We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alexcia Cooper a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Alexcia thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
I started learning the craft of video editing back in my undergrad year of college at Savannah State University. I graduated with a BA in Mass Communications with a concentration in Audio/Video, so watching those 4 years I learned about camera angles, green screen editing, chroma key, lighting, etc. My acting I started pursuing a year after I moved to Texas. To speed up the process I would’ve stayed more consistent in going to classes, studying, and practicing. Going to different classes allowed me to see and try different acting techniques until I found the one that works for me. I found this unique acting technique through Brian Thornton at “Clear Performance Acting Academy”. Working with him has opened me up to all the different emotions we experience without even realizing it. It has allowed to to connect to those emotions, body truths. and myself to connect to the development of the character I’m portraying. The obstacles that stood in my way of learning more was myself, my confidence, and my belief in my abilities that God gave me.
Alexcia , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I’m an actress and content creator; I like to remake my favorite/recommended scenes from movies and tv shows. I got into this field a little after I moved to Texas. I had a conversation with my Bestfriend’s mom and she reminded me of something I forgot about. She asked me “Lexi, what happened to you wanting to be on tv?” That question lit a fire inside of me because I allowed for the weight of the world to distract me from what I really wanted to do. I believe what sets me apart from others is my details I give in to remakes and my original content. I take my time with planning out each scene I do. I learn the character(s) and understand what and why they feel the way they do so I can embody the person I’m playing. I learn each line(s) and mimic accents (if any), I try to replicate the clothing and hairstyles from the scenes as much as possible, I find a location background similar to the scenes, I treat it as if its an actual production; even if I’m the only person there.
I make content that I can relate to. I love when people can see the authenticity in what I do because you can see the passion and joy behind it. I like to challenge myself and go outside of my comfort zone. Its not easy pursing an acting career because its one of those fields you have to keep pushing, accepting those rejections and using them to better your craft, working on yourself and keeping a healthy mindset, trusting yourself and your decisions, knowing what you want and pushing until you get it..
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
“Get out of your head” book by Jennie Allen, “Crazy Faith” by Michael Todd, “Purpose Awakening” by Torre Roberts, “Higher is Waiting” by Tyler Perry, and “Just as I am” by Cicely Tyson.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
Everybody is not going to understand my vision. God gave me a specific vision just like he gave everyone for their life and purpose. Michael Todd gave an analogy in a sermon about a person getting prescription glasses for their eyesight and how that prescription is made specifically for that person to see. If someone else tried to look through that person’s glasses it would be blurry because the prescription was not made for them!
I say that to say everyone is not going to agree with the things you do because it may not be the way they would do it. That is perfectly fine because it’s not their journey to go through. If God brought you to it, he will lead you through it! Trust the process, and don’t seek validation on what your doing from others because it’s not their journey it’s yours. At the end of the day you have to live through the decisions you make, so make your decisions for you and not for others.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/thealexciaraquel
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexciaraquel/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alexcia.cooper
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCAGiQwzdC8ULsWy77JEXGBA
Image Credits
Og_Visions 3gvision