We were lucky to catch up with Angela Katherine Baker recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Angela Katherine , thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.
My mother was the first director I ever encountered in the theatre. She was not only my mother, but she introduced me to my passion for performing. She took me to voice lessons, dance lessons, and piano lessons. She would bring me as a little girl to the theatre for musical rehearsals and shows. I would watch the actors play on stage with sets and costumes and I knew that I wanted to be a part of that world. While growing up in a small town, my father and my mother taught me the importance of faith, family, hard work, and supporting each of their children’s individual interests. My mother also taught me that there is a time and a season for everything. During my early college years, there was a season where I performed in musicals, theatre, and dance. Night and day, I was at the theatre. I loved every moment of it.
I thought I was married to the theatre, until I fell in love with my college sweetheart and a new season began. We married and began our family. We welcomed, one by one, our six beautiful children. As a stay-at-home mother, my husband and I instilled the important values of faith, family, and supporting our children’s individual interests, while dabbling here and there in the theatre where I could. During the COVID pandemic, I felt it was time to begin a new season where I began to develop my career as an actor in film, voiceover, and television. Now that my children range from 19- to 6-years-old and are all in school, I am pursuing this career full-time. As a family unit, we try to support each other in our dreams and passions while balancing a busy household. I couldn’t pursue my dreams in acting without the support of my husband and 6 children.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I have always loved telling stories and captivating audiences. When I was a little child my sister and I would dress up in costumes from my mom’s personal theatre costume collection in the basement and we would put on plays and make-believe we were different characters. It is exhilarating to be paid to play! To simply imagine and create and step into a make-believe world or step into someone else’s shoes just gives me joy. It makes me happy. Time goes quickly when I am on set. I am in a flow state. I love meeting all sorts of new and interesting people on set and being able to work together to accomplish something magical or impactful.
I feel as though sometimes I am a chameleon. I bounce from being the commercial mom to the assertive female boss. I dress up as over-the-top Halloween villains to female super heroes or princesses and entertain children at the zoo and city centers. I enjoy being able to get in touch with so many different parts of my personality. The first time I received an IMDb credit from Amazon and Apple TV, saw my first full-length commercial air on TV, pr heard my voice on the radio, I couldn’t believe it was real. I felt quite literally like I was living the dream.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
The thing that people don’t understand about actors and voice actors is that they are constantly on the hunt for the next job. If you know what it is like to be searching for a job where you send out resumes and are applying for positions and having interviews, that is what an actor does every day. Once you have booked a job (i.e., a commercial, film, voice over), you are on the hunt for the next one. There is a saying that it takes 50 “no’s” for every one “yes.” Often times actors feel like they are being rejected, but I try to think of it as a selection process and not a rejection. Having been on the other side of the casting process as a director, there is a gigantic puzzle that you are trying to piece together and sometimes the selection process has nothing to do with how talented you are as an actor and has everything to do with whether you are the right fit for the project. Sometimes it could be that you are too tall, too short, have the wrong hair color, or you don’t look like you’d fit in the family that is being matched for the commercial. Perhaps you look too much like another actor in the film. Having a positive mindset around auditioning is 90% of an actor’s job. The booking is the 10% cherry on top.
Actors don’t need to be broke actors. There are so many things an actor can do as a side gig to make money that still allows actors to act and audition. I, alone, have as many independent contract positions as I have children. Most people don’t realize that actors need to be constantly training or practicing, just like a professional musician or athlete does. Actors need time to work on their craft and keep sharp. There is a bit of luck in the acting world. Luck is when hard work and opportunity meet.
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
As a creative, I wish I would have minored in business while I was studying theatre and theatre education. So much of being a creative is learning how to market your artistry. As a creative you are essentially an entrepreneur. It is, after all, called show business. One resource that I have been able to take advantage of is the Hollywood Winner’s Circle with Wendy Alane Wright. This has helped me educate myself around the business of show-business. I highly recommend young creatives to consider business as a minor or second degree. It will benefit your ability to run the business of your creative side.
Contact Info:
Image Credits
Dani Mecaskey.
Shannon Ahlstrand at Pinpoint Studios.
Lauren Puhala.