know I could sing until I was nearly 14 – at my Bat Mitzvah! I started taking voice lessons at 16 and was encouraged to pursue singing by my choir teacher, Rick Wild, at Sandia Preparatory School. He was a huge cheerleader for me and I will be forever grateful to him! I then went to Washington University in St. Louis thinking I was going to get a degree in Music. I hated it and switched to Theater. There, I found my tribe! I performed consistently in St. Louis theatre and then met a cool guy and moved to the Twin Cities. He and I broke up, but I stayed and acted with almost every theater there, at the time. One of the most important performances for me, during that time, was a production of “Merrily We Roll Along” at The Guthrie Lab. The show was a little over three hours long and I was in it for maybe twenty minutes. I was mad about the amount of stage time I had and complained that I didn’t get to do enough. One night, during previews I believe, I was having dinner at a restaurant quite close to the theater. I overheard some people talking about the show. I told them I was in it (I was unrecognizable with the wigs I wore) and they asked who I played. I told them, among a couple of other roles, “Evelyn”. One of the ladies said: “Oh, my gosh! We loved Evelyn! We wish she had been in it more!” In that moment, I decided to stop being a jerk. If my thirty seconds of playing “Evelyn” made an that much of an impact, that was enough for me. I decided to simply be a part of whatever story I was telling and do it as well as I possibly could. I’ve carried that into my singing, my teaching, and everything else I do. I was also extremely fortunate to create an incredible community of friends which has resulted in performing each December in “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” at The St. Paul Hotel. It is rare that the exact same cast comes together year after year and, this past December, was year 17. Side note: in 2022, I was unable to do the show because, wonderfully, I was cast in a show on Hulu called “The Other Black Girl”. It was an extraordinary experience and I couldn’t be more grateful! But, missing the show was very difficult and it was truly a gift to come back to it. It means more to me now than it ever has.
When I moved to Atlanta, I was already in a band. Unfortunately, like many bands, we fell apart, but I got introduced to the music scene here and I now sing with Wild Iris Rose (www.wildirisrosemusic.com), A1A – The Original and Official Jimmy Buffett Tribute Show (https://www.a1a-live.com/#/), Atlanta Wedding Band (www.atlantaweddingband.com), and Rockin’ Train (https://www.facebook.com/rockintrainband/).
I’ve also been very lucky to be a part of the local TV/Film industry here! In addition to “The Other Black Girl”, I’ve been on “Sleepy Hollow”, “Bigger”, “The Long Slow Exhale”, and “Sweet Magnolias”.
In 2020, I got to fulfill a dream of becoming a Standardized Patient. For those who are unfamiliar, Standardized Patients help nursing students, PAs, and others working in medicine, be more empathetic and be better practitioners. It is some of the most fulfilling work I have ever done.
And in 2021, I became an Adjunct Professor at Emory Law. With Helen Ingebritsen, I co-teach Courtroom Persuasion Drama for 3Ls and I never thought, in a million years, I would be doing this kind of work. And I love it!
When it comes to Wild Iris Rose, specifically, what I love about Jolee and me is that we can cater our set lists to different venues, but more than that, we genuinely enjoy what we do and are supremely grateful to be doing it! We just love to play! And that’s really the crux of it for me. I will often find myself looking out into an audience (whether it’s A1A, Atlanta Wedding Band, Rockin’ Train, etc.) and tearing up because I get to be a part of someone else’s experience. These people CHOSE to spend their time with us and it is my job to give back to them as much as I’m able. I will never take that for granted!

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

For me, I just want people to know it’s okay to feel what they’re feeling. I want to reflect back to them how movies and tv and music have made me feel all my life. If someone can relate, be moved by, or feel seen by something I’ve been a part of, then I’ve done my job, right? As an example, Jolee and I had a gig a few weeks ago where a family had just lost their father. They asked us if we could sing “Don’t Stop Believin'” because that was his favorite song. The entire place sang with us and that family couldn’t have been more grateful. Being a part of that moment was extraordinary and is why we do what we do.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is collaboration. Not just with my fellow actors or musicians, but with the audience! That feeling of really connecting with your acting partner during a scene or when you lock in to harmonies on a song – there is nothing like it! It’s like magic! But feeling the energy from an audience is fantastic, too! Knowing that we’re going on a journey together and we’re all on the same page is exhilarating!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.adenabrumer.com
• Instagram: @adenab
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adena.brumer
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adena-brumer-3500054/
• Twitter: @adenab
• Other: www.wildirisrosemusic.com, www.a1a-live.com, www.imdb.me/adenabrumer

Image Credits

Amore Fotography