We were lucky to catch up with Felecia Howell recently and have shared our conversation below.
Felecia, appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
As a young child I loved to read, and I guess the seed was planted then. Through story I could travel any and everywhere. Later, as a teenager I picked up a 35mm camera and fell in love with photography. Early inn college I often worked as a Stage Manager in the theatre and felt the magic!
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.
I am a traveler, mostly through my dreams! As a teenager I dreamt of working in the film industry, and without any mentors at the time, I kinda bumped along the way, to getting a foothold into the industry. As a young black woman, growing up in Richmond Virginia and later in Washington DC there simply wasn’t anyone around that looked like me that I could ask questions of, about how to create and navigate a creative landscape. Coming up there wasn’t youtube, social media or internet. It was, and still is, the movie magic of a vision coming into focus or realization, scene by scene, performance by performance, the artisan’s craft by craft.
I attended Howard University, School of Communications where my love for Film production was developed. It is also where I learned the power and magnitude of the medium. After undergraduate studies, I joined the Peace Corps serving two years in Liberia West Africa working as a Radio Production Advisor. It was during this time that I truly fell in love with the art of storytelling.
Upon my return stateside, I attended UCLA where I earned a M.F.A. in the Producer’s Program for Theatre, Film and Television.
To this day what inspires me most is, I know every person has a story to tell and I genuinely want to hear it. People are fascinating, even the flaws which can be the most colorful, having lived and walked different paths along the way serve as inspiration.
As a Director, it’s about the ability to communicate the vision of the project to the team of artist and crew and performers effectively so that we can all go forth having fun as we create. As a Producer, it’s the ability, agility and stamina to find-a-way to provide all that is needed, be it equipment and materials, locations, contracts, budgets, etc., to keep the movie train (or any type of production) on the track.
Also, for over 10 years I”ve worked as a Script Supervisor/Continuity in film and episodic TV. Currently, I’m working with the wonderful television Showrunner Yvette Lee Bowser (Living Single, Half-and-Half, Dear White People), and the most talented Kerry Washington (Scandal, Django, Ray, more) on the TV series, Unprisoned (Hulu).
In addition to working in the film industry, over 20 years now, I also work as an Event Producer, i.e. The Palm Springs Women’s Jazz Festival, and The Sunset Jazz festival in Palm Springs…
When addressing problems, or as I call them “fires needing to be put out” I always hold to everything will work out… one way or another. The trick is not to panic. You panic, you drown. Most often, it is a meeting of the minds working toward a resolve. It might be a situation of budget concerns, time constraints, talent schedules, location availability, equipment failure, even all of the above so it’s a lot of bobbing and weaving, being able to pivot, working to keep heads cool and egos tempered.
I love what I do. I love the collaboration of mounting a project, be it film, tv, theatre etc.. it’s all a production. I love developing the wonderful relationships along the way.I love watching the master-mind talent and craftspersons around me work at their respectable crafts, building the show brick-by-brick; creating movie magic.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being an artist and creative, is that I get to celebrate a story. It might be a story of triumph over tragedy, a story of adventure, a story of mystery, or simply a story of make-believe. It is recognizing mine, or someone else’s dream, and seeing it realized; honoring it.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
As a creative, it’s not about the money. Though we want to be compensated, and compensated fairly, it’s more about living the dream. It’s about tapping into and trusting intuition, preparation at the start of a project and developing tunnel vision and focus, and enjoying the journey. There’s a personal reward and satisfaction of seeing and feeling what you have created for yourself and others, hoping you have inspired, and motivated someone else to tell their own story as well.
Image Credits
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