We recently connected with Christine Lakin and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Christine, thanks for joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

I’ve had many creative careers in my life. I started as an actor when I was 8 years old doing local musical theater and commercials in Atlanta. Most people would probably remember me from my role Al on the 90’s sit-com “Step By Step”, but in the 20 years since the series ended, I’ve had careers as a voice over artist, writer, producer, choreographer and now, primarily as a director. It took me a long time to come to the conclusion that directing was what I had been circling and once I realized it, I suppose there was some regret that I hadn’t figured that out sooner. When I was 18 I had been accepted into the film school at NYU and made the decision to continue my acting career in California instead. At times, when I was struggling to get my first TV directing gig and wondering whether this career shift was ever going to happen for me, I thought maybe I had made a mistake not following that other path at 18. What I have realized however, is that my real-time experience on sets in various capacities has made me the director I am and versatile in ways that I’m not sure I would have learned in school. Looking back, what I did do over the years was continue to say yes, even if the job seemed outside my comfort zone or if it wasn’t truly in line with what I thought I was supposed to be doing at the time. Take my choreography career for instance- having been a former dancer, this was just a skill I carried with me through my musical theater days. Cut to when I was asked in 2004 to assist the choreographer on a film called “Reefer Madness”, and I said yes. That experience with the directing team eventually led to a few small choreography gigs in LA, which built relationships. 10 years later I found myself choreographing every season of ABC’s “The Goldbergs”. It was there I had my lightbulb moment about directing and ultimately, it was that show, those producers and the right timing that led to me getting that first directing job in their Season 6. So my point is, every moment, every job has something to teach you or a path to lead you on that may not seem like the linear path others have chosen. Ultimately, sometimes I do wish I’d found my creative purpose sooner, but film school at 18 clearly wasn’t the path there.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a actor turned choreographer/producer/director. I have directed episodes of “The Goldbergs” and “Schooled” for ABC, “High School Musical, The Series” for Disney+, and “Life of Ella” and “Puppy Place” for Apple. I recently had the short film “Who Am I” starring Grammy Nominated Petey Pablo premiere at the Harlem Film Festival. The film tackles mental health and shines a light on historically underrepresented communities receiving mental healthcare. I also directed the musical spoof “An Interracial Couple In a Cheerios Ad” about the most inclusive, woke commercial ever created. It has won best musical and comedy short at over a dozen festivals including Dances With Films in Los Angeles.

As a choreographer, I’ve worked on dozens of films and television shows including Westworld, 90210, The Goldbergs, Unstable, We are Men, Liv and Maddie, Breaking In, Parental Guidance, You Again, True Blood and others. I still work as a choreographer and I love collaborating with other directors and working with actors. I find, having been one myself, my skill set is uniquely attuned to the actor’s process. Sets can be a real balancing act between art and commerce and keeping that tone even is, in my opinion, the best way to have a successful day.

Additionally, I Co-Executive produced two seasons of the partially scripted comedy “Hollywood Darlings” for PopTV and starred alongside Jodie Sweetin and Beverley Mitchell. I also created the storytelling show Worst Ever that ran in Los Angeles for several years before being made into a TV pilot and podcast. I love creating, breaking story, pitching concepts and working with writers. Being behind the scenes in this regard has informed my directorial process from the budget side, as I’ve personally worked high, low and everything in between. Sometimes I’ve done props, hung curtains, and steamed wardrobe before yelling action. I suppose that was my “film school”.

My acting career started as a child on “Step By Step”, which ran for 7 seasons on ABC. From there I did numerous guest roles on shows like “The Rookie”, “Station 19”, “Modern Family”, “American Housewife”, “Melissa & Joey” and films like “The Game Plan”, “You Again”, “Valentines Day”, “Georgia Rule” and others. You may have heard my voice as Joyce Kinney on “Family Guy” or as PeeBee in Mass Effect Andromeda, or Jane in the Walking Dead games. I’ve voiced over 150 audiobooks for authors like Michael Connelly and Steven Chobosky and won several awards for my work. I love acting, I always will. the escape of performing, the control of the audience, the musicality of words, jokes and timing… it’s the spark that ignited my passion early on and has kept the flame burning through various creative outlets and career directions.

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

I love being a storyteller. I think what makes a good one is the dedication to the words first and foremost. What is the script saying? Does it make sense? What’s the joke/the moment/the backstory and how do we convey the parts of the story that aren’t written but rather, translated by the actors performance or the camera angle or the lighting? I love the nuanced and detailed conversations with actors, with department heads and showrunners. Getting it right and being on the same page is important.

I’ve always thought about making TV or film like a team sport. I didn’t play a lot of sports when I was younger but I was on a competitive dance team and in many theater companies. What people may not understand is the true team mentality those non-traditional sports groups represent for so many of us creatives. There is nothing more exciting and potentially disastrous than a live theater show! Group mind and teamwork are paramount in those situations and I think the same applies to sets. I love creating the environment of support for all departments. It’s a small as learning names and and saying thank you at the end of the day, but these acts build trust, appreciation and pride in the work we show up to do. Many times, for long hours. That kind of resiliency together can make all the difference when things go sideways and quick shifts and decisions must be made.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think the biggest misconception about creatives is that some are “lazy” because we don’t have a traditional schedule, we can take a random week day off without repercussions. But the reality is, we’re kind of on call 24/7. Actors are routinely given short notice for auditions, new deadlines occur in post production and directors cuts are requested over weekends, dancers may be on set for hours without actually working until the end of the day. Mentally, this creates a kind of running background about our careers all the time. There’s no coming home and turning it off. I watch movies with my family and for better or worse, I’m studying them, watching the angles, counting the shots, mentally taking notes on what kind of equipment they used, where they shot, what notes I would have given on the story. I’m lucky to be a member of two unions who have protected and fought for my professions and provided health care but there are no sick days on my job. There is no paid maternity or paternity leave. I could be asked to relocate for a job on a moments notice and not see my family for weeks or months at a time. I usually don’t know when my next job is coming and financially, raising a family in those circumstances can be tricky. These aren’t complaints, this is the job I signed up for, but they are the realities of a creative profession and, as with everything, they present trade-offs.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://christinelakin.co
• Instagram: @yolakin
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-lakin/
• Twitter: @yolakin
• Other: https://vimeo.com/christinelakin

Image Credits
Inda Reid