We recently connected with Jency Weeks and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Jency thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us 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?
My first paycheck as an actor came as quickly and as randomly as my career started. After having my daughter, I needed something to make myself feel human again and give me that drive I had been missing after working in college athletics. Cooking isn’t my forte, reading puts me to sleep, knitting wasn’t a popular hobby yet and the amount of 20 year olds who wanted to learn how to play bridge or Canasta was slim to none. Googling hobbies on the internet I ran across improvisation classes. It was something people did in the evenings, cooperate business hired improve teachers for company trainings and the show “Who’s Line is it Anyway” was a popular show for me to watch. Seemed fun and it would get me out of my shell. I remember the exact outfit I had picked out too, a horizontal red, black and brown striped dress (it was the only thing that fit) with a black pair of leggings finished with a pair of blue cotton Ugg boots. I signed up for my first ever acting class at a local college with my first acting teacher, John S. Davies, and improv class was amazing. Even while performing a silly monologue about UTI’s and falling on the ground with a dress and legging on, I felt like I was on top of the world! There was a burning within my chest I hadn’t felt in a long time where it felt like a key was turned within this new adventure and I was going full throttle. Pedal to the metal, I was in it! Within 8 weeks of taking that class, I had signed with an agent with no experience & no headshot and after a few weeks from signing the dotted line, I was on my first commercial. The John Deer commercial just so happened to be a union commercial, therefore I was able to join SAG-AFTRA. Driving up to the John Deer lot, seeing the trailers, the yellow arrow signs and seeing a commercial set for the first time was terrifying but more exciting than sky diving for me. The electric energy, feel of family seeing crew members hugging, smell of hot coffee and breakfast burritos and Imagine Dragons “On Top Of The World” playing at craft services will forever be a core memory for me. The people I met that day on set are still, to this day, so encouraging and have gone to do great things. An actor named Jake told me about a film he was working on that ended up being bought and premiered at the Egyptian Theater, Make Up and Hair crew member Hannah, her brother married a college best friend of mine, Nene was one of my first guests on my podcast and is a recurring on “The Chosen”, and so many more strong humans were there that first day with me. We sat on tractors that tires were twice our size and looked at lawn mowers for 12 hours. It makes me pause to look back to see that within 8 weeks, I went from working in athletics and having a newborn to having my first check in my new career in the entertainment industry. It was a complete whirl-wind but I wouldn’t have it any other way!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I started my career after working in college athletics for a Division 1 football team. Acting wasn’t a path that I was aware of, nor did I plan on perusing. Athletics was my lane and I was going to stay in it. However, after moving to another town, being a newlywed and having newborn daughter, I needed something to make myself feel human again and give me that drive. After that first commercial to now, I have dived into the industry head first and have made a splash! I wear many hats day-to-day. Appearing on screen in shows such as Nashville and Dallas, 2 award winning features and many commercials like Dr. Pepper. After moving from Texas to the North East, doors have opened more than I could have ever imagined. My goal is to bring together the mindset of a professional athlete and the practice of yoga with the understanding of the meaning of play into each role I’m given. On top of acting, producing and writing children’s books, I am the host of a podcast called “lights, camera, rolling…MOM!” It is a show for moms, by a mom, with stories from moms in the entertainment industry. From call sheets to cookie sheets, our stories are all the same. Whichever creative aspect that I engage and throughout all of my work, I apply the quote from Atticus: “Watch carefully, the magic that occurs, when you give a person enough comfort, to just be themselves.”
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
There are many resources out there for creatives in regards to forming philosophies and management, but the one book I will always go back to is “The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity” by Julia Cameron. It takes you through your thoughts back as a child, what you hold most dear to you, what your goals are, people in your inner circle, etc. It helped me look back and realize that the people who are going to help me succeed are already in my life, where my drive came from and how my future is already being planned on every step I take today. This book is used in so many different communities but I believe it gives creatives a better look in how they form their art form and how to dig deeper to bring that to their performance.
: Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
What I have learned during my journey, is that life itself is meant to be “experienced”. These experiences come from many different shapes and sizes, but we have to seek them and then respect them when they come. It is okay to slightly drift outside of your lane and experience something different and new. My decision to pursue the entertainment industry has not been easy. It is a constant challenge that requires persistence and the ability to deal with the “R” world: Rejection. Focusing on the incredible people that I have met, the memories of the different projects I have worked on, the people that support my dreams and the example I want to lay down for my daughter are what keep me going. My journey is not just mine, it belongs to everyone walking beside me; my family, my team, friends and fellow actors, and my daughter as she watches a woman follow her passion.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.JencyAllisonWeeks.com
- Instagram: @JencyAllisonWeeks
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/JencyAllisonWeeksOfficial
Image Credits
Molly Gazan, Bjoern Kommerell, Megan Ebersole