Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Faith Abraham. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Faith, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

From a very early age, I can remember falling in love with the arts. Any style of live performance (theatre, dance, music) sang to my soul. There was something so beautiful about the freedom it allowed people and I was instantly hooked. I knew that I could never survive a corporate job while the art world existed, there was no 9-5 that could compare.

Faith, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Fairly young I knew I wanted to pursue the arts professionally, so I began my training as a theatre student at a performing arts high school. Post high school, I had intended to continue my education further and decided to lean into directing. At university I began the journey that led me into film, something I swore to never do as a theatre connoisseur. Little by little film won me over and I found myself so entranced by it. Directing film has been such a strong marriage of my theatrical need to tell stories while also aesthetically creating the world around it (larger than the proscenium arch.) While I will always love theatre, there is a different type of magic that happens on set.

I moved out to LA to make a go of it and quickly landed in casting. I knew ultimately I wanted to be a director but felt casting would be a good opportunity to work with actors in the interim. There are not many options for young women pursuing directing, so I tried my best to find a job within the industry that might be more accessible / allow for insight while I created my own projects.

Casting has become another great love and I have learned so much from the incredible women I have worked for. As I try to transition out of casting more permanently and into directing, I hope to bring as much attention to the work ethic, drive and heart it takes to be a successful casting director. There are so many fierce women who have devoted their lives to this craft and are hardly ever praised for their sacrifice and commitment to it.

In an effort to get back to directing, I have created a women’s writing group, Women Create, that focuses on generating female content by & for women. I had been discouraged for so long with the lack of opportunity for women that I decided to make my own path. It also reminded me that it isn’t singularly about my wants, that there was a whole community of women who also longed to tell their stories. I wanted to make a safe space for other women to grow, learn and create while also having access to a network of other women. My greatest hope is that this will foster more opportunities for women to have their voices heard and their projects made.

In just six months, I am so proud of the work Women Create has achieved and know this is just the beginning. I always feel so honored to share space with those creative women. They constantly challenge me to be a better creative and more importantly a better human. We recently shot a short film together, it was an all female cast and crew. I felt so supported by the women on set and it was such a collaborative effort. I am excited to continue to work on other projects as well with them and see the group continue to grow.

I think that the most important part of my current life is making sure women are heard, seen and valued within the industry. I want women to flourish artistically and be made to feel that what they have to say is worth hearing and sharing to the masses.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I believe the most rewarding aspect of being a creative is finding commonality amongst other people. There is something so beautiful about being able to sit with someone and hear about their life, struggles, accomplishments and learn from it. Good story telling brings people together and allows for everyone to recognize they have a seat at the table. No two stories are ever alike but there is a common thread that ties us together, the human condition. When you can share a story that both inspires and shares a common bond it allows for the audience to step outside of themselves and take in the world around them. Art can encourage the deepest forms of empathy and can be so profoundly helpful in connecting people.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Something I have had to work through was my initial frustration with the limited opportunities presented in my chosen craft. It took time to remove the heart ache of watching others succeed because of their connections or surname while I was so desperate to have my own chance. I began to realize that even with those advantages, ultimately those succeeding ahead of me still had to prove themselves. (And that most were creatively very talented much to my chagrin.) They may have had an accelerated chance within in the industry but still had to do the work. Then something triggered in me to focus not on their success but rather show that I could be as great by my own means. Surname, connections, it didn’t matter, the only person I had to compete with was myself. Once I figured out how to work towards becoming the best, the rest didn’t matter. So day by day I challenge myself to be just that, focus on my own growth and don’t look back. If I don’t see an opportunity, I make one. No need to worry about everyone else in their own lane just need to focus on my own.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womencreatewc/
• Other: Working on a website, hoping to have more details soon!