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

Andrea , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

When deciding to be an artist the idea of full time income seems impossible. When I started, I always felt that I had to have a second or safe side job to sustain myself. It’s been a process of trying different jobs and also having more confidence in my art. The position I am in now is the one I dreamed about years ago. I have flexibility to travel, to audition and to create.

Some important steps I took were:

1. Know my worth/ my art’s worth: when you’re an actor or comedian people will offer you payment in many odd ways: exposition, food, drinks, collaborations, etc. and asking for actual compensation can be scary. I recall making a decision to not take any unpaid jobs and eventually becoming a paid working actor. With comedy, I realized outside LA many shows will give you more time and pay you, so I started pitching myself and using LA shows for content creation.

2. Open my mind to other possibilities: Sometimes we have an idea of what we want to achieve, like winning an Oscar. And we stay home waiting for James Cameron to call us or for Netflix to offer us a comedy special. But there are many other ways to “make it”. I wrote my own content for FREE and started winning Filmmaker competitions! I made 10k in one of them and Ava DuVernay handed me my award! I also lived in Chicago for 8 months with a Women in Comedy Grant! All through being aware of opportunities and using my talent!

3. Having a business mindset: As an artist it can be easy to focus on your art and forget that if nobody sees said art, it’s very hard to make a living from it!

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?

Hi everyone! I’m Andrea Vicunia and I’m a stand up comedienne and an actress living in Los Angeles. I’m originally from Spain and this is not a very normal job to have. I came to Los Angeles with a Full Time Scholarship and fell in love with how artists are respected and treated in this city. It’s hard, no doubt, but here I can make a living doing what I love and that was not a possibility for me in Spain!

I am a storyteller and the ways I tell stories, and make a living, are:
– acting in Commercials, TV Shows, movies, etc.
– stand up comedy in clubs like The Comedy Store, Flappers Comedy Club, Laugh Factory, etc.
– filmmaker (writing and filming my own stories) with Awards like AT&T Film Awards, City of Los Angeles Certificate of Recognition, #DirectedByWomen , etc.
– content creation for brands like DC Comics, Proactiv, Nutella, etc.

Comedic content is my niche, as I’ve realized that laughter is a love language I master.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

When I went to Chicago with a “Women in Comedy Grant”, my mind was exposed to many resources. The program had an area about “Mental health in Creatives” and “Wealth in Creatives” and I realized that many artists, like me, have a hard time putting a price on our art. It doesn’t seem like a job, as we enjoy so much doing it, and society has convinced us that it is not enough to be a creative.

Jen Sincero’s books “You’re a badass” and “You’re a badass at making money” are books I have on my night stand. They’re a reminder of my worth and a fun way to do effective exercises. I sometimes will read one chapter with my morning coffee and have a reminder when I need it!

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

One of the most important lessons is to realize that you don’t need non-creatives’ acceptance of your life choices. Sometimes those non-creatives are your parents, the exact people we all want to make proud, and you have to accept that you will make them proud “your way”, not the way they expected.

Creative brains and non-creative brains work very differently, it’s lack of information and understanding that make us feel so far apart. Non creatives focus on results and income and Creatives focus on fulfillment, purpose and inspiring others.

I have a beautiful story regarding this: I was always a great student in school, A-B+ and I was great at Economics so my dad wanted me to pursue that. I was also great at Painting, thanks to some classes he signed me up to, and decided to do Fine Arts in College with Painting as my major. My dad wasn’t happy but I promised I would do a “Master’s degree in Economics” when I was done. On my 3rd year, I found acting and performed as the lead for so many kid’s plays.

When I completed my Bachelor’s degree, I decided to continue pursuing Acting and my dad’s dreams of having an Economist daughter were shattered. My dad got so upset he didn’t talk to me for 6 months, we had exhausted every argument. He was coming from a place of fear for my future and how I would sustain myself and I was coming from a place where I needed him to trust my decisions and also let me live MY LIFE, not the one he wanted for me.

That ignited a flame in me, I set to be independent economically and to pursue my dreams, and it has taken me in the most beautiful journey.

How did my dad and me make up? I invited him to come and see me perform in “Hoy es Fiesta”, a play I was the lead in and doing a Spain tour on. He attended and cried when he saw me on stage. He is now my biggest advocate and is so proud of me being able to be sustain myself in LA for the past 10 years!!!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: www.instagram.com/andreavicunia
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/andreavicunia
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/andreavicunia
• Other: https://whohaha.com/spotlight/andrea-vicunia/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B08YDB8CW9/ref=atv_sr_fle_c_Tn74RA_1_1_1?sr=1-1&pageTypeIdSource=ASIN&pageTypeId=B08YF5HN8J&qid=1694198976136