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

Amanda, appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I don’t think there was ever a time I thought I wouldn’t pursue a creative/artistic path professionally. I started ice skating and dancing at 3, and at age 7, I was starting what would become a 10 year stint with a competitive dance team. I did gymnastics, cheerleading, choir…all sorts of creative extracurriculars. There was never a moment where I thought about abandoning myself, my creative endeavors, the things I loved to do, that made me…me – however – there were a lot of moments of confusion and self- doubt. How exactly does one make a living doing what I loved? It wasn’t until my Junior year of high school, when my english teacher (and theater director) – Mrs. Sleger – asked me to audition for the Spring musical, and wouldn’t take no for an answer. I didn’t know what musical theater was, I had never really acted, and the thought of auditioning for that made me want to crawl into a hole. But, inevitably, she made me cave, and I auditioned. I got the lead role – Polly, in Crazy For You – and from that first performance, I knew that this was what I was going to do with my life. Singing, Dancing, Acting, all on one stage, and people consider it a real job?! It was the jackpot I didn’t know existed.

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?

If you’d have asked me to tell your readers about myself 5 years ago, I’m not even sure I could have described myself in any other way than just, “I’m a dancer, a singer, and I perform on stage 8 times a week in a show called Hamilton.” I had no identity – in or out side of the show – I didn’t think I had anything to offer, I had no hobbies, no clients, no “brand”…I was a bit hollow. And I suppose I can’t be too hard on myself. This industry is tough, and it requires a lot from a person. I broke into this industry by basically not giving myself any other choice. I put all my eggs in one basket – I had to do it – so I did what I had to do to make that my reality. Years of odd jobs, bartending and serving, saying yes to anything, having no personal life, missing out on every important and big occasion in my friends’ lives…I did whatever it took.

So it’s funny to me now, to be sitting here all these years later, really contemplating how I have shifted, how my career, my life, and my identity has changed.

While I still can – and do – describe myself as a dancer, singer, and musical theater performer, it’s not everything that I am or can offer. Over the last several years (thanks to a global pandy, 18 months of my career being nonexistent, and just about everything in my personal life imploding,) I’ve become a fuller person. I’ve become a better artist, colleague, and friend. And that personal exploration and growth, impacted my professional life immensely. Beyond being a performer on stage, I have gravitated towards “behind the table” creative pursuits as well. When asked to be the Assistant Choreographer for a new Off-Broadway Musical (TEETH @ Playwrights Horizons,) I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but I jumped in anyway. It took all of a few weeks to be told I had become the glue keeping things together. This took me by surprise, as one could imagine, but in hindsight, I found it to make a lot of sense. I was someone who understood the “on-stage” perspective. I knew what these actors needed, how different brains needed to be taught different ways, how to bridge the gap between performer and creative. I leaned on my own knowledge of the former to impact the latter, and everyone was better for it. The success of that show was one of my prouder moments in my career.

What helped me the most, and has subsequently become an integral part of my personal and professional life, is my learning and teaching of Human Design. Yes…I am a woo woo girl. But my head is not in the clouds, and my words and practice aren’t opaque. I am very much grounded in myself, the work, the earth, and the present moment. And this has impacted my career in countless ways. Getting clearer with myself, being able to listen to what my body does and does not want, building such an intense sense of self trust; it’s all lead to the right opportunities, the right people, and the right conditions for success to find me. In turn the work has gotten better. It’s gotten more fun, more purposeful, more joyous, more connective. I have become the creative who brings the temperature down when things get heated, I am the one who grounds us in the present moment, I am the one who can bring the attention back to what is important. And if you’re like, “damn, bitch! Cool it on the back patting!” I promise I would never say this about myself, hah! These are things I am constantly told by my colleagues and friends, and something that I find to be such a beautiful reflection of what my inside world feels like to others.

This is a part of the reason why I decided to take my Human Design studies so seriously, and start my own business. It is an integral part of my life, which directly impacted my success and happiness in my career, so why would I keep that to myself? It is a tool that I wish everyone had access to, so I created my own way to do that.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish I would have known how important having a great therapist is. Especially someone who understands your particular brand of spice – my therapist is an ex dancer, understands the industry, dynamics, general fuckery (lol) – makes progress almost inevitable.

I started my therapy journey a little late in life – at 28 – and was mostly in response to a deep depression I had sunken into. Long story short, I booked my dream role, moved half way across the country, met and got engaged to a man who was all sorts of wrong for me, and was told over and over and over again, how unimportant my career was. I mean, no wonder I was depressed, but I believed that if I could just fix *my brain* that everything else in my life would just magically get better.

Now, these might have been some less than ideal reasons to start therapy. Did I even like my therapist? No. Or the next one? No. Or the next one after that? Also no. But it got me started.

And when I finally met my now therapist, it was off to the races. I had been through so many lackluster therapists and conversations, that when I finally sat down with them, it was like magic. I finally knew what I was looking for and needed, and they were able to provide that for me so well.

Having these weekly sessions to look forward to, helps me be a better creative. It helps me stay connected to myself, to my needs, to my desires, to my pitfalls, to my habits and patterns that are unhelpful and destructive. Having the ability and accountability, week after week, ensures my upward trajectory. There isn’t anything that could get me to let the relationship I have with my therapist go, and I recommend it to everyone. Start now.

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

What seems to have its grips on my creative journey at the moment, is the disconnection I see in so many people – not just creatives. The idea that time for rest and repair are selfish and unnecessary, if you want something you’ve got to go out and make it happen, that if you don’t do it now it’ll be too late..etc. All of these messages we receive that we’re never doing enough, I find to be very counterintuitive, and it widens the space between ourselves and our bodies. I see so many of my friends and colleagues absolutely burnt out by this business. The constant seesawing of their emotional and physical wellbeing, in direct correlation to their job or paycheck, is an open secret that so many struggle with.

I believe that this contributes to why my groundedness, presence, and commitment to my Self and my body, is always recognized in these creative spaces. They are nonnegotiable’s at this point in my life and career, and my life and career are better for it.

My goal, my mission, my creative journey now, is to be able to offer this to my colleagues. We give everything of ourselves to these shows, to these producers, to this business, and often times it leaves us feeling underwhelmed, under resourced, ill, broken, or leaving the industry entirely. But I believe that if we actually spent as much time deepening our connection to ourselves, our bodies, our spirits, and allowing our body to make the decisions for us – instead of the mental gymnastics and inevitable pushing through discomfort and pain – we, and this industry, would be better off because of it.

The connection and communication I have cultivated with my body is in direct correlation with my knowledge and practice of Human Design, and it is my hope that I can contribute to my community with this knowledge.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://amandaclement.com
• Instagram: @_amandaclement
• Twitter: @amandaclement

Image Credits

Headshot – Chollette
Black and white/color photos – Katie Levine
Gold Dress – Erin Clement