Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alyssa Katalyna. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alyssa, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

Happy is an understatement. The beautiful thing about being an artist is that no day is ever the same. Some days you do get the 9-5 experience where you are in an office, sitting at a desk, and pouring over spreadsheets. Other days, it’s back breaking physical labor where you are working with your hands and getting all kinds of dirty. I’ve had days on set where I got muddier than I ever did growing up on a farm. Never knowing what your day could be is so exciting, and it’s a life style i wouldn’t have access to in a “normal” job. Happy is an understatement, and at the same time, under stimulated is a joke. I’m always busy. For me, this is the only life I would ever want. The ability to be creative and use my own art as an expression of who I am as a person as well as the life that I have lived can only be found through writing, directing, and producing my own films. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Not even for a 401(k).

Alyssa, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Being born and raised in Indiana, I thought my life trajectory was to become a veterinarian for the Armed Forces. Needless to say, it wasn’t, and I found my life calling in a mandated art class at Purdue University (thank you required credits!). I came from a very rigid Baptist upbringing where we weren’t allowed to do extracurriculars, including the drama club, so my curiosity piqued at their introductory theatre acting course. It was in that class that I discovered the joy of storytelling and a way to be myself that didn’t fit into the military career I thought I wanted. From there, my life became solely focused on the arts, and that is what I’m most proud of, how I chased and achieved a future that a previous version of myself might have only considered a fantasy.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I think there’s a huge misconception that you have to know exactly who you are as an artist as soon as you start your journey. The beauty of being human is that we are always changing. Pain and joy both influence the decisions we make, both as people and in our relationships, and it’s only through challenging times that we truly grow. For myself, that meant having to conquer several childhood traumas to get to know myself. I was able to survive, and even though it was a painful and lonely time, it was through that pain that I have found who I truly am. The little girl who was scared for most of her life would make very different decisions than I have made in my adult life, but I’m forever grateful that I have that life experience to shape the kind of artist I am and the stories I need to tell.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Being a good artist is learning how to let go of control. I had such a lack of control having grown up in an unstable environment, and this translated to me trying to control every single aspect of my films. I was a helicopter director, especially during my time at Purdue. The one thing that you cannot be taught is what to do when absolutely everything goes wrong. I didn’t truly learn this lesson until this last year shooting my newest film, After The Beep. We were set to shoot in Malibu, which is well known for being sunny and warm, yet we arrived to find it was one of the cloudiest days of recent memory. However, what felt like a disaster became one of the most beautiful things about that film. In the final cut, as the main character struggles to cope with the death of his mother in a grief support group, the overwhelming cloudy skies above him are a beautiful metaphor to the emotions raging inside him. What I thought I wanted ended up being the complete opposite of what the film needed. I learned that things are meant to happen the way they are meant to happen, and all I can do is find the beauty in the moment, even when it seems like everything is on fire.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10618738/?ref_=nmbio_ov
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alyssakatalyna
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alyssakatalynafritz

Image Credits
Amber Jones, Katherine Osumi