We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Elton Tanega. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Elton below.

Elton, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

Before I begin, I would just like to preface all I say with the fact that I am still learning. We as artists, or simply as people, are constantly learning. In my particular case there are new challenges that arises with every passing day in which challenge me to adapt and educate myself further in my craft. But here is everything I know of my craft as of this very moment:

As an actor and model, I believe there are two sides to the craft; the business and the creative. I wish there was a specific percentage I could tell you of how much time, money, and energy should be invested into each, but there sadly isn’t a correct answer. However, a lot of what I have learned thus far comes from just hands on experience since beginning my career.

Of the two, my least favorite to both discuss and operate is the business side of things. I have never been one for money talk, contracts confuse me, time management/scheduling can be overwhelming, and the question as to what opportunities will advance my career versus which will creatively fill my soul is one I still don’t have an answer to. I understood coming into the industry that there would be a business side I would have to involve myself in, and that I would have to become a “business owner” of my own self. Truly, as odd as it sounds, being a working actor/model has made me an official business owner. The concept of that at first was a little perplexing, however, I think is one of the things I would’ve loved to have learning sooner in my career. Every business requires investment, and the same goes for acting and modeling. It can feel weird at first to see an acting class or new headshots as business investments, but they are! I, as a person, can be a little stubborn with my own investment into myself, so having to do certain things for the betterment of my career was more difficult that you may presume it would be. I mean who doesn’t want to go shopping for new clothes, or have their picture taken, or even go to the movies (and yes, on your taxes you can indeed write off movie tickets for “educational” purposes). The most essential thing I think any person entering the industry should learn, is to have respect for your business. The logistics of everything come with time and opportunity, so don’t stress what has not come, for the present has enough worries of it’s own.

Now, the creative side although the better of the both has also come with it’s own challenges, some of which I would say were and are more taxing than the business portion. On paper I guess you could say I began learning the craft of acting, music, the arts as a child. I have been surrounded by artists my entire life, my dad being the one I accredit most of my creativity to come from (and just so my mom doesn’t feel left out, to her I credit my ambition and work ethic. Love you, mom). I started the violin at 5 years old, moved over to the clarinet at 7, and sometime after that found my way into theatre. Although, while primary school began my introduction to theatre, I don’t think I truly started learning the craft of it until the beginning phases of my career. Unlike most of my peers, I didn’t go to university for theatre or performance, I went for Psychology. I have taken a handful of courses and workshops for acting and such, but haven’t learned nearly as much as what I gain from studying psychology. Well, not specifically psychology, but rather the human experience. It is a complete cliche, but the best way I have learned to act has been through simply experiencing life. I may not understand every circumstance or challenge that a character I play is under, at least on a personal level, but I can always find a parallel to such conditions that allows me to portray the role with some authenticity. The more life you live, the more chances you create to find a greater understanding of your character as well as the people around you.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

If this is your first time coming across my name, hi hello! My name is Elton Tanega, I am an actor, model, and musician from Denver, Colorado. I was born and raised in Lyons, Illinois, a small suburb of Chicago, and moved to the Denver area going on 10 years now! I have always had a passion for the arts, starting off in the orchestra, slowly making my way to the stage, and to which finally led me to on camera work! My career as an actor and model began in the Spring of 2017, when I signed with my agency, Big Fish Talent! The journey to where I currently stand has been a long, wild, draining, fun, rewarding, beautiful experience, but to spare you a 5 year retelling I will simply say that through it all we are here, happy, healthy, and flourishing! I want to say, “at my core, I am an artist,” but I don’t think that is true. At my core, I am just a person. I enjoy the arts, but I like people more. My work as a performer is just my preferred medium to do what I feel is needed in this world. My mission statement in life has been, “I exist to spread hope and joy to the world by building a community of compassion and inclusivity.” Through acting and such, I feel there is no better way for myself to use whatever talents I have been blessed with to work towards my goal.

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

I really love this question because I feel in those beginning phases of my career I also struggled to understand what the journey would entail. Having to discover the ins and outs of the industry, while also trying to rationalize it to my non-creative peers or family made it all the more difficult. In retrospect, the biggest thing I think non-creatives have struggled to understand of my journey has been the concept of working 24/7. Unlike a standard 9-5 job, my career does not consist of constant on-site work. If lucky, especially in a smaller market such as Denver, you may be able to work a handful of times in a 6 months span. However, the demand for you to be ready at the first call is always lingering. I don’t enjoy being on my phone, but knowing I may get an email, phone call, text, etc. about an audition, booking, or last minute schedule change keeps me on my toes at all times. Prior to working as an actor full time, I was managing at Starbucks. Similarly to the role of manager, which entailed being on-call 24/7 to attend to any questions or concerns of the store, my role as “manager” for myself comes with the same duties. I don’t live my life to work, but I love the work I do and respect it. The patience I have gained from being in this industry has helped me in so many different facets of my life. That patience, but much rather respect and acceptance, is something I wish I could share with all the non-creatives out there. It is not a black and white journey, so finding people who are willing to support you and met you where you are at is one of the most gifting things.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Work-ethic, talent, and personality. The market for both theatre and on-camera work is extremely small in Colorado. Doing just a single show can introduce you to half of the community, and if you show up enough times to the few casting directors in town you will find yourself in the same room with many of the same people as the last. So I believe your reputation holds a decent amount of significance. A common saying from many of the directors I have worked with is, “I’d rather work with someone who may be not as well-trained with a strong work-ethic, than someone well-trained with a poor work-ethic.” And on multiple levels I can understand why that remains true. Knowing someone is going to come into rehearsal, shoot, performance, whatever and apply themselves to the material is of greater value than someone there who is not. I have fortunately not run into any person who this may apply to, but from peers experiences know that they do indeed exist. For myself, being able to come into work as prepared as possible and as eager to learn/perform is one of the key things I think has allowed me to build the reputation I have. I wasn’t initially going to say talent, but I am learning to proclaim my talent for all that it is worth. Now, like I said I think work-ethic trumps talent on most occasions, however, to have some skill doesn’t hurt at all. Just like athletes must still condition themselves during their off season, we as performers must do the same. Whether that be by taking a dance class, a vocal lesson, playing an instrument, reading a script, etc. there is power in knowledge. You can also look at it as an extension of one’s work-ethic, as their ability to apply themselves outside of the work at hand helps them to grow for when the next opportunity does come! Lastly, I believe my personality has contributed positively towards my reputation. I say this in the most humble way possible, but I think I am enjoyable to work with; at least I try my best to be. I can be very shy and timid at first, but I always try to make an effort to get to know those around me. Being able to execute a stellar production while also being able to have fun and build lasting relationships keeps people together. I think these things have supported my reputation thus far, and I hope to continue implementing these into the work to come!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: www.instagram.com/elton_jt
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/eltontanega
• Other: Tiktok: www.tiktok.com/elton_jt

Image Credits
RDG Photography & Gail Marie B. Photography