We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Erika Degraff a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Erika, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
I first learned the art of acting, truthfully, by accident. My journey as an actor began 4 years ago in New York. I was living in New York working in the fashion industry as a fashion stylist. I had been a stylist at that point for 7 years; working internationally throughout Paris and London and traveling back and forth to Chicago and Los Angeles styling commercial/editorial photo shoots, films and music videos. I remember I was styling a commercial photo shoot in Los Angeles and the spark that I once had for styling had dimmed. After I left the photo shoot, I sat in my Uber and thought “What else can I do?” I knew I wanted to stay in the entertainment industry, but didn’t know in what aspect.
After I got back to New York, something in me said “Why don’t you try acting?” I thought about it and said “Well, I am in the epicenter of theatre, so why not.” I searched Google for acting jobs and I came across Backstage.com and I went through each role and I stumbled across an Off-Broadway play for a character named Emily Edmundson. I submitted and the director of the production emailed me and requested that I come in and audition. Long story short, I ended up booking that role, which was the lead.
From there, I decided to enroll in acting school. I started at the Stella Adler in New York, then during the pandemic I began taking online intensives with the Stella Adler in Los Angeles. Throughout these 4 years, I have taken numerous acting classes/workshops throughout New York and Los Angeles and studied in London. What I’ve learned about acting is that it truly is an art and the more you do it and the more you have life experiences it brings depth to you, and allows you to truthfully become characters. I don’t think that there is anything that I would do to speed up my learning process because acting is a journey, a never ending one if you stay committed. I never want to get to a point where I think I know it all, because to me that is when the journey and crafting ends.
The skills that I believe are most essential to acting is simply just being open. Be open to the process of knowing that being great doesn’t happen overnight. Never stop being a STUDENT to the craft, which in turn means that you continuously ask the endless question of WHY. That allows you to journey within the character, as well as, within yourself. Lastly, be a chameleon, change and transform, get out of your comfort zone. Practice accents, jump in and out of different emotions, train in combat for television/film which is now becoming a HUGE skill to have on your resume. Yes, having training as an actor is important, but also living, traveling and watching your favorite actors on screen/stage strengthens your skills as well.
As far as obstacles of learning more about my craft, I can’t say that I have had any thus far. Many could say the pandemic was an obstacle, but I used that time to read more books on crafting and connected with instructors and fellow actors via zoom. Even now with the strike, I use this time to read a lot of plays and memorize monologues and just try new things. I say this all the time; when the world is silent, YOU should never stop making noise!
Erika, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Erika Degraffinreaidt, a.k.a. Erika Degraff. I am originally from a small town in Illinois, called Bartlett. I now reside in Los Angeles, CA. I started my career in the fashion industry as a fashion stylist in 2011. I had the greatest honor of styling for numerous fashion editorials, films and music videos throughout Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, London and Paris. For 7 years, I worked as a stylist until 2019, which is when I began the journey of acting. Something that I learned from making that drastic switch from behind the camera to in front of the camera is that both take a huge amount of discipline and determination. You need to really immerse yourself into the craft, because with both careers it is about making people feel something. Fashion is about telling a story, getting people to want to purchase items. Acting is about getting an audience to react to your story telling and starting conversations that can shift perspectives and environments. It’s a career that I’ve taken very seriously because I’ve found on this journey that it has healed people.
As an actor I have been able to do some really amazing projects (which due to the current strike I am unable to speak on). These projects allowed me to transform and become some interesting characters and really dive into the craft. When I am not on set, I am actively coaching other actors on their auditions. I am grateful to be able to use everything that I have learned throughout these years of acting to help other actors reach their dreams and goals. Which is what I can say I am most proud of. Yes, the accolades are great, but there is no better feeling than being a part of another’s success. I tell all my clients iron sharpens iron. We are stronger as a pair than we are alone.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
In my view, in this technological society that we live in, the best way to support artists and creatives is simply by liking, sharing and commenting on the work that we put out throughout our social media channels. This is the best way to support us as artists. Introduce your friends and families to our work, don’t just follow us and never like or comment on our work; really engage with us. As that is what keeps us going because we are receiving positive responses. Support us with your words, bring our names up in rooms we have yet to walk into. If you come across an audition share it with us. Be a part of our journey, that’s all we ask.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I would say the biggest lesson I had to unlearn is that REJECTION is just REDIRECTION and to not take it personal. Being in the creative industry we tend to take things personal, especially when people aren’t receptive to our work. What I’ve had to learn is that you can’t be everyone’s cup of tea nor do you want to be. When you audition for a role and you don’t receive that role many times it has nothing to do with your work. Many times it could be that you may not fit with the rest of the cast, it could be that maybe the person that they chose was more marketable or had a “bigger name.” There are so many things that happen behind the scenes that are out of our control. We must let go and just trust that the work we did was good enough and that we are good enough.
I’m also a HUGE believer in timing. There are some BIG roles that I auditioned for very early in my career that I wanted and never received a call back for. When the project was released, I was able to see the amount of depth and training that was needed to play those roles. I can confidently say I was not ready and that rejection was for my protection. We need to know as artists in order to be GREAT, it takes time; so truly enjoy the journey and do not rush the process. There are lessons and experiences that we must go through and learn to catapult us to the level of success that we see ourselves at.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ErikaDegraff.com
- Instagram: @frenchvendette
- Twitter: @frenchvendette
Image Credits
All professional photos taken by Erika Degraff Film Stills provided with permission of Director Miranda S. and Kyle M.