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

Chance, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

When I created my queer-centered comedy series “Pretty Dudes,” I was seeking an escape from a certain darkness in my life. Amidst filming a horror short and coping with a recent family loss, I needed a lighter space to balance the weight on my heart. Little did I know that “Pretty Dudes” would go beyond being just an escape; it evolved into a source of healing for me. Through the lens of comedy, I found a way to confront unresolved emotions and situations in my own life. The first season of the show holds a deeply personal significance, and its unexpected virality and success took me by surprise. As I started receiving messages from viewers, I realized the profound impact the show had on them. Stories poured in about how certain characters and plotlines inspired positive changes in their lives. Some found the courage to come out to their loved ones, while others gained new understanding and acceptance for LGBTQIA+ individuals in their circles. “Pretty Dudes” became a powerful catalyst for love, acceptance beyond the anticipated joy and humor. For a project that was born out of almost a whim, I am forever grateful for its transformation into a force of positive influence.

Chance, 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 Chance Sion-Raize Calloway, a multi-faceted artist known for my work in writing books, music, and screenplays. From a very young age, I’ve had a deep passion for the arts, and I started expressing myself through songs and stories as soon as I could figure out how to operate a cassette recorder. Creating art is not just a hobby for me; it’s an integral part of my life, as essential as water and oxygen. Now, at this point in my life, I harness that creative essence to craft and promote stories that I wish I had encountered as a consumer, especially as someone who belongs to multiple marginalized identities. I’m particularly drawn to narratives that center queer, non-white protagonists and challenge prevailing norms. In my novels, written under the pen name C.S.R. Calloway, you’ll find works like “Peculiar, INC,” featuring a diverse team of teenage superheroes, and “The Never Boy,” which transports readers to Neverland through the eyes of a Filipino baby carried there by a typhoon. I’m also passionate about curating classic works and pre-platforming unsung artists through my publishing company CSRC Storytelling. For example, “Beyond Passing” compiles the published fiction of Nella Larson exclusive of her best known novel, the three-part “Shadows Uplifted” collection highlights works by Black female authors of the nineteenth century, and my current “Horror Historia” collection assembles an extensive pantheon of classic monsters without making allowances for—or worse, completely disregarding—the disgusting racism too often excused in such anthologies.
My music, like my currently untitled queer gospel project, tackles the often-religious and always-poisonous roots of homophobia, and a recent duet with my friend AJ Rafael turned “I Know Him So Well,” a traditional heterosexual love song into a poignant queer anthem of lost love. In my screenplays, I’ve made it a mission to tell queer narratives about love in all its beautiful forms. The comedy anthology series “Pretty Dudes” is a prime example of this approach, and it’s been rewarded with a passionate and dedicated fanbase as well as a few awards.
Through all of my work, I strive to challenge queerphobia, ableism, and white supremacy, while highlighting stories that embrace diversity and empower those who have been historically marginalized. My work is a testament to the power of storytelling in shaping a more inclusive and compassionate world.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Ensuring everyone finds a reflection of their existence in art is of utmost importance to me. Art serves as validation, but it often gets funneled through the perspectives of white, cisgender, heterosexual, and able-bodied men. Consequently, the art available tends to validate only those who align with these majorities. I don’t believe in vying for a seat at the table because I don’t eat everybody’s food and I don’t want just anybody’s company. I aspire to build an inclusive artistic ecosystem. My aim is to create art that affirms and empowers every unique individual as they are, supporting their journey toward self-improvement. I don’t mean that we need to see exact replicas; what truly matters is helping people realize through unique representation that they need not conform to specific molds or boxes to find success and happiness.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

There is nothing like realizing a vision. A lot of people are content to let dreams be dreams, and that’s great if that’s a person’s constitution. I’m in the business of manifesting, and that comes with discomfort, pain, and plenty frustrations, but it leads to an inexpressible transcendence. From my experience, all the negatives that come with being a creative are the same negatives that come to realizing someone else’s dreams, but all the good that comes with it is not replicated anywhere else in the solar system.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.chancecalloway.com
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ChanceCalloway
• Other: http://www.imdb.me/chancecalloway https://chancecalloway.bandcamp.com https://www.patreon.com/chancecalloway

Image Credits
Jomar Miranda, James Bowman