We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Emilija Pavlovska. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Emilija Pavlovska below.
Emilija, appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
I have heard a lot of people talk about performers always having that one first moment. Being applauded for the first time, playing your first lead in a show, doing your first concert. And then that really sparks your passion for the arts. I have been involved with music since I was 6 – singing in choirs, taking voice lessons, playing the piano and later, in highschool, pursuing musical theatre – and for that reason, I don’t know if I ever had that one moment. The arts have always been a part of me. Multiple of my family members are involved with theatre and the entertainment industry, so I grew up in rehearsal rooms and seeing shows that someone I knew had created or was starring in. So in some way, I have never known anything else.
When I was younger, I do remember myself thinking that I would never do theatre, because I saw how stressful and hard the behind the scenes work was. However, when I started doing musical theatre in highschool everything drastically changed. I started learning about what the genre was, I saw plays that made me feel so connected to stories that I would go on for days reminiscing about what I had seen. I saw musicals where the performers and their storytelling abilities simply took my breath away. And I truly fell in love. I discovered a new side of me that could express stories through song, scene and movement. I felt like I was fulfilling my potential. And even now, whenever I get to fully live out a character’s story or make an audience member feel a combination of emotions they don’t get to experience on a daily basis – make them feel the same way I did by the performers I saw, is that one moment. And now that I’m pursuing musical theatre in NYC, I get to relive that moment again and again.
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 am a musical theatre performer and musician currently based in New York City. I am originally from Latvia. As I mentioned, I have been involved with music since the age of 6. My creative journey has taken me from singing in internationally awarded children’s and women’s choirs, pursuing acapella in the Vocal Group “Insomnia,” releasing my debut single “Colors” and now, I am in my third year of studying musical theatre at Manhattan School of Music in New York City. Noteworthy is that I am actually one of the first Latvian musical theatre students in New York City. In 2019, I was fortunate enough to make my Latvian musical theatre stage debut in Janis Lusens’ musical “Kaupen Mans Milais”, which toured the country. I also joined the team for Latvia’s first production of RENT as Maureen and as co-music director in 2021.
While in New York, I have had the wonderful opportunity to be in both productions of well known and beloved shows like Bye Bye Birdie and Nine, as well as make my dream of workshopping new material and originating roles in new plays and musicals come true.
Whenever I have the chance to go back home to Latvia, I produce my own cabaret shows in Riga and share my newly gained musical theatre knowledge and wonderful experiences I have obtained in New York.
This fall I will be making my film debut in Marta Selecka and Andra Dorss’ film “BUM!” as Sabine.
I am very grateful for all these wonderful opportunities that have come my way. And even more grateful to everybody who has supported my journey here. Packing up and moving to New York without ever being here prior, was definitely the biggest risk I have taken so far, but it has paid off so beautifully and I could not be more thankful for all the experiences I have had and all those still in store.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
I think theatre and music has the ability to transport you to a different timeline. Whether it’s a 3 minute song or a 2-hour play, if the piece can make you forget about your daily troubles and focus on whatever is presented to you on stage, that is pure magic. The arts can function as an escape. I know I have definitely found solace in music and theatre. It is also a platform that can educate you on people, stories and global subjects in an entertaining way. It makes you think.
So, my goal is just that. Make people think. Give them the chance to leave their troubles outside of the venue and enter the world of a different story. Make people feel something that they wouldn’t get to experience in their daily routine. I think it is so easy to forget how beautiful it is to feel such a variety of emotions that humans experience. So I want to be a part of that journey for someone.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
I believe an actor’s profession is actually closer to psychology than we think. While one works with people in an office, the other untangles the mind of someone through a script. I find it incredibly rewarding to learn about new people through different stories captured in songs and shows. Understanding and bettering myself through them. And then if along the way someone else can get a similar epiphany through my work, that is all I could ask for and more. Whenever someone comes up to me after a concert or a show and tells me that my performance made them understand a certain situation or someone in their life a little better,it is honestly the best compliment. Because it means that I got to contribute to art making a change in someone’s life.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilija_pavlovska/
Image Credits
Janis Deinats Stephen Pisano Edijs Andersons Linda Strauta