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

Cheyanne, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

Unlike some people, I have the honor to say that I earn a full-time living from my creative work. In order to succeed as performing artist, hustling is the number one rule. Because I work so hard to line gigs up and keep myself busy, I am always working on a new or upcoming project. After majoring in music in college, I auditioned for an apprenticeship in Atlanta. I immediately began my acting journey post college but made only $150 a week. In order to continue to program, I work part-time at LA Fitness as a janitor to make ends meet. My hard work eventually got my a full scholarship to Oklahoma City University for my double masters in music and nonprofit management. I graduated the year of Covid (2020) so my broadway dreams were cut short. Instead of letting it stop me, I apply for a vocal position at Southern Hills United Methodist Church in OKC. After about 6 months, the worship leader, Dr. Peter Keates, wanted to spend more time with his family. Because I was a recent graduate, my credentials qualified me for the praise and worship leader position. Ever since, I have been able to use my musical gifts through the church while also providing a living for myself. This job has allowed me to time to pursue film with my agency, Reel Talent, and focus on my personal musical & theatre career. I love teaching and coaching in my free time so I am able to get extra money from doing that in the side as well.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have been singing since before I could talk. My mom told me that my first words were singing a Spanish commercial. Growing up Latinx, I was extremely sheltered. One of my favorite things (that I was allowed to do) was listen to music. I used to blast Ashanti’s first album, tie a pillowcase around my waist, and recreate her music videos in person.

I have always been influenced by multiples genres so I am most proud of branding myself as an extremely diverse singer. I work very hard on my craft to always deliver a supreme live performance.

I am an easygoing, loving, and quirky person. I wish people to feel my love and support through the music I write and perform.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Oh, my life has been full of pivots! Overtime, I have realized that life always throw pivots at you. Your ability to maneuver them makes all the difference. One of the pivots I am most proud of would be my transition from professional theatre into graduate school. In May 2017, I finished my undergraduate degree from Piedmont College [now Piedmont University] in Demorest, GA. I was considering graduate school or an acting apprenticeship in Atlanta to help me gain more training and experience.

I auditioned for my graduate school of choice, Oklahoma City University, and was offered a $10,000 scholarship. Because it was a lower offer, I chose to defer my acceptance for a year, so that I could save money and accept the acting apprenticeship. I figured it was God allowing me the opportunity to do both.

After being in the apprenticeship for about 5 months, around Thanksgiving, I was contacted by the Dean of Music at OCU via email. When the department heard of my deferment, they created a specialized scholarship offer for me. That offer was a full-ride, all expenses paid, scholarship to obtain my Masters in Music in Musical Theatre. I jumped for joy until I realized that the offer was only valid if I began to attend Oklahoma City University that January 2018.

This was perhaps the biggest career and life decision I ever had to make. I was under contract with my apprenticeship until May 2018. The graduate school of my dreams just offered me a full-ride scholarship but I would need to quit everything I am doing. I had never quit anything in my life before. I have never breached contract. I have never let anyone down. I felt like accepting the scholarship would let down the theatre and my integrity.

With the support of family and teachers, I made the difficult decision to leave my contract early & quit my job with 1 month’s notice. The theatre company was not very supportive at first, but when they heard of the scholarship opportunity, they encouraged me to take it without penalty. Oklahoma City was a a city I have never been to, a place I knew nothing about, and a place with no family closer than 17 hours. On top of that, I didn’t have a car at the time because my car was totaled NYE, right before I officially moved.

Ever since, I have been an Okie! I love it here. I still have no family that resides physically but I have created my own overtime. I have grown so much as an independent artist and I have the opportunity to gig and perform fairly often. I am the Director of Music Ministry at my church, Southern Hills United Methodist Church, which is a community I love and adore so much. The OKC community supports independent artists, the cost of living is great, and there is so much to look forward to over the years.

The scariest decision I ever had to make turned out to be the greatest choice of my life.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Though I do not have tens of thousands of followers, all my current followers and subscribers are organic. I do not pay for services that promised to gain followers since paid bots are a thing, especially with AI being more accessible.

Everyone that I genuinely meet in person or work with professionally, I had them on Facebook & Instagram. This helps me only tracks a friends list of people I have been in contact in person. Even if we never directly speak, I like being able to see the degrees of connections over time. This has helped me gain loyal followers. It is slow but it is steady. When subscribing back on YouTube, I try not to subscribe from my artist channel. I follow them from my personal but i encourage them to follow my artist page. This has also helped me gain a loyal subscriber list.

Patreon has also been a really wonder tool in building a loyal social media audience. I encourage artists to utilize that platform if you are doing it full-time.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.cheyannemarie.com
• Instagram: @iamcheyannemarie
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iamcheyannemarie
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/CheyanneMarieMusic
• Soundcloud: https://www.soundcloud.com/cheyannemariemusic

Image Credits

David Steele Photography
Charlie Ludden Photography
Bravita LLC Photography
Alexandria Perez