We were lucky to catch up with Elizabeth Boone recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Elizabeth 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.
Pretty early in my life, I knew I wanted to pursue something in the creative field. Between endless nights of watching Disney Channel, listening to the sounds of Motown in my mom’s car, and doing small theatrical productions as a child, I couldn’t help but feel that way. However, the defining moment was when my parents shipped me to a week long theatre camp, where I played the fairy godmother in Cinderella. Before I went there, they could barely get me to speak. After I came back, I wouldn’t stop talking – talking just to talking, talking to act, or talking about my new dreams of doing something like that forever.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Well, my name is Elizabeth Boone and I hale from the state of Texas. At an early age, I knew I wanted to act, sing and write music. As I got older, my interests expanded – I wanted to write shows, produce, and be immersed in the entertainment industry. I got my chance when I was accepted to a program from my Alma mater, UT Austin, called UTLA. That program changed my life because it gave me the knowledge I needed to succeed in the LA entertainment scene and helped me get an internship that changed the trajectory of my life. What was that internship, you ask? It was an internship as a Show Intern at the Ellen DeGeneres Show. I started as an intern, then became a production assistant, and then the writer’s assistant for the last season of the show. After, I went on to work in the Jennifer Hudson Show’s writing department and came up with many songs for the now famous spirit tunnels.
During this time, I also auditioned a landed the role of Reggie in the hilarious webseries “Open To It,” which has afforded me many wonderful experiences. I’m fortunate enough to still hold the role and have since written for the show. Since then, I’ve transitioned into other areas of work, but creating is still central to who I am, which is why I’ve also been recording music that I’m extremely proud of.
However, out of all this, the thing I’m most proud of is not losing myself or MY dreams. It’s so easy to come out to LA, get sucked into working in the industry, and be so tired that you forget why you wanted to come here. Throughout my time in the industry, I’ve had difficulties, but I’ve continued to show up for myself and not forget my dreams – dreams that I hope will continue to bloom into realities.
Have you ever had to pivot?
Last year, I decided to make the move from working in a talk show writing department to working in Public Relations, which is what I have my degree in. Many people wondered what I was thinking (even I wondered the same). However, I know this was necessary for me flourish and grow in my own creative aspirations.
Working in entertainment full time is extremely time consuming, so you’re left with little time for personal whims. Working in a different industry gave me the time and space to rediscover my love for music, in particular, and I was recording music soon after changes jobs. It was scary, but I have no regrets. While I learned a lot in talk show, it was necessary for me to move on and put more work into the Elizabeth Boone show.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
I want to speak specifically about how society can help BLACK creatives – encourage us, give us opportunities, hear us, and don’t put us in boxes!
