We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jasmine Ashanti. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jasmine below.
Jasmine, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
I’ve been a performer all my life. I danced as a child and when I went to middle school, the acting bug bit me hard. I majored in dance in high school, theater in undergrad, and acting in grad school. I’ve basically spent my entire life training in the field I love so much and I still find myself in an acting class or workshops every now and again. I believe it is important to remain a student of your craft. You can be the best actor in the world, but I learned that sometimes we cannot always see ourselves and we need an outside eye to help us elevate. Understanding how to break down a script is important. You have to do the internal work to bring a character to life. There is no room for ego in the acting world. There is always something to learn.
Jasmine, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Jasmine Ashanti St.Clair and I am an actor. I started out as a dancer and once my dance studio started doing plays, I realized acting was going to be my career path. I’ve been on TV shows like Black-Ish, The Good Doctor, Grey’s Anatomy, On My Block, Lucifer, Upload, Wu-Tang: An American Saga, and East New York. I also love theater and have done numerous plays. I love everything about creating and telling stories, I’ve even gotten into directing and coaching.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
I get to do what I love. That’s it. I love story telling, I love playing pretend for a living. I love giving voice to the voiceless. I love evoking emotions in people. I get to use my voice to bring light to so many different topics.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
This industry is not for the weak. I got out of grad school thinking that I was going to hit the ground running and that was just not the case for me. I booked short films, student films, plays, and commercials my first six years in LA, but nothing that would really push my tv/film career forward. Then in 2019 I signed with my current manager, in 2020 I booked the ABC Showcase and signed with my current agents and have been consistently booking tv since. I’m grateful and I am ready for more. The journey isn’t easy, there are lulls and times when I’m not working that I question if I’ll ever work again. That’s where resilience and creativity come in working together to find other ways to let out my artistic expression.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @jasmineashanti_stclair
- Facebook: Jasmine St.Clair
- Other: Tik Tok: @jasmineashantiactor
Image Credits
Matt Kallish