We recently connected with Ella Clover and have shared our conversation below.

Ella, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Every project I’ve worked on is meaningful because I’ve learned something from every one. Every project is a part of the identity that I bring to all future projects. I’m feeling the most impact from my most recent project: The Martini Hour. The Martini Hour is a live variety show in the vein of The Muppets meets The Eric Andre Show. My partner, Joey Povinelli, and I play these goofy, heightened versions of ourselves in a unique live (and taped) show that’s part sketch comedy, part variety show, part concert and part party. Of course this project feels most meaningful because it’s most recent, but more so it just feels SO uniquely me and Joey. I think it captures our sense of humor and sensibilities in the sharpest way possible. It’s been a wonderful opportunity to connect with and showcase artists like Kel Cripe, Gary Wilson, Sally Spitz and more. I’m a theater girl through and through, so working on a project that’s closer to theater than anything else, has just warmed my heart and reminded me where my passion for artistic collaboration came from in the first place.

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?

I’m an actress who creates work for myself through me and Joey Povinelli’s production company: jpeg Productions.

Jpeg Productions is interested in the bizarre and anachronistic…the colorful and the bold.

I quickly realized that if I wanted to have the most control over my career as an actress, I would have to create the work I wanted to be a part of. The auditioning game is SO hard and I don’t think it’s for everyone. I’ve enjoyed literally creating the roles I want to play, so I never have to wait for permission from someone else. With Joey, I can write, direct, and produce whatever I want to create. But it’s grown into something much larger than just a vehicle for me to act. We’ve formed close artistic friendships through jpeg Productions ultimately creating a collective of friends who help each other make their art.

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

The art life is not linear. There’s no “one path.” Success is something you define for yourself. You have to believe these things, or the pursuit of being a professional artist, however you may define that, will be filled with despair, jealousy, anger and confusion. At a certain point, you just have to accept that your life may not be relatable to those with a, quote unquote, “real job.” Or those who think you need one. I think some of those people really want to become artists, but don’t know how, which leads to their bitterness. Your life is yours to create. It is a work of art in and of itself. Why wouldn’t you do what you truly want to do? I used to struggle with comparing myself to others, but at a certain point, I realized that comparison is a waste of time. Someone else’s journey is someone else’s life and that’s not my life. All you can do is life your life as true as possible.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Having fun and making something that lives forever from it!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ellaclover.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ella__clover/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MartiniHour/videos

Image Credits

Kailee Shedeed
Sam Goldman
Sophie “Bones” Hamernik