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

Erin , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the best or worst investment you’ve made (either in terms of time or money)? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)

The best investment will always be the investment of yourself and your future. As an actor, I would love nothing more than to act full time and be paid for my craft (bonus if I also received benefits!) This business is very much feast or famine, and growing yourself and your brand can and will take years. I think it’s important to invest in yourself as an artist for the long run. Too often we think “This next project will be the one that changes everything”. If it does, all the power to you! If it doesn’t, you need to have a backup plan. As my professor once said, “When you get that first big paycheck, buy yourself a shot. Great. Now put the rest into savings, and move on.” As I’m going through the real world of being an artist, not only is it about the passion and the craft, but it is also about self-perseveration. With the world now interlaced with remote work, break out those side gigs! Work a hybrid job with a retirement plan! Grow your social media brand! Do all you can while you are still fighting for auditions, agents, and projects. As soon as you can focus on your art full time, you will be so glad you set yourself up with some cushioning so you can give it your all with no regrets.

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.

My name is Erin Neupauer, I am an actor and content creator. I graduated with my BA in Media and Film in 2020, and my MFA in Performing Arts in 2022. I have since led a feature film on Amazon Prime, made my New York and Philadelphia theater debut, and signed with 3 agencies around the country. I am about to embark on my journey as a character performer for Walt Disney World (bucket list item!) I am very excited to see where the future takes me, but it has not been without many tears and exhaustion! I worked a full time job this summer with a 2 hour commute twice a week, worked as a facilities manager at a local theater, filmed theatrical projects, became a UGC creator, continued my dog walking business, and grew my Tik Tok account. Everything I do is in the pursuit of setting myself up for a creative future. I want nothing more than to continue to be an artist for the rest of my life, and now that I am out of school 2 years, I can confidently say that the grit needed to be an actor has to be sustained for the long run. You have to always have to root for future “you”. Who else will if you don’t?

You can find more of my work here: www.erinneupauer.com

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I have had to unlearn is the need to submit a “perfect” self tape. Life isn’t perfect, humans aren’t perfect…so how can I give a “perfect” performance? As an actor, we are tasked to emulate the human life in all of its glamor and mistakes. I realized you have to prepare so much that the final product has to look unplanned and imperfect. We want to see “us” mirrored on the screen. We want to relate to the character! If anything, you have to define your preparation process. Prepare, prepare, prepare…then let it go. Forget “perfect”!

How did you build your audience on social media?

I am slowly but surely building my brand on social media! For the longest time, I was nervous to start posting. What if no one liked me? If they didn’t, how could anyone want to cast me? As I came to realize that promoting yourself as a creative was incredibly beneficial, I took a leap of faith and started posting on Tik Tok. Then, the craziest thing happened. It made me a better actor! I was growing my confidence in front of the camera as ME. Not a character, but the insecurities and passions that make up who I am as a person. The world didn’t end if no one liked my video. My world became clearer, and that was all that mattered. It made me realize how much confidence plays into your craft. If you don’t have confidence in yourself, what makes you equipped to handle the emotions and story of a character? To strongly voice their opinions, to share their tears, to shout their happiness? I deserved to take up space as a female artist. I noticed my diction became better, my voice was stronger, and I felt empowered to share my voice. I never thought that I would have so many realizations about what it is to be a woman in the world of acting by posting. Now, I am almost at 2k followers, with a few PR packages as well! It makes me happy, and I do my best to highlight other small artists on the platform as well. I hope to grow and inspire younger artists who are debating on starting their journey of social media. Post the video! If it’s not for you, there is no harm done. At least you learned something! If it is for you, you can only go up!

You can find me on Tik Tok here: @eneupauer

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.erinneupauer.com
• Instagram: @erinneupauertalent, @erinneupaueractor
• Other: Tik Tok: @eneupauer

Image Credits

Find the Light Photography by Bjorn!