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

Hi Janelle, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I have always been an extrovert and a performer as long as I can remember. It brought me the greatest joy. But for the majority of my life I never pursued acting or entertainment because I didn’t know I could. It always felt like a far away pipe dream and it wasn’t “realistic” as a job so I always told myself I had to do something normal like marketing or public relations. I went through all of college thinking this honestly. It wasn’t until I graduated and starting working at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres that everything changed. Seeing musical theatre everyday was amazing. Watching a show go from the basic start all the way to the finished project was very alluring. But that wasn’t what did it for me. It was when I took my first improv class that I knew. I took it with Stevie Ray’s Improv Company which was also located at CDT. Improv just came naturally to me and I had found my thing. So in 2018 I officially “declared” my career as an actor and have been working on it ever since!

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

Hello everyone! Ya girl was born in Illinois then moved her way through the Midwest to Wisconsin and then to Minnesota. I went to Chanhassen High School and then to University of Minnesota Duluth where I majored in communication and Spanish. Like I said I’ve always been into the performing arts just took me a bit to actually act on that. I got into the entertainment industry like a lot of people did by being lost and asking for directions. Figured out how to get headshots, found some websites and Facebook groups, got an agent and then just started auditioning for things. Networking is key.

As of right now I’ll do pretty much anything I can get my hands on. Still in that hungry phase where I can’t say no to an opportunity. I dabble in everything the industry has. My best skills are in improv, acting, and hosting but I have been working on and enjoying dance specifically hip hop and K-pop (check out the videos on my socials). Other than that I’ve done: commercial, voiceover, modeling, theatre, film, TV, singing, comedy, fitness, cosplay, characters, trivia, and I’ve even been a mascot.

Listen there are a lot of people out there that are more talented than I am. I have a lot to learn and a long way to go. But if I’ve learned anything since I started what sets me apart is my energy, social awareness, and my confidence. I am proud of these things. And I don’t mean confidence in a boastful way. I am plenty nervous about performing. But every day I use what I went to school for. Communication and networking is part of the business and I try my best to make my interactions mean something to me and whoever is involved. I’ll keep working on the performance skills, but the confidence in myself and portraying that in life is something I am grateful to have come naturally.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Yes there definitely is. I want to be a talk show host. Don’t care if it’s daytime or night. That has been the dream since freshman year of high school. It will always be the dream. It is what I’m good at, and it has all the elements of the industry that I like. I like to host, I like pop culture, I like playing games and performing, and doing charitable work. I am not sure how to get there but it is still my driving force. But for now I am content on just having a career in entertainment. Whatever I can do to have this be my full time job would be the ideal.

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.

I used to be embarrassed to tell people… friends, family, or strangers that I was an actor. Because I dreaded having to explain what it is. When you tell regular people you’re an actor they think you either do movies/TV, or theatre. But there is so much more to it. Like I said I am trying to make a career in whatever capacity I can in the entertainment industry. The best thing regular people or friends or family can do is be supportive. But not empty support. The amount of times I tell people what I do and they say: “you’ll do great, so happy for you, good luck with that”. I am happy for their well wishes but if you really care or want to see me succeed. The best thing you can do is come to my shows, watch my videos, like my posts, interact with my social media. No empty promises. Also if you have connections to potential gigs tell that person. Most actors don’t have everything just lined up. (Not at that Meryl Streep level yet) They are looking for the next thing. If you got something reach out. It is appreciated.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/janelle.kloth
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janellekloth/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/janelle.kloth
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/janellekloth
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC9AcdAIctE37yFCK1GAopg/videos