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

Cas, appreciate you joining us today. One of our favorite things to hear about is stories around the nicest thing someone has done for someone else – what’s the nicest thing someone has ever done for you?

The kindest thing someone has done for me was save my life. I had a very rough upbringing and was going through one of the worst periods of my life in my late teens. A close friend of mine- the first I’d ever had, was there for me after a suicide attempt. I don’t know if I’d still be here without her.

I had injured my wrists pretty badly really late at night. I called my friend because I was sobbing and in pain, and she got up to help, even though we both had college early in the morning and we went out together to talk and do damage control for what I just did. I’d had multiple attempts in the past, but no one had ever known, and I dealt with the aftermath myself.

That was one of the hardest nights of my life, but also one of the most meaningful I’ve ever had. No one had ever expressed that level of love and care my friend showed me that night. I was told how much she wanted me in her life and that I deserved to be here. No one had ever told me that before. What I did that night never happened again. She made a huge positive impact on my life and I’m a lot happier now and in what is so far the best period of my life. We live on opposite ends of the country now but still love each other and see each other as much as we can. She’s getting married next year and I’m her maid of honor. I’ve never opened up publicly about this before, but I think people should know how much kindness can change a person’s life, and that there are more people that love you than you think.

I still struggle a lot with depression and anxiety- it’s a daily battle sometimes, but there’s hope there that wasn’t before. Less than ten years ago, I wasn’t sure I’d live this long, or what that life might look like. I still struggle a lot with depression and anxiety- it’s a daily battle sometimes, but there’s hope there that wasn’t before. Now I’m looking at a world that wouldn’t be there without me in it. I think we all have our own little worlds that intersect with others’, and that little chain of worlds would collapse without us and turn into something completely different. The worlds that we live in now are there because of us, and it’s unfortunately hard to see that sometimes, but it’s true.

Cas, 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?

I’m located in northeast Pennsylvania and am an art model for figure drawing and photography. I’m also an actor in my local community theater scene. I also do photography when I have the time as a hobby. That last one is pretty new, but I’m having a good time with it so far.

I was an art model before I was an actor.
When I was twelve years old my two uncles were members of a local art gallery, the Wyoming Valley Art League. The gallery often had figure drawing classes where they would hire a model to come in and pose for sketches. My uncle Rock signed me up for a class and the model that day was a ballerina. She was so elegant and graceful during all her poses. I loved her. I decided then that I was going to do that someday.

When I was twenty four I decided now was the time. I emailed the same gallery where I took that class so many years ago and asked if they were looking for models. They hadn’t had a class in over a year but were interested in starting them up again if they would have a model to hire. A few months later the classes started and I was the model this time instead of the artist, just like I wanted as a kid. Now I work with the Wyoming Valley Art League in Wilkes-Barre and AFA Gallery in Scranton as a regular art model.

I started acting last year. I am a really emotional person, always have been, and thought all that energy could be put somewhere where it could be used to create art somehow. I’ve wanted to be on stage for a long time, but I was so shy as a kid and It was really difficult for me to overcome that.

I got my first acting role in a similar way to my first art modeling gig. I’d been looking around for an opportunity to audition for a play for a month or so when a Scranton theater group called Actor’s Circle had an actor drop out of a Macbeth production and put a post out online that they couldn’t find a replacement and needed one asap. So I messaged the theater and they called me and told me to show up Wednesday. A friend was in my car with me as I took that call and we were both really happy about it. I was so nervous about just diving in late to a role with no experience like that when I’d never acted before, but my friend was really encouraging. It helped a lot. When I showed up that Wednesday my director asked me if I could memorize lines- honestly, I’d never tried, but said yes and promised myself I’d figure it out. That first play went great, and I’m working on my third show with Actor’s Circle now in my first leading role in a locally written short play.

I think I’m most proud of how well I’ve done with modeling and acting so far. I’ve been told a lot over the past few years about how what I’ve done has inspired people, especially in their art work. It’s a weird feeling seeing a drawing of you sold in art shows: it’s a drawing that people want to see in their home or office. They want it to look at and think about, and you’re in it, a part of you has inspired a part of their lives. That’s important to me, making people feel inspired.

I’ve gotten more praise for my acting and modeling work than I ever thought I would. I’ve even had a character written with me in mind. I’ve been told I’m a favorite among the local models here, and I’ve been requested specifically a lot. All of this is still almost unbelievable to me sometimes. I used to almost never talk as a kid, and now I’m doing this.

My uncle Rock was the one who signed me up for my first figure drawing class and has really inspired me in my acting. He used to act when he was younger and had a degree in theater. He passed recently from cancer but made it to my first show, even if he wasn’t feeling well. I was on stage once dancing with him in the audience when I was eight, but got insulted a lot by a different relative in the audience. It wasn’t the best intro to being on stage, but I still wanted to try again someday when I could get the courage and time to. My uncle Rock told me a few months ago that he always knew I’d be on stage someday and was happy he could see me now without someone else ruining the experience for him. One of the last things he told me was to do great things with my life. I hope I can do that.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Yes, quite a few! I’ve loved reading my whole life. I didn’t have wifi until I was about twelve years old (not overly common in my generation), so I grew up entertaining myself with books and old school video games (GameCube, Gameboy, early Nintendo DS games). I act in community theatre, so getting paid isn’t very common, but I do make some extra money through my art modeling. The word entrepreneurial implies financial gain, but I like to think emotional gain is pretty important too.

There have been so many books I’ve read that have changed my outlook on life and taught me to chase what I want, even if it’s difficult. I like stories where the character comes from a bad life situation and changes it for the better by doing what they want with their life, regardless of what other people think. That’s a really relatable story for me and so inspiring.

One book series I can bring up that has really stuck with me since I read it at sixteen is The Last Herald Mage trilogy by Mercedes Lackey. She’s an incredible author and that trilogy is part of Valdemar, her over forty book long fantasy series about a fictional country and its magical history. The trilogy is about a teenager who goes on to become a powerful mage after an awful upbringing. He’s also gay and struggling with that, and I really connected with that as someone pansexual that also came out with my partner to a less than positive response with some people. Those books really made me feel more okay to be myself.

I’ve always been told I like sad stories – I don’t feel like that’s necessarily true. I like sad beginnings with happier middle and endings people get for themselves. It’s more true to life, at least for me. Also fantasy novels. Because mythical creatures and magic are awesome.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Go to your local art shows and galleries, and see what theaters in your area are having shows and get some tickets! So much work goes into making art. Some of the paintings you see in galleries have taken that artist a year or more to make. The amount of rehearsal that goes into even short plays is extensive. I had to take stage combat lessons in my first production. It’s a lot of work- try to learn a bit about how plays are rehearsed before you go to your next one. It’s a really eye opening experience to go knowing how much work goes into the tiniest movements and expressions for an actor.

Image Credits

Mystic Mountain Photography