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

Becky, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you feel you or your work has ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized? If so, tell us the story and how/why it happened and if there are any interesting learnings or insights you took from the experience?

Growing up with a neurodivergent mind and with a parent in politics, I was surrounded by children and adults who made assumptions about who I am and the things I had, starting from when I was as young as five years old.
Classmates would call me “rich”; meanwhile, they’re bragging about their fancy vacations while the fanciest vacation I’d ever been on was to the Wisconsin Dells.
When I got into our honors English program, kids said I only got in because of my father, since I was also in special ed and “no one can be smart AND stupid.”
While I was the only kid professionally pursuing a performance career with a natural talent for song and dance, I was told I was only cast in every talent show and selected for the cheerleading squad because of my dad.
When I ran for student council in junior high, my posters were defaced.
Years later, nearing the end of high school, I was accepted to Northwestern University, my dream school. When I wore my shirt indicating my acceptance and choice (as every other student in the theatre department had been doing and being congratulated for), there was no celebration for me. I was met with, once again, being told that, “since so-and-so didn’t get in and you did, it must be because of your dad.”
You’d think this would have ended as an adult. I’m sad to say it hasn’t.
I had a job about a decade ago that I applied for like everyone else with a boss who finally admitted that the reason she would not respect my disability accommodations was because “we both know how you got this job.” (This happened at a separate job with a different boss again just two years ago.)
When my dad retired from 32 years in politics in 2019 and was set to find a replacement for his seat (how that works is another story), one of the biggest newspapers in Chicago made up a rumor that I was planning to apply for his seat and then wrote an entire article about how he better not do that, regardless of my qualifications.

I never thought of myself as above anyone else because of one of my parents’ jobs. I just really wanted friends. I was friendly and overly kind, and I was met with suspicion and jealously. There is a tendency, I think, for people to make judgments as a defense mechanism. People get jealous and find reasons without merit outside of themselves for why someone has something and they don’t. When people see someone in front of them that they assume will be a certain way because of preconceived notions, they want to take that person down a peg to make them “equal.”

I could give countless examples not listed here, but this unique, lifelong challenge has wreaked havoc on my belief in myself. When enough people tell you that you are dumb and untalented and don’t truly deserve anything you’ve worked hard to receive, you start to believe it. To this day, I continue to fight the now-automatic thoughts in my own head to help me relearn that I deserve to be believed and I deserve work hard and achieve things like anyone else.

There are many important lessons here.
— Be open to people with different experiences than yours.
— If someone is kind, assume the best of intentions unless proven otherwise.
— Parents, your kids hear everything and soak it up– be careful what you say.
— No one should be excluded for things they can’t control, even if that “something” is perceived as a place of privilege.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I have never known a life where being a professional performer wasn’t my end goal. My mom tells me that when she was pregnant with me, it always felt like I was dancing. When I was little, I was constantly creating plays with friends, singing, and dancing.

There are a couple of stories my mom shares with me that stick out, especially considering that, while I was an outgoing child, I very clearly struggled with anxiety:

When I was two or three, I was watching Shari Lewis on TV and copying her dance moves. I exclaimed how excited I was that “I can do that, too!” My mom expressed her faith in me while also ensuring I was aware that people take a long time to get to that level. Wise beyond my years, I said, “Mommy, I *can* do it. I just haven’t learned *how* yet.”

When I was three or four, I was in my first dance recital. My mom was in the audience as the crew set up. Before the show started, she saw me cautiously take a few steps onto the stage for the very first time, thinking no one was looking. I looked around and sighed with relief, as if I knew this was home for me.

I have spent my life acting in musical and non-musical productions on the stage and screen. I received my Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Eligibility in 2014, and I continue to consistently train and audition. I have also dabbled in behind-the-scenes work as a writer, director, and producer of a book I adapted into a play. There have been some setbacks with my health that have added some challenges to achieving my goals, including an incredibly rare form of vocal cord paresis, but “nevertheless, I persist.”

Despite the fact that there is nothing I love more than performing, my brain is wired to thrive when given structure, so this has created a somewhat difficult dichotomy. While I hope to become as successful as I can be as a performer (I’m still chasing that Oscar and Tony, I’m not going to lie), I have finally allowed myself to fully immerse myself in my other interests as a wedding planner, reiki practitioner, and Jewish activist. Additionally, I will be pursuing my trauma-informed yoga teacher training certificate this fall and a graduate degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling next year.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I believe that we need to continue to make creative environments more inclusive.

There are still many instances, for instance, in which auditions are held in buildings without elevators. This prohibits those with certain physical disabilities from being able to audition in person if they so choose. Another example would be someone who has a great deal of audition anxiety that prohibits them from showing their best work at in-person auditions. That person deserves a virtual option.

Additionally, if we want to cast productions, movies, and shows in a culturally-appropriate way, we have to do this across the board. I have seen a lot of passion around this issue, but when it comes to Jewish casting, people seem not to care very much. This is largely due to misunderstanding of who the Jewish people are. Judaism is an ethnoreligion that developed in and is indigenous to the land of Judea — our religion formed well after our ethnicity came to be. When we were forced out of our land thousands of years ago, our ancestors fled to various continents, including Europe. There are not many Jews in the world (people in areas all over this country have never even met a Jewish person), and the lack of knowledge of the anthropologically-accurate Jewish story has created a lot of confusion. Because of our roots, those of us who present as white are not “just white people.” If you care about casting a Puerto Rican as Maria in West Side Story but you don’t care about casting Jews in Fiddler on the Roof, The Diary of Anne Frank, or as Fannie Brice in Funny Girl, this displays a lack of cultural competency and a double standard.

On that same note, please ensure you listen to Jewish voices just as deeply as you listen to the voices of other minorities and marginalized people.

… I just remembered the question was about what “society” can do to support us, rather than what our own artist community can do to support us. In terms of society, I wish those who aren’t part of the artist community would remember that art saves lives (both the life of the artist and the life of the consumer) and with that in mind fund our programs. I also would love it if those outside of our community would do less talking over us and more listening to us, which applies in so many different scenarios and therefore would require its own essay.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I feel like many don’t fully understand the journey of a creative person (I know how pretentious that sounds, but please hear me out).

The journey of a creative person is never finished. Nothing is linear. Our lives don’t work the same way yours do.

When you ask us if we’re actors, for instance, many of us who are actors say “no.” This is due to the fact that society primarily understands jobs, careers, and livelihoods to be paid. This makes sense– until you think about the life of an actor who is not consistently working. Being a hustling actor is like spending a lot of your life interviewing for jobs you won’t get and therefore will not get paid for. Our primary job is to use our own time and our own money to train and find auditions while finding the time and energy to maintain non-creative jobs to pay our bills where we won’t be fired if we have to call off for auditions, while also keeping our bodies, minds, and spirits as healthy and open as possible. Our job is to remain hopeful and creative despite rarely “booking the job.” One of the best things you can do to support your creative friends is to take them seriously when they say they’re an actor/ writer / stage manager, etc. Help us feel more comfortable telling you our chosen vocation without feeling like we have to have an explanation ready about not currently being paid.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beckysbests
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BeckyPLang/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/becky-l-76973220/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@beckylang91/videos
• Other: Wedding Planner Instagram: www.instagram.com/betrothedtobouquet