We recently connected with Charvelle and have shared our conversation below.

Charvelle, 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.

This summer I had the opportunity to produce a short pilot for a digital series I’d been sitting on since pre-pandemic times, and it was truly validating of what I want to be doing, and so rewarding. My friend and acting classmate Auset Whatley is the one who really convinced me to make it happen, and with the dual strikes happening it felt like the perfect time to do my own thing. I made some edits, started casting and looking for crew and by July we had a plan of action and everyone on board. It truly went down without a hitch, and I couldn’t have asked for a more dedicate, generous and professional team to bring “Sweetness” to life. I also starred in it, Directed it with Auset as my first AD, and produced it with some generous aid from my sister Kassandra Holder, and my former boss and mentor Joyce Williams, and of course the infinite support of my husband Gerry Dobard. To see my little script seedling turn in to something tangible, and to have something to show for myself as a writer and actress, along with so much more, I couldn’t have more pride. The release of “Sweetness” Ep 1 “Serena” is scheduled for between the Holidays this December, and I will be submitting it around the festival circuit next year. The plan is to launch a crowdfunding campaign with it’s release so we can raise money to make the remaining 7 episodes, so stay tuned! All of the information will be available on my Instagram so be sure to follow me for updates.

Charvelle, 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’ve always been a natural born story teller, and first realized my affinity for writing in the fifth grade when my teacher, Mrs. Mulholland, urged me to submit my writing to a book of poetry. I did and was able to be published writer by 10 years old. Later, in middle school, I was hit by the acting bug when I played Gandalf in our production of “The Hobbit”, and was instantly hooked. For high school I attended the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts in Connecticut, and majored in Creative Writing while taking all Acting electives, and participating in the schools traveling theater group ‘Looking In Theatre’. When it was time to move on to college, my mother convinced me to pick a major that combined my loves and would have some good stability, so I settled on majoring in Broadcast Journalism at Emerson College, in Boston. I had a great time there, and truly found my confidence and voice, but halfway I realized I really wanted to be an actress.
It wasn’t until I had lived in Los Angeles a few years, after moving here January 2013, that I realized my writing skills could translate in to screenwriting. I started putting my ideas down and trying to figure out how to write a movie. Talking to some fellow Emerson Alums about my story ideas, the timing showed fruitful as they were developing a writers group which they invited me to be a part of. It’s there that I absorbed their screenwriting degrees and know-how, and started figuring out how to effectively turn my stories in to movies and tv shows.
With the production of my pilot this summer, I’ve created my production company Moon Lady Entertainment, and I’m excited to get a chance to bring my stories to life and pitch them around the industry. As a plus size woman, I naturally write for myself because I don’t feel like there are enough stories where someone like me is allowed to be the protagonist, and I believe the industry still has a ways to go in terms of casting women (re: race, size, ability, age, etc.). I’m hoping I can be part of the change that I hope to see, and that my stories will get people thinking about our society and where we’re headed if we don’t take action in making the world a better and safer place.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I am a chronically ill person, and while not every day is a battle, there are aspects of my life that will always require my focus to pivot from my professional goals to my health. When you work in an industry where making strides forward and being seen are always a priority, it’s hard to keep pushing when you feel like your health is the main thing holding you back, particularly because it’s out of my control. I’ve had to pass on so many auditions because of my health, and have lost jobs because of it. I know that my experiences with my health have made me strong, resilient, and given me a lens to look at the world which few will get so I’ll always persevere on my goals and allow my experiences to guide me. I hope to be a role model for other chronically ill artists, an inspiration, and someone they can look to when they want to give up and get the inspiration to keep going.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Not necessarily a lesson, but I had to unlearn the concept of having a timeline for myself. I’m not saying to not create goals, and set reasonable due dates for yourself but rather the due date for “success” is better left unset. Otherwise you’re constantly chasing an expectation which leaves you unable to be present moment to moment, and truly grateful for the experiences that make up the journey to “success”. How many of us move to Los Angeles, or New York, or wherever, and say “I’m going to make it… by (set date here)”. I’ve learned to just be satisfied with the “I”m going to make it” bit, and enjoy each moment that I’m able to experience along my way to the “top”. This new way of approaching my professional goals has allowed me to experience more joy, be more creative, go with the flow, and also enable me to celebrate the little wins that often go so unrecognized. I truly believe that the gratitude that has come with being more present has also brought in more opportunities for my career, opportunities that I might not have looked for, or seen, if I hadn’t been present in the moment instead of worrying why I hadn’t “made it” yet.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.thecharvelle.com
• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/thecharvelle/
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheCharvelle
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/thecharvelle
• Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/thecharvelle/

Image Credits
Joanna Degeneres, Frank Gerrish, Gerald Dobard, Auset Whatley