Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Brit Whittle. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Brit, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I was doing a play called The Laramie Project when 9/11 happened. We were set to open that night but decided to postpone. The next day we felt an urge to continue on with the play and I’m so glad we did. The story is about Matthew Shepherd and his senseless killing in Laramie, Wyoming. The story is also about this small community grappling with this horrid event and what it means. The play sold out every night as people were not only grappling with the story of the play. In a way, it seemed to give people a cathartic moment to grapple with the senseless death and destruction that happened on 9/11. Sometimes the art we create can meet a moment in such a profound way that it transcends in ways that are unexplainable.

Brit, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I grew up in Georgia and didn’t have consistent access to the arts. But I did find access to them, ironically, within the churches our family attended. I learned about storytelling and music and grew to love acting out Biblical stories. This grew into a fascination with preachers giving sermons. The resonant “AMENS” when the congregation was with them was moving. The best ones had an intangible gift for connecting with their congregation. If a minister isn’t listening to his or her congregation, then they wind up talking AT the congregation and alienating themselves from them. I wanted to do that as well, but was discouraged from doing so. Then I got the chance to star in a church musical, and the rest is history. The tapping of an unknown talent and being able to express that was exhilarating. The singer Bono always says he wants to get to a place where the song is singing him. As an actor on stage, this is what I am always striving for; for the script and story speak through me and the characters I play. During the Covid Pandemic, my wife and I were living in NYC with our then 15 month old daughter. It was such a scary time as we didn’t know how this virus worked and how contagious it was. We stayed inside with our little girl all day and then at 5PM every day, we would go to our windows to applaud the healthcare workers on the front lines of this pandemic. It was beyond exhilarating to hear a whole community and city applaud these brave souls. It made me wonder if there was something more I could do with my talents. A few year later, I started getting more involved in my local church. And they asked me to preach. The feeling of sharing my journey, my faith, and my prayers was transcendent. I knew then that my calling was evolving and would now include not just telling stories as an artist. It would involve sitting with others and the stories of their lives. I don’t know how this new path will fruit itself, but I am incredibly excited. I was accepted at Princeton Theological Seminary and now that I am almost a year in…I can feel the new possibilities blooming into view.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Most artists I know don’t create nor do they always live in a linear fashion. That can look messy and untethered to others who haven’t taken the time to explore their own creative capabilities. We all have it but most artists we see in the world have invested their time in the exploration of their creative passions. It’s a grappling for what seems just out of our reach to express and when the “wrestling” with the thought is finished, a work of art is created. A painting, a story, a character created to be acted out, a poem, or a sculpture. This can take a prodigious amount of time invested to bring these ethereal elements within us to the surface and make it in a material form.

Our world has grown so multi-tasked that it can create anxiety to consider slowing down and considering a thought or feeling that is sitting with you. We’ve been hardwired to respond reflexively to all the input we run up against moment by moment during the day. But is the output we give us or just a mirroring of the input being thrown at us all the time? How can we learn to disrupt the sense of haste in responding to the world and allow time to craft a true response from us? Because when it all comes down to it, time is the only true currency we have and it can’t be saved. It can only be spent and invested. How do we choose to invest our time?

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I remember when I was first living in NYC, I had gone into debt moving there and getting an MFA in Acting from Florida State. I was really struggling both financially and personally. I had gone through a break up of a long term relationship and my mother had just been diagnosed with Dementia back home in Georgia. I was so broke I couldn’t afford to go home and none of my auditions were panning out very well. One morning I woke up and had this horrible pain in my chest. I told my roommate, I think it’s time that I move back to Georgia because nothing is working out. The pain increased and I thought I was having a heart attack. So, I took myself to an Emergency Room. At the end of it, the doctor calmly said “Your chest X rays are fine. There’s nothing wrong with you.” I got frustrated and said, “Well then, what is happening to me?” He said “You’re having a panic attack,” and then sent me home.

The rest of that day and night felt like a long, run on sentence prayer to God. When I woke up the next morning, I felt a sense of peace I can’t describe. Later that week, I got two new auditions and decided to skip work and go to the auditions. One of them I booked. It turned out to be a voice over for a national commercial campaign. And for the first time, I was making money as an actor. It paid off my debts to move to the city, started a savings account, and gave me health insurance from the Screen Actors Guild for the first time in my acting career.

Wendell Berry once wrote “It’s the impeded stream that sings.” And whenever I face frustrations in my life, I think of that experience in NYC and that quote. I also followed the advice of a good friend in the industry. He said sometimes it’s healthy to look at your resume and look at all that you’ve done. And how far you’ve come. Today, I have a beautiful wife, 3 beautiful daughters…one of whom is in heaven…and am now on the most incredible journey at Princeton Theological Seminary. I couldn’t be more grateful.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.britwhittle.com
• Instagram: @britwhittleactor
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brit-whittle

Image Credits

1) The basketball scene is me playing Coach Wallace on the TV show PowerBook II: Ghost on Starz.
2) The picture of me and my wife Nissa with our first daughter Vienna Iris.
3) The picture of me after preaching with my daughters Vienna Iris and Lumi Daisy
4) The picture of me with my Family in Dublin, Georgia for our daughter Vienna Iris’ Christening.
5) And the goofy family selfie is me, Nissa, Vienna, and Lumi. (Lumi is Finnish for snow.)