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

Grace, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. The first dollar you earn is always exciting – it’s like the start of a new chapter and so we’d love to hear about the first time you sold or generated revenue from your creative work?

It was the coolest thing EVER. I’ve had a few of my plays produced before, but I was so early in my career that I didn’t ask for royalties. I think I did one production where I got a portion of ticket sales— it turned out to be like $15, so I got myself a coffee, lol! But this was the first time I got a real, paid production offer for my writing.

I was home from college for the holidays, and I vividly remember showing my parents my bank account app as I deposited my first ‘big kid playwriting paycheck’ of almost $300!

The production is of my play, Letters for Adelaide, at Seattle Pacific University this March!

Grace, 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?

Of course! First of all, thank you for taking the time to read about me! I’m Grace Everett, I’m 19-going-on-20 years old, and I’m an actress and playwright originally from Dallas, TX!

I’m majoring in Playwriting at The Theatre School at DePaul University, so I’m living in Chicago, and I LOVE it!! Chicago is an industry hub, and since I do both theatre and film acting, I’m staying busy with auditions and self-tapes, so I have plenty of opportunities to use my acting muscles!

I’m also an arts accessibility advocate, and I campaign for authentic disability representation in media. I‘m autistic and I‘ve had lasting fatigue from COVID for over two years now. That can make it hard sometimes for me to work up the energy to practice acting, music, or writing/editing my plays. But I know the importance of showing the ups and downs of life as a disabled artist, so I post regularly on Instagram about arts accessibility, my passions, and all other aspects of my life! (@GraceEverett)

I’m so fortunate to say that I’ve made a bit of a name for myself through my Instagram, and I’ve been offered jobs through my social media because people found my work online! Actually, my best-paying job yet came from a cold email after someone found me through (apparently) a Google search!

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Of course! Admittedly, I’m not the best with TikTok, which is one of the better platforms for going viral/gaining a wider audience. But I have a decent audience on Instagram, and honestly, getting started is the hardest part. Just keep posting, find friends to engage with regularly (bonus points if they’re also trying to grow an audience!) and let it happen. Instagram is really pushing Reels right now, so take advantage of that. Some of your Reels are going to flop, HARD, but you’ll also have some gems!! That’s what matters.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

This is about my experience being an autistic actor, specifically. I didn’t actually know I was autistic until I turned 18 (all the signs were attributed to anxiety growing up), and finding out was the most liberating feeling! Everything started to make sense!

I started on a journey to ‘unmask’ and allow myself to exist in the world in a way that feels comfortable for me, rather than forcing myself to conform to the behaviors that are expected of me. This shows up in many ways, but most prominently, making less eye contact, and allowing myself to move freely during conversations.

Weirdly, this actually made acting more difficult! I do a lot of auditions for a lot of types of characters, and many of them are neurotypical (i.e. – not autistic). This means that when I’m acting, I often find myself having to dust off that neurotypical ‘mask’ I’ve been working so hard to leave behind. I’ve allowed some of that muscle memory— of how to behave so people won’t think I’m weird— to fade, because I’ve stopped caring about what people think of me. But I have to figure out how to use those muscles every now and again for auditions.

I’ve been working on accepting the idea that, in most cases, characters I play will also have autism, just like how in most cases, characters I play will have hazel eyes and curly brown hair. Obviously, there are circumstances where major parts of my outward appearance have to change, but autism is a central part of how I experience the world, and it’s a bit harder to completely isolate and remove for the sake of playing a character.

Contact Info:

• Website: GraceEverett.org
• Instagram: @GraceEverett
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheGraceEverett?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@grace-everett
• Other: Email: [email protected] for any business inquiries, questions, or collaborations!

Image Credits
CA Taylor, Blue Demon Theatre – DePaul University, Nick Thomsen, Darren Crone