Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ashley Denise Robinson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Ashley Denise , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
I learned how to do what I do from watching. And likely from being an only child, too. I was entertaining myself at an early age, doing school plays from the first grade, writing stories, talking to myself a lot. I was always very aware and watchful and so I’m able to imitate people really well and also have a good memory, in terms of being able to quote people precisely.
To speed up my learning process, you know, there were some years where I didn’t have television so there are a lot of TV shows and movies that I’ve just missed out on simply from not having a TV so… I know that this is strange advice, but, being able to watch more TV and see more shows and refine my taste better would’ve been helpful. The skills that I think are most essential are being authentically yourself and not trying to produce something that you think other people will like. I’ve gone to grad school, I’ve taken acting classes outside of school, I’ve taken writing classes outside of school – I’ve done it all so now an adult, I don’t think that there are any barriers to my learning. Also, making sure that I don’t fall into comparison is really important and creating my own authentic voice and learning how to do what I do without comparison. That’s really important.
Ashley Denise , 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?
Hey, I’m Ashley. I’m a Jamaican American actor and writer from the East Coast. I’ve also taught, worked in retail, worked in the food industry, worked with children… Worked in fitness! You name it. Lived in over 27 places over the last less than 25 years and have been able to see, a lot of the world outside of the US. I got into acting from a young age, I used to model when I was little. I was always a writer, always writing poetry or short stories. I think what set me apart from others is that I always have something going on. I’m always writing something or making a sketch or building some thing or creating some thing. I feel like I’m a Renaissance woman in every sense. What excites me so much about meeting new people is finding a way to relate to them. Because I’ve lived so many places, I likely have some connection to anybody from anywhere. I’m most proud of my consistency. And the last year I’ve probably made over, 200 videos, which is a little wild and a little unheard of, perhaps, but it comes so easily to me and I really enjoyed being able to create at a moment’s notice.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
Money. Money, money, money. There is not always a consistent flow of artists having jobs and being able to sustain our lifestyles and do our art at the same time is a very complex balance, especially if we are only getting paid per gig and are not getting a biweekly paycheck. More support for the arts, more access to grants that aren’t tens of pages of applications, getting paid more fairly for our work. Also being transparent about how much you are willing to pay upfront. So, transparency and cash.
How did you build your audience on social media?
The audience that I have now on social media is because of a few videos that I’ve posted that went viral. I actually saw on my social media explore page that a lot of people were simply reacting to other videos that they found, and I decided to try it and just see what would happen and now I have over 5000 new followers within the last two months, just from making these videos. The advice that I always give is to look at your videos that have done really well and make 10 more of those. Also don’t wait to press upload. The videos do not have to be perfect and they don’t have to be edited within an inch of its life. If you watch it back and you think it’s funny that’s all that matters. Whatever I post, I think it’s funny. If somebody else thinks it’s funny, that’s wonderful too. But I post for my amusement and I do love making other people laugh, I also can’t control that so I just focus on what I can control.
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