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

Alright, Eileen thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

In 2013 I was offered a job doing what I loved and creating my own original works, but I would need to move the Paju, South Korea to do so. Having lived in the Southern United States my whole life, I couldn’t even fathom what Korea would be like, but I had 48 hours to decide. So, I took the first risk. I said Yes. And that yes led to an entire year of saying yes to “Anything I knew wouldn’t hurt me”.

I started in August 2013 after surviving a 14 hour flight during which I got sick, only to arrive to a fridge full of groceries that at the time were not things I ate. It was a risk moving to a new country being a picky eater, but a risk that eventually made me so much healthier. I tried everything that was set in front of me at least once and really expanded my horizons in that regard.

Early on I took risks daily. Navigating into Seoul, from Paju all by myself and home again to learn the ropes of the transit system. Learning a role in a show that I needed to start performing in about a week. Navigating my savings in a new country, before my first paycheck hit. But as time went on I took bigger risks, that shaped me as a performer/creative and a human being.

Within my work hours I was expected to bid on different roles of the creative process to contribute to our original shows. I costumed and wrote shows, both activities that were comfortable and familiar to me, but I also ended up choreographing dance numbers and contributing lyrics to musical numbers, activities that I had never done and didn’t have a working vocabulary for.

Outside of my work hours, I took vacations, trains, and planes. I visited lantern festivals, mud festivals, temples, and even the DMZ. I interacted with every South Korean stranger that wanted to have a conversation, learn more about my journey, or just offer a gift of food or craft. I was humbled by a country I knew nothing about and surprised me daily. I learned to trust myself and venture into the unknown, knowing I was capable and brave.

This job started as a job. To be able to say I was a working actor. I loved the idea because in a lot of theatre you don’t get to create your own material, but this job required it. I fell in love with the job, because it got me outside of my comfort zone and introduced me to life long friends. When all was said and done and I moved back to the states after that year, I remember waking up from my first sleep on American soil and thinking “Had that all been a dream?”

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?

Eileen Peterson is a Storyteller and Creative who started her journey as an actress. She started with Musical Theatre when she was 9, eventually becoming a professional actress before taking a step back from the career in 2021. She majored in Theatre at Northwestern State University with a double concentration in Musical Theatre and Directing & Performance. In addition to performing internationally and all over the continental United States, Eileen has filled the role as an educator in the field teach children and adults alike the skills necessary to perform whether it be in a stage play or in front of a boardroom. 2021 saw Eileen step away from the career and into a new creative outlet, cosplay. Now outside of her 9-5 Eileen can be found sewing new costumes of her favorite characters and traveling all over the world to share those costumes with the community. This year she’ll be flying to Germany to create content and attend live events in the cosplay space! You can find her journey and work on Instagram as the cosplayer Rangersandarrows. Never one to say no to a creative outlet Eileen is always looking to try new things and explore new opportunities to highlight her love of telling stories.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Community.

In an age of social networks and AI a sense of community and creation is being lost. In all my creative endeavors I try to share opportunities with my peers, blend others’ talents with my own to host events, and work in tandem with others to achieve things I never could have by myself. If I have an idea for an event I always check in with my community to see if something like it already exists. If it does, how can I help to grow and support it, if it doesn’t who can I bring on board to help make it a reality. If someone reaches out to me for help or advice and it isn’t in my wheelhouse, I am always ready to make connections and introduce people to other creative who can offer skills and ideas that I might lack. Within the community I always try to make sure I am the person I needed in my journey, supportive and uplifting. When we create together, we create better. Competition kills the joy, competition kills the art.

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

The interaction. To know that I gave something meaning, is to know that I connected with someone. It is one thing to perform on a stage, but it is another to perform in front of an audience. To create a cosplay is fun, but to gab about the details with someone who is genuinely interested is even better. Knowing that you made something from nothing is rewarding, but getting to share in that journey with others is nourishing. Connecting with others through art helps us to build our empathy and understanding for one another, something we could desperately use more of. Art helps us to not feel alone because it forces us to interact with others. Art is the language I use to move through the world, it keeps me focused, it keeps me thinking, it keeps me motivated, and it keeps me experiencing growth.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: RangersandArrows

Image Credits

1st photo (Green Dress): Sean Moore
Squares background: Bill Simmers
Rain photo: Bill Simmers