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

Chelsea , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I didn’t come to Los Angeles to become an actress. I came for a vacation one summer, and kind of just never left. I fell in love with the energy of the city, but I never even allowed myself to dream that becoming a moviestar could ever be my reality. After all, I was just a small town girl from Halifax, MA who was easy to blush.

I started working in the entertainment industry behind the scenes. First in casting and eventually as an agent for actors. I started spending more time on sets, took acting classes throughout the city, delved into the classic plays. Until one day, after being so fed up with some of my actors not taking the auditions seriously that I worked so hard to get them, I finally just up and quit…. and went to the dark side.

I gave myself one year to see if I could make enough acting and doing odd jobs to survive. And by some miracle, this insecure girl with over bleached hair and spray tanned skin made it work. I enrolled in regular classes, took casting director workshops, said yes to every single opportunity – big or small. I networked, I made friends, I got comfortable in front of the camera, I modeled, I hosted shows, I made mistakes, but most importantly I lived – outside of acting. I fostered other talents, travelled the world, became a yoga teacher, and a realtor. I started meditating. And along the way I shed that insecurity and grew more and more confident in who I was – on and off the screen.

If I could go back and give myself advice, I’d first say stop using tanning beds you’re going to regret it. But next, I’d tell myself to have fun. To enjoy the process of auditioning. There are never wrong answers – you truly never know what the casting director is going to like. So live a little, let your own personal world experiences shine through your character choices, and never be afraid of going all in.

The most essential skill I’ve found for acting is networking. Continually bring up your friends, say their names in rooms, collaborate, help one another audition, cheer them on. You’re never in competition, there truly is a role for every single one of us out there. And when you do get on set? Be grateful and enjoy every damn second!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

Chelsea Gilson is an American actress and television host from Massachusetts. Some of her recent credits include DollFace, Hawaii 5-0, Hallmark’s “Sister of the Bride”, Lucifer, “Dolemite is My Name”, Lifetime’s “My Christmas Prince”, and Hallmark’s “Christmas Made to Order”.

She is a Second City improv chick with tons of fun comedic & great dramatic roles. She just worked on a fun Kenan Thompson pilot, and a TWC comedic pilot presentation. Look out for her new rom-com “Love is on the Air”, two Christmas movies “A Merry Single Christmas” (where she is a co-lead with her boyfriend Andrew Rogers), and “Santa’s Second Wife” (where she plays Mrs. Claus), an indie thriller, and an indie feel-good film that just got a distribution deal called “Angel”

She got her first on camera shot at hosting a travel segment for Weather Channel called ‘Hit the Road.’ Shortly after, she began production on Travel Channel’s “Scambushed”, a hidden camera show she co-hosted. She has hosted a travel show through South America, live events and fashion shows, and even was a decoy host for some episodes of “Undercover Boss”.

Chelsea now resides in Los Angeles. When she’s not busy in front of the camera, she maintains a well read travel blog, Travelingfig.com, teaches yoga, and works in real estate.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Eckhart Tolle’s “A New Earth” profoundly changed my life. Once I was able to put distance between my true self and the ‘negative voice within my head’ I found real contentment and success across all aspects of my life. If I could pick one acting book, I’d have to go with Margie Haber’s. She’s been my longest standing acting coach, and a true inspiration for me in so many ways. Her classes gave me a lot of confidence and helped me work through so much of the technicality of auditioning. I used her first book as a bible, but she’s got a new revised one out that I definitely recommend to anyone starting out acting – or anyone who just needs a perspective refresh. The biggest lesson she ever taught me was that the scenes we are given are not just pages to memorize – they are ‘slices of our characters life’. And our character lived before they got to this moment in time we’re portraying.

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

I live for the moments when the director says ‘ok, lets just improvise the next one’. I want to play and I genuinely feel more alive in these scenes. I also really love when I do a scene rewrite and it gets used. Having other actors read my words aloud to me is a surreal feeling that I’ll never tire of. Or when I offer a directorial suggestion and it’s appreciated. It’s so rewarding to me to have my hands in more of the process and I truly love the collaborative aspect of filmmaking. Of course, every project is different. If it’s a studio job, you better believe I just show up and do my best performance. But those smaller indie projects? Those are the ones where I get to really help mold the film and develop the characters. And I absolutely love it. I’m truly looking forward to having my screenplays brought to life, and stepping more into the directors chair as my career matures.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.travelingfig.com
• Instagram: Www.instagram.com/chelseagilson
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chelsearaygilson/
• Twitter: Www.twitter.com/chelseagilson
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ChelseaGilson
• Other: IMDb: imdb.me/chelseagilson