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

Alright, Caroline thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

Like many artists, I felt very called to this path from a young age. I actually have the pretty funny ability to say that I’ve been acting since I was a baby- I was on the soap opera As The World Turns for a few seasons when I was around two years old, and did a few print ads. It was honestly something my parents saw as a fun story I would have when I got older- I don’t think they expected performing to come back into my life. But somewhere between seeing Beauty and the Beast on Broadway around age four and asking my parents to sign me up for the local summer theatre camp at seven, theatre and performing became everything to me.

I also knew from a (way too) young age that I wanted to go to NYU to study acting, because that’s where Idina Menzel went, and as a theatre obsessed Long Island kid, she was absolutely the blueprint for me. When I reached senior year of high school and it was time to audition for college theatre programs, I had my first really overwhelming experience of doubt. It was the first time I was exposed to incredibly talented people my age from all over the country, and I suddenly felt like a small fish in a really big pond. This was coupled with a lot of pressure from teachers and other adults in my life to choose a different path; I was a strong student about to graduate in the top five of my high school class, and lots of people in my life tried to communicate to me in not-so-subtle ways that pursuing the arts would be a “waste.” But thankfully, something in their words strengthened my resolve, and the day I got my NYU Tisch acceptance email will always rank among the best of my life.

My parents have always been my biggest supporters, and always instilled the belief in me that if you’re going to do something, you have to give it your all. So as they sing in the musical Title of Show, the helped me “cram my life in a UHaul/To find my part of it all.”

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.

My name is Caroline, and I am an actor, podcast host, and an in-progress multi-disciplinary theatre artist. I entered the entertainment industry as an actor, and I believe that performing will always be my truest and deepest love. As I’ve shared, it’s been in my blood since I was an actual baby, despite not coming from a family in the industry at all. I studied drama at NYU Tisch, and trained in Shakespeare at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. I’ve been fortunate that family and friends have been able to say “Hey, isn’t that Caroline?” because of some cool print and on-camera commercial bookings, but my proudest moments have honestly happened on some very small but meaningful stages in New York City, performing in classics and helping develop new work.

I will be wrapping up my first decade out of school in a few months, and I’ve finally started to spread my wings when it comes to other artistic pursuits. I’m in the midst of training that I hope will lead me to work as an Intimacy Professional, and I’m chugging my way towards a draft of my first play. In this industry, we are often fed the belief that a focus on anything besides performing or entertainment means that we aren’t meant for this path, and I’d like to make it my life’s mission to make sure that fellow artists know that this couldn’t be further from the truth. The more I learn about other aspects of theatre, the richer my love for the art form becomes, and the more empathetic of a collaborator I will be.

But beyond that, I also have the unique perspective of balancing the pursuit of an acting career with a full-time corporate job. I stumbled into this job in many ways, and it isn’t without its challenges. But I believe the universe guides us to certain lessons, and I believe this job came along to remind me how damn special artists are. Being able to experience the value that folks put on creativity in non-creative spaces has given me back something that is very easy to lose in the day to day grind of open calls and ego-bruising rejection: the reminder that artists are light workers. That creativity has value. The nature of the business side of entertainment can sometimes make our lights feel dim. But examining myself away from the industry has only affirmed how important our work is.

I was very daunted when I was told to make my own work in school- I learned through experience that mounting even your own black box Shakespeare production is an expensive and challenging feat. When the pandemic hit, my best friend and I (fellow actor Conor Perkins- you’ve seen him on Chicago Med!) decided to finally launch our long-discussed Disney podcast for grown-ups: Poor Unfortunate Podcast. We created it out of pure love and the desire to create something- anything- when the world came to a standstill, rather than as a strategic career move. And I think I can speak for both of us when I say it has been an absolute balm for our souls. We are now in our fourth season, and we have connected with so many folks who get deep joy and relief from our silly and fun (but highly researched, edited, and produced) podcast. And the ability to touch people in that way is why I became an artist in the first place.

So ultimately, I am in the stage of my career when I am learning to let things bloom out of love and let that that be enough. And I want to help other artists on that journey in any way I can.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I’m in the midst of navigating a very major pivot! I don’t think there is an artist in the world who didn’t have to re-think, well…almost everything because of the pandemic. Until 2020, I worked as a nanny, cater waiter, restaurant hostess, dancing donut (long story), you name it, so I could leave my days open for auditions. Those jobs were all in person. So I needed to basically go back to the drawing board in March of 2020.

I have stayed in touch with an incredible NYU professor of mine since I took his class my senior year- he was always available to answer my questions about the industry and to be a listening ear as post-grad life held me in its panic-inducing clutches. He balances his career with corporate work, and in the midst of the pandemic (knowing I was suddenly jobless) connected me to his company, who needed a scheduler. I was beyond grateful to have reliable income. Well, it turned out that my hyper-organized tendencies, ability to relate to people (thank you drama school), and very basic creative video editing skills went a LONG way in the corporate world. I kept getting promoted and suddenly found myself as the Chief of Staff. The day I was offered the job I cried and turned it down- I was terrified of what it would mean about me if I started this serious, full-time, non-artistic job. But my personal life at the time demanded stability and money (I was planning my wedding, among other things), so I said yes when I was fortunate enough to be asked to reconsider.

I’ve been in the role for over two years. I am so grateful to have a job that pays me well and allows me to work with genuinely kind people. I have to specifically mention my manager, a lawyer-turned-CFO who completely celebrates and supports my artistic pursuits, and encouraged me to give this job a shot, telling me that if it didn’t work for me, I could say so. People like him are truly the secret guardian angels of artists, and I hope anyone reading this takes the time to seek out a cheerleader outside of their industry (they will make you feel like an absolute rockstar for even pursuing this creative and challenging life in the first place), and lucky enough to find their mentor inside of it (they will hold you up when all seems lost- shout out to my professor, Bruce). Those folks will be able to see you through anything.

I also cry and fret and question this pivot often. Some days I wake up with a terrifying pit in my stomach that I took a wrong turn and need to find my way back to the mysterious and undefined but all-important “path.” I open my company-provided laptop and think “who the hell am I?” But the artistic journey is nothing but long and winding. I’m sure in five years I will look at this period of my life as odd and interesting and completely unrelated to my current life at that time. I try to remind myself that all I can do is the next right thing, and give myself grace every single day.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me, it’s two-fold.

First, it’s being able to connect with the people you create art with, and the people you share your art with. I cannot even begin to explain how much I treasure every relationship I’ve formed with cast mates and creative teams over my nearly ten years working in the industry. I love collaborating and learning from other artists more than anything in the world; creative collaboration is the real-life version of the magic we see in Disney movies. I never want the fangirl side of me to fade, because I know it comes from this truly bottomless well of love and appreciation I have for what artists do- the most vulnerable and unique work on the planet. Some of the most memorable moments of my life have also been small interactions with audience members. I remember leaving a performance of an Off-Broadway play I was in a few years ago. It was a typical weekday night and I was beelining it to the subway. A woman in the lobby ran to catch me, because she wanted to tell me how much she loved my character. She spoke to me with such sincerity, and reached out to hold my hand because she was so emotional describing her connection to the piece. To be able to reach another human in that way, to make them feel seen and heard on a regular Thursday night, is why I do it.

The other part is what being an artist has allowed me to explore and expose within myself. My resting state can tend to be a bit emotionally guarded, and I have the ability to comfortably fall into routine and predictability. But being an artist has challenged me to ask myself who I really want to be, in my most vivid and true form, and given me the tools to grow into her with bravery. I feel like a very different person from who I was five years ago, and she was different from who I was in college, and I know that is because art has challenged my perceptions of myself and the world in ways that have shaken me to my core over and over again. The rewards of an artistic life are so rich, and they are the rewards that really matter in this brief time we get here.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://CarolineAimetti.com
• Instagram: @carolaim
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-aimetti-8b34491b4/
• Other: https://PoorUnfortunatePodcast.com

Image Credits

Molly Tellekson, Daniel Rader, Fiamma Piacentini