We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Emily Fabretti a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Emily, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
When I was a sophomore in College I had the random idea to conceptualize an experimental play. It felt like a fire was lit inside of me that I didn’t know existed. I had never been in a play before, and my only acting training at the time was a class called “Acting Fundamentals” taught by Arber Mehmeti my freshman year. I was sitting on the couch in my apartment in a zoom class with some friends and fantasized this crazy idea. Shortly after, my creative partner, Avery Potemri and I combined our love of spirituality, tarot, and astrology into a modern play that deals with five young people coursing throughout a strange deserted forest and having to come to terms with their shadows. It was a small seed that eventually turned into a full length play written by the fabulous Ann Noble. It proved to me that truly anything is possible and watching something manifest from a tiny idea is a very liberating thing.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Sure! I have always been an artist who never really knew where to put my (most of the time) intense emotions. I grew up in a dance studio that was pretty tough in the way that you had to have really thick skin. I think I desperately needed an outlet to be able to express my emotions and indulge myself in a story. I was never a really technical dancer, and that was hard because it was always my biggest critique. The emotional pull to feel something through dance was always the fire that kept me going. I would win special awards for storytelling a lot, which made me feel like if people could relate, I was doing something right. I had a pretty life altering injury at the age of 18 that made me consider whether I was really going to continue dancing or not. I was told I “wasnt going to make it” and that only made me fight harder. I recently graduated with my BFA in Commercial Dance and have been broadening my perspective in other avenues such as Acting, Stage Managing, Directing, and Producing. As far as what may set me apart from others is my attention to detail and rigor to stick with something to its very end. I recently conceptualized, choreographed, and directed my Senior thesis to a song that struck me the first time I heard it two years ago, and seeing it on stage at the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre was a huge accomplishment.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
Growing up as a competitive dancer teaches you that the value of your art is limited to the recipient of your story. This is something I am continuously unlearning. I am a perfectionist, and that stems from always wanting some sort of validation that what I am doing is “right”. I never learned as a child to find personal satisfaction in my work but to look to someone else. Whether that was from teachers, judges, authorities, directors. I found that throughout college there was plenty of room for mistakes. And I made a lot of them. College is a lot about rewiring and breaking apart old habits that no longer serve your artistry. One of the main things is validation. Finding that within myself is an ongoing but very liberating journey.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding aspect is connection. Before connection comes vulnerability. Before vulnerability has to be a space that is created to let it in. A lot of my art was born from heartbreak, and creating is what always saved me. I would find myself in the most transformative times being able to soar because of what inspired me. I have dealt with a lot of adversity that has really forced me to believe in myself and trust my work. Creating will always be the most rewarding part.
Contact Info:
- Website: emilyfabretti.com
- Instagram: emilyfabretti
- Youtube: emiiily_f
Image Credits
Jared Abrams, Winnie Mu, Alyssa Park