Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Andrea Lyman. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Andrea, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
I feel as if I knew I wanted to pursue an artistic path from birth. My parents tell me that I used to sing as an infant and that neighbors would come by to hear me coo notes. As I grew, I would listen to musicals and imagine seeing them and performing in them. I would put on shows in my living room and with friends. In school I loved the music classes and singing in choirs. This continued as I changed schools. Music and drama would be my connection to joy. I loved becoming the various characters. It helped because we moved often, 10th grade was my 10th school, and I was generally one of a few, if not the only, Black girl in my classes. Being creative was a way to figure out how to join the various new groups of strangers in new schools. It has helped me all of my life. I love singing and acting.
Andrea, 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?
I graduated from Boston Conservatory of Music with a BFA in Musical Theatre/Drama. I performed in NYC in the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular, Easter Show and Manhattan Showboat. I also performed in various off and off off Broadway shows, films, daytime dramas and touring shows. I believe in giving back to my community which is why I serve as a volunteer on boards of creative organizations. I am the New England Local President of SAG-AFTRA, a Co-Director of the Actors Forum of The Secret Society Of Black Creatives and I serve on the board of Roxbury International Film Festival (RoxFilm Festival). Volunteering on these boards is an honor and a privilege and gives me the opportunity to help performers and industry professionals as well as those entering creative professions.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
It seems simple, one of the things society can do to support artists is to show up. Attend our productions, share news about our work, bring friends and family to our productions. It can be stage, film, TV, radio or the internet, whatever the medium we love having people participate and sharing. Of course, donating to the arts is always helpful. I often hear people say, “I always wanted to…..(perform, write, direct, produce…” and my answer is to go ahead and do it. Participate, join a creative group, perhaps be reader on zoom for writers groups, or take photos for performances or learn a new craft.
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
It’s funny, but some of the resources I wish I had used would be taking business courses. At the time I was in the conservatory it was all art all the time. It was frowned upon to be in business or clerical schools. Now I know that if I had studied clerical, business, marketing, publicity and economic courses simultaneously then I wouldn’t have had to hire people to handle that part of my career now. Performers should learn how to work as an agent, a casting director, a publicist and a money manager, the information and skills are helpful. You need it early in your career and you need it when you are successfully making money.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.andrealyman.com
- Instagram: @andrealyman132
- Youtube: Andrea Lyman
