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

Andrea, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

The two most meaningful projects I have done are those I am currently working on. They tend to be the stories that won’t leave me alone until I get them out. The first is a web series I created with a friend and fellow actress called Covid Divorce. It was the first project I decided to dive into and learn all the skills to bring this to life, from producing, directing, writing, acting, and editing. I let go of any expectations and had a beginner mindset, which was crucial to my growth, and it was such a great gift to watch the story take one life on the page, then another in performances, and then yet another in the editing room.

The most meaningful part of this process was who I became during it. I became someone who started to trust my unique storytelling voice; I became okay with the fact that this story might not resonate with everyone but with whom it is meant to it will reach. I learned that collaboration is vital, and you get so much further when two or more are gathered; I would have never made it on my own. I am so honored that it is currently making its rounds into festivals. I won an Award of Merit for leading actress and an Award of Recognition for the series. It’s essential to highlight that this project was not perfect, and we made many valuable mistakes, but once I decided to tell the stories I wanted to see in the world, everything started to shift. As an actress and filmmaker, diving into this whole process was empowering.

The next meaningful project I am bringing to life this year is a personal story of our family’s journey through the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, or NICU for short. I am a mother to twins who were born extremely premature, and navigating the NICU experience and the ups and downs was such a heartbreaking and miraculous journey. I know that this Documentary is going to help so many parents navigate the unimaginable position they find themselves in when a baby is born prematurely. It will also highlight the incredible nurses, doctors, and entire hospital staff who give so much of themselves to these critically ill babies. I hope that sharing our story can help someone else.

If I can touch one life, make one person feel less alone, make someone feel heard and seen, help someone navigate a difficult journey, and bring connection and healing with my storytelling, then I feel like I am on the path I was created for. As an artist, I find sharing that with the world a beautiful gift.

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

My name is Andrea A. Jackson, and I was born and raised in Southern California. I grew up in a small town in the mountains. I was an only child(or so I thought) raised by a single mom and grew up extremely poor but with an abundance of love from my family. I wouldn’t realize it until later, but growing up with a single mom constantly trying to make ends meet would shape so much of my life. There is a certain type of resilience and work ethic you form from having to fight your way out of poverty.

As far back as I can remember, I have loved performing. Whether it was putting on shows with my family or for my stuffed animals, I had a very active imagination, which comes with the territory of being an only child. As I got older, I joined a local dance school and fell in love with the whole process of learning routines, performing on stages, rehearsing, and performing. It was my first glimpse into the power of collaboration and ignited my passion for the stage.

My love for acting came years later in junior college when I Auditioned for my first play, “Three Sisters.” If I am honest, I was so surprised I had gotten a lead part. Right after auditioning, I remember writing in my journal about how I knew I didn’t get the part, and I still have that journal. It’s a good reminder that often, as an artist, our inner critic is running rampant in the background. That experience of doing that first show is when it became crystal clear that I loved the art of storytelling and wanted to pursue a career in acting.

I would eventually venture to Los Angeles to study with many great teachers, honing my craft, and eventually found that film intrigued me. I found a great film acting class that prepared me for what I am doing now. I was reading feature film scripts monthly, which helped me understand writing so much more and shooting scenes with excellent cameras, which gave me experience in front and behind the camera. I still love this class and am forever grateful for all the skills I learned and the support from my coach, Eric Kline. I would go on to get an agent and start booking work from commercials to plays and Independent films while getting on sets and learning and absorbing everything. I think my love of Indy film began to grow here; if you have ever been a part of a gorilla-style shoot, it is quite frankly one of the hardest but also rewarding experiences because you have to think outside the box. I also had two part-time jobs to support all of the costs that come with being an actor, especially in Los Angeles, and although I was great at studying the craft, I wasn’t great at learning the business side. I also needed to understand that you have to surround yourself with a community of like-minded artists. I remember feeling like I had no power in my career, and at that point, I didn’t feel like the CEO of my business.

Then, as life sometimes does, it took me on a completely different path. I was filming back-to-back Independent films when I got the life-changing news I was going to be a mom and was expecting twins. At that point, I was ready to dive into this new chapter life presented; I had always wanted to be a mother. What I wasn’t expecting was, of course, their premature birth. They weighed a little over 1lb each for my life to change so drastically. Traumatic events have a way of making you prioritize what is important in your life so quickly. To this day, I am forever changed and forever grateful for the life lessons that experience brought me. Being a mom has been my greatest gift. Taking a break from the industry to dive into a different part of life gave me clarity and perspective while prioritizing what is important. My craft is so much fuller today from all of my life experiences. I hope this helps someone if they are navigating a difficult time and they need to step away for a bit.

Then, right before the pandemic, I decided to get back in class. I had started to miss acting at that point and just wanted to practice my craft. There was also this pull to learn to create, but I needed to figure out where to start. Then, of course, the world shut down, and once again, it was a reminder of how fragile life was. I enrolled in an online film production class so I could start creating my own work. I bought a camera from a friend I had done a film with years before, which reminds me of how valuable relationships are in this industry. He was now a filmmaker upgrading his camera and getting rid of his old one. I am in Sag-Aftra, and at that time, through the foundation, I started to take some of the free classes they offered. I took a beginning screenwriting class and then an editing class in DaVinci Resolve. These were just basic classes, but they taught me something valuable about being open and exploring new skills. I want to encourage people who are inclined to try a new class or explore something new that if I can do it, anyone can. Honestly, the most challenging part was realizing that I didn’t have to make giant leaps; I just had to start small and take action.

Now, jumping back into the industry after back-to-back strikes, so many things have changed. As I am learning to navigate this new landscape, my road is different this time. I now surround myself with encouraging artistic communities. I get to meet weekly to write the second season of our award-winning web series Covid Divorce with a great friend. I am learning how to navigate the film festival side of things. I am auditioning again and have signed with a great manager, Katia Belas, at CMA Entertainment, who gets me and all my aspirations. I just got a fiscal sponsor attached to my Documentary project, My Little Miracles, and I am now venturing into learning how to crowd-fund and fundraise for that. I also have the opportunity to start teaching acting classes at a studio down the street from my house. The beauty in this is that I am working on projects that fulfill my creativity while learning and figuring it out. I hope my story allows others to feel empowered and to go out there and create because the world needs your art.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

I love this question, and it’s tough for me to narrow down just a few because I have been deep-diving into personal development for the last couple of years. I have read and listened to many books that have opened my mind to new philosophies and helped me grow. I am picking two that are at the forefront of my mind.

One in particular is The Artist Way by Julia Cameron. I had tried to do this book many times but always didn’t finish until recently when I joined this fantastic group and did it together. The big takeaway for me after doing the book was that it is our job as artists to go out and create art and put it out in the universe, and it’s the universe’s job to decide what to do with it. Once I embraced this concept, it took an invisible weight off me. I also really benefited from accountability. I still meet with these women monthly over Zoom to support each other and check in.

The second book that taught me how vital personal philosophy is in guiding your life was The Day That Turns Your Life Around by Jim Rohn. There are so many nuggets of wisdom in that book, but some that landed with me were that you don’t chase success and that you attract success from the person you become. These ideas and concepts started taking hold. I began to ask myself what success looked like in my life and deeply dive into defining that for me. To surround yourself with people and mentors that are where you eventually want to be and that ideas mixed with imagination were so powerful. A few small disciplines can make a huge difference, and you can change your direction at any point in your life. Let your history be a lesson to what is working and not working. My favorite from this book is that if you help enough people get what they want, you can have everything you want. I return to this book whenever I feel defeated and discouraged to get inspiration.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn limiting beliefs. I used to think my career was supposed to have a particular trajectory, or I needed to wait for someone to pick me to go out and create. I used to try to fit into everyone’s ideas of what I should be. I thought I had to do it all by myself and struggle, and I used to think I couldn’t be more than one thing. I now realize that I’m not just one thing and that I can be a present parent, an actor, a filmmaker, a life coach, and whatever other avenues I want to explore. I realize the only thing I should be is authentically me, and there is no time limit to my creativity. Lastly, I learned that what was happening to me in life was ultimately happening for me; it just took some time and distance to realize it.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://andreaajackson.com/
• Instagram: @andrea_a_jackson

Image Credits
Halstan Williams Photography