We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Amanda Bird a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Amanda, thanks for joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Being an artist is an inherent risk. Following my dreams and passions, against well-meaning advice from others, was and continues to be a huge risk. Starting a theater company in Los Angeles was a big risk. All pale in comparison to the risks that my friends, students and community members took in leaving their hometowns and families and friends to follow their dreams to LA. I was born and raised in Los Angeles and am so lucky that I did not have to choose between my hometown and my dreams. Celebrating those artists and making sure they feel supported in that risk, quickly became a part of my ever evolving dream for my company and myself as a creator.

I live my life with the knowledge and awareness of the high stakes for myself and others in taking part in creation and consumption of art. Every hour spent on a project, every ounce of talent a collaborator has poured into a production, every minute an audience member spends with our work; We are all risking time in our lives to be a part of it and that in itself should be respected – and I can not wait to do that for the rest of my life.

I am a very outspoken person when it comes to, well, every aspect of my life, but especially my ongoing setbacks and steps forward with mental illness and agoraphobia. In 2010 I did not leave my house for nearly 2 years unless accompanied by a trusted family member, and only to pre-approved places at pre-approved times. My life came to a halt overnight. I couldn’t leave my house to go grocery shopping, let alone audition. I couldn’t get/keep a job or socialize. One day I was a driven, hyper-active creative just getting out of college ready to take on this industry. The next I became a person who sat in bed all day watching Friends and Whose Line Is It Anyway trying to remember what it felt like to want to laugh. So what happened? How am I here? This may come off super simplistic but one day I woke up with a half-an-ounce of bravery and I just started living again. I found a job and an acting class on the same day. I began socializing again, auditioning and joined a theater company. I wish I could say “I’ve never looked back” but mental illness, especially agoraphobia, just sneaks up on you when you least expect it. For the longest time, leaving my house was a risk I was not willing to take- and that is an incredibly sobering mindset- but it has helped me realize that risk is immeasurable and taking one should always be profusely celebrated… unless you are actively risking the lives and wellbeing of others…then you aren’t taking a risk, you are just an idiot.

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?

My name is Amanda Bird, although most just call me Bird.

I began acting for fun at theater camp when I was very young, yet harbored a lot of fear around joining the theater department in school even though I would sit in on auditions and see all the shows. During my 11th grade year, I was “tricked” into auditioning for the upcoming production of ‘The Odd Couple; the Female Version’ and landed the role of Vera – I never looked back. Under the direction and tutelage of Eric Boles, I starred in every show there after until I graduated in 2006. (Titles include Crimes of the Heart (Lenny), Lost In Yonkers (Bella) and Bus Stop (Cherie).) During my senior year I produced and co-directed productions receiving honors in direction, production and performance upon graduating. I became a huge theater nerd. I began working professionally in film, TV and theater around 2006 and went on to study theater at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts LA. This is where I began to dive into text, technique, history etc. I also had the opportunity to work in the costume department as an assistant and was costuming full productions by year 2. I fell in love with behind the scenes work and sought out work in those areas after graduation. I loved every second of it.

As LA actors tend to do, I bounced around to different acting classes, experienced theater companies and ultimately never quite found my community, so I started my own. Noisy Nest. I started Noisy Nest in 2013 in the living room of my Hollywood apartment off Sunset and LaBrea. An open invitation for the community to join me in reading and discussing one play a week- thus “The Play Readers” was born. From there I began producing and directing staged readings and productions which ultimately lead to workshops, classes and audition coaching services. I had the honor of directing some of my favorite titles “Armitage” starring Christina Moses, “No Exit”, “Smoke” starring Hope Lauren and Henry Esteve, “Be a Good Little Widow” starring Fayelyn Bilodeau and Lynne Mannino, and “Proof” starring Hope Lauren and Chaz Bono. I ran Noisy Nest for 10 years and could not have done so without the support of members like Hope Lauren, Ashley Murray, Holly Hubbell and Shan Harris.

Noisy Nest offers audition coaching, taping and prep as well as acting classes inspired by the brilliant teachings of Uta Hagen. Every month we connect actors to themselves, character and text while diving into exercises, character development and scene work. Classes are open to artists of all experience levels. We also offer workshops like Artist Accountability which takes artists on a journey of understanding true accountability while identifying, specifying and accomplishing career and personal goals.

The Nest LA is a theatrical production company and artist resource center 501(c)3 non profit. Our board members are Amanda Bird, Lynne Mannino, Lindsey Gentile-Wilder and Chelsea Kwoka. We focus on audacious storytelling and ushering LA theater into its accessibility era! THEATER SHOULD BE PHYSICALLY AND ECONOMICALLY ACCESSIBLE TO AUDIENCES AND PERFORMERS. There are brilliant creators and advocates in the community who are doing fantastic and important work toward accessibility- The Nest wants to highlight their voices and learn as much as we can to make improvements to our little corner of the industry and hopefully inspire others to do the same. I can’t believe I’d had this blind spot for so long. I can’t believe this industry’s awareness of the blindspot and the lack of action taken.

For the past year, we have had the privilege of working with organizations like the Motion Picture Television Fund and Therapeutic Living Center for the Blind and Disabled on a monthly basis, hosting intergenerational play readings, performances and workshops for their incredible residents.

The Nest is a community for artists to land, learn, risk and fly while knowing they are always welcomed back. We encourage our community to volunteer with our aforementioned outreach programs to expand their hearts and minds. We host FREE monthly events like The Play Readers and That Theater Kid Workout- a circuit training program lead by NASM certified trainer Lindsey Gentile-Wilder, set to upbeat Broadway jams!

All are welcome, unless you are a racist, sexist, homophobic, ableist asshole … :) Please seek other sources of entertainment.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Being a theater kid is all about resilience. Our job is to get feedback on our work in real time, while not letting it affect our performance in any way. Our passions coexist with a constant reminder of the high probability of deep and unavoidable failure, and yet we keep marching forward. This includes performers, directors, producers, designers- all collaborators of live theater are privy to this epic tedium and yet we keep showing up to read-throughs and rehearsals and meetings and tech week and previews and light houses and sold out shows. Sure, it could be for the ovations but sometimes, and often more rewardingly, we come back for the silence and that one kid in the front row… There is no giving up once you’ve made your entrance- so you might as well keep pushing. All the worlds a stage, and one must be resilient to survive and thrive upon it.

A anecdote of resilience form my career as an actor: I was staring in a play in which I was to do a strip-tease on a bar while singing “That Old Black Magic”, and on this particular night I was hit in the head with a terrible ocular migraine that crescendoed just as the song did. As soon as the song was over, I ran off stage, threw up into what I hoped was a trash can, and ran back on stage to complete the rest of the play.

A anecdote of resilience from my career as a young female director: I have been met with comments from audience members after performances proclaiming “I didn’t know a girl was capable of doing this.” I have been met with fear based actor ego during rehearsals and performances. Actors quitting days before we open. Stage managers and crew disappearing mid run. Light board operators overwriting a 187 light cue program during tech rehearsal… if it can go wrong, it will- but you will always end up with an amazing story.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

When I was younger, I utilized performance art as a means of seeking understanding from an audience. Now, I revel in every aspect of theater production as a means of understanding myself. What better way to grow your own heart, mind, beliefs and perspectives, than diving into an unfamiliar world as an unfamiliar person and learning how to survive? This perspective shift has been difficult to get to but is ultimately so freeing. My ultimate goal and mission with my creative journey is to discover and express autonomy while encouraging everyone around me to fearlessly do the same… or at least actively try to. My mission is to bring audiences and artists closer by holding hands and shining a light on common darknesses within all of us. My dream is to walk into an inclusive theater space reflecting the diverse heart and soul of the incredible city that raised me.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thenestla.org
• Instagram: instagram.com/noisy_nest
• Other: Noisy Nest – (classes, workshops + coaching) www.noisynest.com Personal Site – www.BirdDeArte.com

Image Credits
Headshot by Caitlin Fisher