We were lucky to catch up with Amy Drake recently and have shared our conversation below.

Amy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

I am very happy as a creative writer, storyteller, and producer. Few things have given me as much satisfaction as having my work published, viewed, and acknowledged with awards and compliments from viewers who connected with, or were touched by, a story I brought to the stage or screen.

Although I receive compensation for my creative work, either through ticket sales, acting in commercials, or writing commissions, and I always pay those who work for me as actors, techs, and directors, I have found it very difficult to make a living solely from my creative projects.

I know very well what it is like to have a regular job, for I was a Senior Accountant at a large company before taking the dive into theater. Theater was, and is, infinitely more rewarding, but I must admit that having a sound business background has served me well in creating budgets and reviewing contracts.

During COVID, all of the theaters shut down for a time. I continued getting my plays into the public arena through Zoom theater festivals. I wondered: What other ways could I use my creative skills? And landed on writing screenplays. With the assistance of award-winning director Kingsley Lims Nyarko and some of his students from the Columbus College of Art and Design in Columbus, Ohio, we produced a short film on Emilly Dickinson’s historic meeting with Col. Thomas Wentworth Higginson, her literary mentor, who never quire accepted her work as “real poetry” during her lifetime. The film was well-received locally, won a Telly Award, and was recently screened by the independent Drexel Theater in Bexley, Ohio.

I had already earned an MS in Marketing and Communication and an MA in Liberal Studies, which have both helped me in my creative career, but I needed to find steadier income, So, I pursued a realtor’s license. This has worked out well for me because I enjoy the work and can largely set my own schedule.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I wrote my first play at the age of five years old. Actually, it was more of a cartoon about people in my neighborhood. My kindergarten teacher loved it and had me preform it for my class. I don’t really know where the inspiration came from. I was not raised in an artistic family and didn’t return to theater until many years later when my husband and I spent a long weekend in New York City seeing shows on Broadway.

During that trip, I had an idea for a play and stayed up all night writing the script. I submitted it to New York’s Strawberry Theater Festival, and it was accepted for production! Seeing my work on the stage was the most professionally gratifying experience for me up to that point. I was hooked and began writing more plays. I became quite serious about my craft and studies playwriting and creative writing in the Yale Writers’ Workshop, the Kennedy Center Playwriting Intensive, and the Kenyon (College) Summer Institute in Playwriting. I’ve read many scripts and attended many plays, dissecting how they worked.

A service I provide is writing scripts on commission and dramaturgy/consulting on others’ work. My special niche is writing about historical figures and events. Before going into corporate life, I worked for two museums and developed superb research skills. Writing historical plays and screenplays is, for me, like putting puzzles together.

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

After working in corporate accounting for 10 years, I knew I wanted a change in my career. As there were many departments in the company I worked for, I went to Human Resources to ask how I could make transition into a position in communications. The HR representative told me that I was too old (at the age of 35!) to change careers. I was determined to forge a creative career that was calling me. Not to be deterred, I began writing articles for local publications. I eventually got to know managers and directors in the communications department at my company, told them about my freelance work, and offered to write articles for free. It worked. I was eventually offered a position in communications and earned a master’s degree in marketing and communications. My communications work was recognized with a national award, a Silver Quill of Excellence in web writing from the International Association of Business Communicators. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that writing was my life’s purpose.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Artists should be offered compensation for what they do. Often, theater companies do not pay actors, even though they charge admission to performances. These theaters take shameless advantage of those who spend many hours rehearsing and performing for the paying public. Artists and actors need to be paid something for their time and effort. Often, the actors have had some training in their creative field. If the managing director of a theater company, or a producer, cannot find a way of paying people working on the show, the company should not be in business. Payment is our society’s way of saying “thank you” for a job well done.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://amydrake.com/
• Instagram: amydrake1018
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amy.drake3
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-drake-34233a38
• Youtube: Amy Drake
• Other: TikTok @amydrake855