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

Conneka, appreciate you joining us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

As an actress/voiceover artist who is also a licensed registered nurse, this question is loaded for me. I am often asked if I wished that I never became a nurse and jumped headfirst solely into acting, and the answer isn’t so cut and dry. To give some background, I first discovered my passion for performance arts in my high school’s drama club, when I portrayed Cookie Cusack in our adaptation of the original play ‘Rumors’ by Neil Simon. She was such a flamboyant, quirky character, and I remember feeling so alive up on that stage playing her. The laughs and pure joy that was radiating from the audience was palpable and I was hooked from then on; I knew I wanted to pursue this craft no matter what. However, when senior year came and it was time for me to choose what I wanted to do after, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I needed to achieve some sort of academic success in a field that would not only set the precedent for my younger siblings to succeed, and allow for me to have financial stability, but also something that would help people; hence me choosing to go to nursing school. In my mind, this path would allow for me to be able to live independently and then once I graduated, I’d be able to dive head first into what made my soul happy and I’d have the best of both worlds. This did not happen right away, because nursing school was HARD, but with the support of my family and my strong faith in God, I was able to graduate with honors and pass my licensing exam! It wasn’t until I was well into my first year as a baby nurse that I felt comfortable enough to dive back into acting, which unfortunately was around the time that the pandemic hit so it was a weird time for everyone, and everything was halted. This is when I started to question if I shouldn’t have went to university and spent so much time getting my nursing license. Even though I loved taking care of people and felt like I had the heart for it, I also felt eager to awaken the performer in me again, and I wondered if it just wasn’t for me anymore. During this time though, I never stopped auditioning and taking acting classes whenever I could, just in case I ever got an opportunity again. By the grace of God, that is exactly what happened! I started acting in short films, then I got a role in a feature film, and I even got a role in the TvOne crime dramatization series ‘Fatal Attraction’. These bookings felt like confirmation that what was in me on that stage back in high school, never left. Having had so many life experiences since then and meeting so many different characters along the way, I am able to use all of it in my work as an actress today. So, to make a long story short, no I don’t think about what it would be like to have a “regular job” because, technically, I do still practice as a nurse, just not as much now that I act professionally. In conclusion, one major commonality that I have found between nursing and acting is that they both require selflessness. When I am portraying a character and storytelling, it is for the audience just like when I am providing care for a patient; both are done from my heart.

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 back background and context?

Well Hi! I am Conneka Urvette, actress/voiceover artist, newly based in LA, recently from Atlanta, Ga but I grew up in various parts of the world being that I was a military brat since birth. I first fell in love with acting in high school, I was a theatre/chorus kid, and yes I can quote just about all of “Little Shop of Horrors” (my favorite musical). After high school, I attended Georgia State University where I earned my BSN degree, but I professionally started acting in 2020 and voice acting in 2022. My first years of studying the craft were done at Meisner based schools in Atlanta, to include The Robert Mello Studio and Anthony Meindl’s Actor Workshop. Meisner is my primary technique of choice to draw upon in my work because you as the actor are taking your truth, visualizations and vulnerability, and using them to respond to your partner(s) based on the stimuli they give you; which, I feel, breeds the most authentic performances. In the early stages of my career, I was featured in multiple films that have premiered on networks including Amazon Prime, Tubi, Peacock, and received my first co-star credit on TvOne’s “Fatal Attraction”. Though film/television and commercials (through a lens) are what most people look to when they refer to this business, I am of the belief that stage acting is fundamental to the art of storytelling and every actor should do both if given the chance. Of course, I am biased because it is how I was introduced to acting, but there is truly nothing that compares to the energetic feedback of a live audience and feeling them be affected by your work. I was most recently reminded of the magic behind theater when I was brought on as leading lady in award-winning playwright Wallace Demarria’s production “Colorblind”, which originally premiered off-Broadway and then at the historic Douglass Theatre. As I continue learning and growing in this career, and for anyone who is also pursuing it or thinking about it; it is important to remember the why. Storytelling, authentically, through my heart, is something I choose to share with the world, and that is what makes this gift valuable.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

This is a good one. I’ve ran into my fair share of non-creatives who have either straight up asked me, “what if you never make it?” (first of all, what is “it” exactly and why are people so pressed about the thing). Then, there are those who, after I tell them what I do, like to go on a rant about why show business is a lottery and only nepo babies can be successful. Two thumbs down to any variation of interactions like these because they, at best, can be gasoline to the dumpster fire that is self-doubt. I like to remind myself that success, in anything we desire to achieve in this life, is going to be subjective. While I’m aware that most people may think every actor/actress wants to be a famous celebrity, I never used that as a metric of success when I sought out to pursue this calling; I truly love the creativity that goes into bringing characters to life and telling stories that make people feel. With that said, I do still want my work to reach as many people as possible, and yeah, the nature of this business can come with a lot of monetary and social capital. However, making that the primary focus of your pursuit can really kill the fun and make your art dull; I don’t know too many people who buy into dull art. So, I create because I love it, and eventually the work will speak for itself.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I think the best way for society to support artists, creatives and anyone with vision that contributes to all of the colorfulness that is in this world, is to make room for them to be seen and heard. An ecosystem is complex, and a creative ecosystem is nothing without different, new, contrasting, maybe even controversial perspectives. If we as a society only let a select few, curated stories be told, the colorfulness will eventually wither away and we’ll be left with a bland, counterfeit, shell of creativity running around in the world. After all, art influences other art, so what will we be left with if we continue to stifle art/artists with imaginative ideas that are different than our own. I, for one, love experiencing life through the lens of someone I have no proximity to; its often inspiring and unlocks other avenues of my own creative thought process.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/c.urvette/
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@c.urvette

Image Credits

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