We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Cynthia Yelle. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Cynthia below.
Alright, Cynthia thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
I am half French half Lebanese. My Mom exposed me to different forms of arts, movement, and dance from an early age. The first time she took me to a play, I was 7. When it was over, I told my Mom I wanted to come and see it again. Ever since, the theatre would know that Cynthia and her Mom are coming all weekend matinée, and that the front center seats A1-A2 must be reserved for them. This continued to happen with every play. I would come and see it all week-end every weekend. Somehow I silently knew then that this is who I was: an artist, a performer, a thespian. However, a few years later, my uncle, who is a deaf artist (he is an actor, photographer, & a fashion designer), was performing ‘The Little Prince’ in Paris in a theatre company made of hearing actors. I saw him perform. I was 11. This is when I knew for sure that this is who I was. I looked up to him so much and seeing him in front of me, emote, express, project, as a deaf actor, to an audience of 1000 people…I knew that nothing was impossible for me even if I were a female who was born in a country that is a dot on the world map. Seeing him on that stage somehow gave me permission to say it out loud. This is who I am: an Actress.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am an Actress. I started in Beirut, Lebanon, in a Theatre company. I was very young so I trained with their studio company. By the time I turned 17, I felt I wanted to leave Lebanon. It was too small for me and for who I am: a Queer, actress, who talks about & lives her sexuality as naturally and freely as humanly possible. A woman who wasn’t even thinking of marriage or children. It was impossible to stay there and authentically be who I am (as much as I love my country and culture and people, I sadly couldn’t). So I left. I went to drama conservatory in Paris then started doing plays. I did plays in all my twenties. My coach and director encouraged me to go to the U.S. and do film since I fluently spoke English. This is when I began visiting Los Angeles & New York to research. I crashed classes and asked student filmmakers to let me hang out on set and teach me about equipment. I wasn’t allowed to work so I auditioned for student films and did that every time I visited LA & NY as a tourist. I was still living in France and performing there. In 2015, I started my Artist visa. After mountains of paperwork, they approved me. this is when I went on to audition for Indie films and plays. I was booking a lot and filming beautiful projects. I was so grateful because I didn’t have an agent yet. So all my auditions came through word of mouth from artists that I had already worked with. I’m always moved when people recommend me to others. I don’t know why this touches my soul and I value it with all my heart. I did about 4 plays in LA at the Odyssey theatre Ensemble and I got my Green Card at the end of 2018. This is when I officially packed my bags and moved to LA for good. I was hesitating between LA & NY but NY was too much like Paris and I wanted a change. During the pandemic I signed with an agent and in 2021 I booked a recurring guest on a Netflix series called MO, which changed my life.
One thing about LA that initially broke my heart was that nobody cares if you have done theatre. This was very scary to me because it meant that I was moving to a new country with a ton of experience & training, and at the same time, it also meant that I’ll most likely be viewed as a newbie actress because I don’t have famous TV & Motion Picture credits…This is a harsh reality to accept about the industry without letting it be one’s identity. But I did a lot of work on myself to stay in my power and integrity. I was already strong but I became stronger and I started learning the ‘rules’ then doing what works for me. I’m grateful I did this work because it established the basis of how I approach this industry: with the borderline-INSANE (No, COMPLETELY insane) love for my craft and with happiness. It is VITAL for me to be happy. Sure, there are frustrations and bumps in the road, but happiness is the building block for me: true contentment, serene mental health, & inner joy with what I’m doing regardless of status and money. For me, happiness is in the creation. I’m always creating, whether I’m booking work through the industry or generating work myself. It’s always in motion simply because it makes me happy.
During the pandemic, I got my American citizenship. Every time I think about this, I feel so proud of how far I have come. I come from a country that is a dot on the map, a country where you need a visa to go anywhere. This always gets me emotional because I am living in LA now and despite having gone through an excruciating time these past 18 months, I’m constantly growing and learning about myself, my craft, and the people around me. It’s truly a gift. I feel especially grateful for the new mad-talented artists coming into my life right now. Takes my breath away.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
My God, so many things. If I were to choose one, it would be affecting someone so much that they would get up and move mountains. Many Artists of many Art forms have done this for me so I hope from the core of my being that with every play, with every film, with every dance project I do, that at least one person will shift into creating something glorious. It’s a ripple effect. i LOVE IT.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
I feel there’s a lot of judgement out there. To me, if an artist puts something out there, it’s already a win no matter how awful it is. It’s a win because they are already on the playing field. It’s easy to sit back and do nothing and judge. Judging others is the easiest, laziest, and least emotionally intelligent act one can do. However, pausing and learning more about what one is judging is an effort. It takes work. The audience might still not like it, but at least they gave the artist a chance and walked away without harsh criticism.
With that said, to me, I don’t know what kind of artist knocks me off of my existence. Those artists are rare. They show up in my life and blow me away simply by being. Those are the ones who kill my heart with inspiration with every breath they take. I also feel that this is subjective. And that doesn’t mean that the rest of the artists out there don’t have a lot to inspire me with. They do. We all do. I, myself, might inspire someone all the time while completely turning off another. We should all be given a chance to show something so ugly then something so breathtaking after that. If one doesn’t like a movie, or a painting, or a piece of music, that’s their opinion and they are free not to look at it again and free to move on without spending a week judging it and spewing negativity on it.
I think if we all do that as a society, a lot of beautiful art will be made without shame. A lot of artists will dare to take risks. The same things that are awful to some are beautiful to others. We all should be allowed to take this risk. No risk, no magic. 
Contact Info:
- Instagram: cynthiayelle